2013 has been a huge year for Selena Gomez so far with her relationship with Justin Bieber coming to an end, her raunchy film Spring Breakers flopping at the box office but thankfully her music career has been taking off. Her single ‘Come And Get It’ debut a new sound to the singer and opened herself to a potential wider fan base. Selena will be releasing her fourth studio album this week titled ‘Stars Dance’. This album has a heavier electronic/dance influence compared to her previous albums and it has allowed her music to become more mature and leave the clean image behind. Her lyrics are becoming a bit more sexualised using the words ‘sexy’ and the quite upfront hook “when you’re ready come and get it”. This is all a gradual change for the twenty year old and is nothing you wouldn’t expect from a Britney Spears or Jennifer Lopez record. 

The real standout track on ‘Stars Dance’ comes from what is possibly Selena’s most heartfelt song. ‘Love Will Remember’ is about her relationship with Justin Bieber and it’s a beautiful pop ballad with a sad underlying message of her love she still has for him. The song starts with a voicemail he once left on her phone and with his permission she has got it re-enacted. I would have liked to hear a few more ballads on this album to hear the full range of her vocals instead of all the auto-tune which is inevitably used in the dance genre.

This album starts off very strong with tracks like ‘Birthday’, ‘Stars Dance’ and ‘Like A Champion’ captivating the listener but the second half of the album slowly loses the spark. Songs like ‘Save The Day’, ‘B.E.A.T’ and ‘Undercover’ are good pop songs but are nothing special and just feel like album fillers using the same generic dance beats. However you can’t help but dance along to the songs on this album with their sick beats and catchy hooks which will be stuck inside your head and make you think “why am I singing a Selena Gomez song”.

‘Stars Dance’ is definitely Selena Gomez strongest album to date with some great pop tunes which will leave you dancing and singing along  and some others which you will most likely forget about quite easily.

‘Stars Dance’ is released in Australia on Friday 19 June