Album Review: Stars Dance

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Credit: Hollywood Records

Credit: Hollywood Records

When I heard about Selena’s announcement of a new album a few months back, I sort of got excited. I was hoping that she would create a new sound for herself, and grow away from the good-girl Disney Channel persona.

On June 3rd, Gomez released her second single from the album, “Slow Down” (single one being “Come and Get It”), and now I knew she was creating something new for herself. “Slow Down”, to me, is even catchier then the Eastern-style “Come and Get It”. It is just one of the songs that you roll the windows down on a nice day and bump.

Now, come mid-July, I had the chance to preview Selena’s new album “Stars Dance” in its entirety. It looks like my hopes came true, it sounds completely new. She sounds so much more mature in this new endeavor, and we at Roman’s Rap-Up love it. Here is a run down of some of the tracks on the album.

The first track on the album, “Birthday”, shows Gomez’s sassy side, with her singing “Tellem’ that it’s my birthday”. It actually sounds like Selena might have been having a legit party while recording the song. Definitely not my favorite song of the album, but still really good.

Title track “Stars Dance” has Selena singing about how she would “make the stars dance”, definitely referring about her unconditional love for somebody-perhaps it’s Bieber?

Selena Gomez at 103.3 Amp Radio's Birthday Bash 2013

Selena Gomez at 103.3 Amp Radio's Birthday Bash 2013

This next one, “Like A Champion” is my favorite song off of the album, . It has a catchy rhythm, and almost sounds like Rihanna’s single “Man Down” (especially the chorus). Selena sounds like she has a great sense of pride in the song singing, “It's in the way you hold yourself/ You gotta know you're something else/ It's sure that you've never felt so sexy sexy”. That last part is even more interesting-never before has a Disney star said the word “Sexy” in a song. Even more proof she is growing away from Disney!

The next track, “Come and Get It”, is, well, different. Just from reading the title, you know it has something to do with sex. Thats what makes it interesting- Radio Disney invited her to perform this song at their Music Awards back in April! Did they even know what the song was about? Anyways, it sounds cool. The Indian/Bhangra instrumentals really work for the song.

“Forget Forever” is a really happy-sounding track. Yet, it is a song about breakups. Selena sings, “Our love was made to rule the world/ You came and broke the perfect girl”. It sounds like she is liberating herself from whatever man she is talking about. Especially in the end when she says “Forget you ever knew my name”.

“Save the Day” is a song about Gomez spending the night with a mystery man and never wanting it to be over. She talks about how this man keeps her going, singing “Put your lips on mine/ In the burning sunlight, I/ I cant believe that my body is still moving/ It makes me feel like we're doing something right.”

A few tracks later, “Love Will Remember”, talks about how love is permanent, and how you will never forget it. But, she sings it in such a nice, sweet way. The bridge of the song brings a bit of hope, with Selena singing “Let heaven in, Somewhere in forever/ We'll dance again”. It’s almost refreshing to hear this song after listening to the EDM heavy rest of the album.

The last song I want to talk about is “Nobody Does it Like You”, yet another song about sex. The entire song she is describing how much she loves this man, and what he “does”. The pop-star sings “You're my bad boy fairytale/ Since jamming with the dark side/ I wanna be your bad girl/ You bring out my wild side/ Your eyes your lips your touch/ His talk, sadistic rush, your sexy kinda swag/ The best I've ever had”. In this track, it’s quite obvious that Selena is breaking away from her old good-girl self.

The Verdict: To be honest, I was not disappointed with the album. I liked it more than any other album any Disney star has ever come out with, and I am proud of her that she is able to make music that she really wants. The thing I didn’t like about the album was that the majority of the songs sounds very similar. Not that it’s a horrible thing, I was just hoping for a little more diversity. However, overall it is pretty good, and I highly recommend you go buy yourself a copy next Tuesday, July 23rd when it is released to the public.

Roman's Rap-Up Rating: 7.5/10

Selena will be embarking on a world tour late summer/fall of this year to promote the album. Find out if she is coming to a city near you, and buy tickets here.

The Rap-Up: Week of July 14th

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Here’s a Rap-Up of whats new and popular this week.

Myx Fusions Moscato Drink From Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj has partnered with Myx Fusions Moscato to release her own alcoholic drink. This is just one more thing for Nicki to add to her list. Now the Young Money rapper has her own fragrance, a clothing line (coming this fall at K-Mart), and now a fruity drink (Not to mention all of her platinum selling records).

Nicki_Minaj_Wine

"Minaj is between meetings in New York City, talking about a new venture that puts her in a head-to-head competition with hip-hop’s biggest stars, Jay-Z and Diddy among them. She’s entered the wine business with Myx Fusions Moscato and a line of sweet and fruity Moscato wine in single-serving blue bottles.

“If I’m sippin’ in the club, Myx Moscato,” she raps on Ciara’s “I’m Out,” and her “High School” video with mentor Lil Wayne and her “Up in Flames” video feature bottles of Myx.

Spokesperson? Not quite. She’s a co-owner. Aiming to tap into the rapidly expanding Moscato market, estimated to be growing at 25% annually, Minaj partnered with Mona Scott-Young, Myx Fusions Moscato CMO, and Peter Reaske, Myx Fusions Moscato CEO."

Read the full story on Forbes.

Justin Timberlake Releases New Single and Details About New Album

Last Friday, Justin Timberlake debuted a brand new single "Take Back the Night", straight off volume 2 of his album, "The 20/20 Experience: Part 2 of 2". From the second we heard the single, we could instantly tell it was good ole' JT. But, no complaining there. I'm just happy that he came back to music.

You can preorder Timberlake's new album on iTunes, and get the new single instantly. "The 20/20 Experience: Part 2 of 2" will be available on September 30th. Details here.

Lady Gaga is Back

Finally the return of Lady Gaga! Mother Monster has been mostly quiet for the past few months after cancelling the rest of her US Born this Way Ball Tour after needing hip surgery. She took to her social network accounts to announce the release dates for her new single and album, "Artpop". More info on that can be found here.

Carly Rae Jepsen: The Pro Baseball Player

Not. The "Call Me Maybe" singer threw the first pitch at the Rays/Astros game in Tampa on Sunday, and things went, well, quickly downhill. It just when horribly. But even greater is the look on Jepsen's face after. Take a look for yourself below.

Perhaps it's a good thing Jepsen plans on sticking to singing and isn't looking to change to become the next MLB All-Star.

Selena Gomez Stars Dance Album Preorder

It's about time Disney star Selena Gomez decided to grow up a bit, and we at Roman's Rap-Up could not be happier with her new sound. Right now, you can stream the entire album for free on iTunes, along with preordering it. Stay tuned for a full review on Selena's latest endeavor soon.

Preorder and streaming details can be found at this link.

Ciara's Body Party

Ci has a song on her new album called "Body Party", and we REALLY like it. Peep the music video below: