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Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco: I Said I Loved You First review – besotted but bland

The betrothed pop star and pop producer’s PDA pulls in big names including Charli xcx and Gracie Abrams, but it’s strangely anonymous for such a personal project

In fairness, the lyrics are nowhere near as runny as the accompanying blurb might suggest, but they do a lot of things that besotted couples are wont to do: smarming about how happy they are in front of single friends, being passive-aggressive when they run into their exes (“I know you’re going to find somebody perfect”) and offering TMI about their sex lives. Musically, it pulls in a lot of big names, Billie Eilish’s brother and collaborator Finneas, Gracie Abrams, rapper GloRilla and Charli xcx among them, the latter contributing to a bit of trebly and distinctly post-Brat dance-pop called Bluest Flame. You might assume he’d bring his A-game to an album where he shares billing with his fiancee, but killer tunes are surprisingly thin on the ground – the best might be the chanson-like melody of Ojos Tristes – which perhaps accounts for the relatively muted reception afforded the singles released thus far, despite an ongoing media blitz.

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