Forget Forever
"Forget Forever" | |
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Song by Selena Gomez | |
from the album Stars Dance | |
Recorded | 2012 |
Genre | |
Length |
4:11 (album version) 3:18 (radio edit) |
Label | Hollywood |
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
|
"Forget Forever" is a song by American singer Selena Gomez from her debut solo studio album, Stars Dance (2013), included as the sixth track on the record. Selena teased a preview of the song in her official YouTube account on July 15, 2013 but the full song was leaked in March by the name of "Rule the World". The song was written by Jason Evigan, Clarence Coffee, Alexander Izquierdo, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson and Marcus Lomax and was produced by Evigan and The Monsters & Strangerz. Dan Book handled the additional vocal production. Selena said that the song is one of her favorites on the record and it has an "arena feeling". The song has a remix by Boy Lightining and it was included on Selena's greatest hits album For You. The track was the only song of the standard edition of the record that wasn't performed on the Stars Dance Tour.
"Forget Forever" is a synthpop and dance-pop song, which contains house and EDM breakdowns. The song has a lighting and large production and was compared to the works of DJ Calvin Harris and Barbadian singer Rihanna. Lyrically, "Forget Forever" talks about the breakup of a relationship. Following the leak, critics speculated that the lyrics were about Gomez's ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised the dance atmosphere of the song. Due to high digital downloads, "Forget Forever" debuted at number 118 of South Korea's Gaon International Chart.
Background
After the end of the When the Sun Goes Down era, Gomez announced that she would pause her musical career to focus on her film roles. After that, the singer confirmed the end of the band Selena Gomez & the Scene, after three studio albums.[1] During the break period, Gomez participated in several productions, like Spring Breakers, Behaving Badly and Getaway.[2][3] She met with composers and producers to write songs for her new work. Gomez announced in October 2012 that she had started the preparation of her new album [4] and then she announced her first solo career album.[5]
On March 13, 2013, a song called "Rule the World" leaked illegally into the network. The next day, Gomez responded to the leak by uploading a video of the song on her YouTube account. She said, "Here's one of my new songs, 'Rule the World,' which was leaked yesterday, I decided to split it up with you, it might not be included on my new album, I hope you like it!" [6] Later, the track was remixed and renamed as "Forget Forever" to be included in her then future debut album. On June 3, 2013, the singer participated in a live chat promoted by YouTube, which revealed that the album would be titled Stars Dance and its release date, as well as talk about the songs of the record. A week before the record hit stores, the artist unveiled previews of all the songs on the album on her channel.[7] "Forget Forever" could be heard in its full version by the public on July 16, 2013, the date which the album was released to be listened on iTunes Store.[8]
Recording and composition
"Forget Forever" is a four-minute and eleven second song derived from the house music, synthpop and dance-pop music styles and contains EDM influences.[9][10][11][12] The song includes a "brilliant and extensive" production, and was described as a ballad about a relationship breakup.[13] It follows the standard structure of a ballad, and its first verse is accompanied only by a simple guitar riff and synthesizer chords.[14] The work begins to build slowly, until it reaches the climax, accompanied by solos of house music.[11] Sam Lansky of Idolator described the composition as "an electrifying dance-pop banger with a monolithically great chorus and a storming, anthemic beat, plus a big house break" while Jon O'Brien of Yahoo! Music evaluated that the work managed to "enter the territory of the 'throw hands up high' without succumbing to the usual bombastic style of Guetta." [12] "Forget Forever" was also compared to the work of Swedish electro house DJ Calvin Harris, as well as the Barbadian singer Rihanna.[15]
![](../I/m/Believe_Tour_17%2C_2012.jpg)
On July 23, 2013, in an interview with MTV News, Gomez said that "Forget Forever" was the best representation of his life at the time, saying: "'Forget Forever' is a great song on the album. I think that's definitely the place that I'm in. It's really beautiful song. It's very anthem-y, so I love it." [16] Jeff Benjamin of the TV channel Fuse noticed that the song presents several allusions to Justin Bieber, Selena's ex-boyfriend. Jim Farber of the New York Daily News echoed Benjamin's claims, saying that the lyrics are about a relationship that went bad, in addition to having noticed that the verses seem to be about Bieber.[17] About the personal nature of the song, Selena said, "The way I record and I tell my stories and the way I want to tell my life, it's much different. So I never get really afraid," she explained. "I always want to do it in a positive way, in a beautiful way, in a fun way. So anything I recorded or put out is just stuff that I know represents me tastefully". On July 27, 2013, when being interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, the singer said that "Forget Forever" and "Love Will Remember" are the only works of Stars Dance that "could become something great".[18]
The song is composed with a moderate rate of 126 beats per minute. It is written in the key of E major and Selena's's vocal range spans from the low note E3 to the high note of A4, giving the song almost two octaves of range. Lyrically, "Forget Forever" talks about the breakup of a relationship. The song was produced by Jason Evigan and The Monsters & Strangerz with Dan Book handling the additional vocal production. Serban Ghenea mixed the track at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach and John Hanes engineered the mix. Chris Gehringer mastered the track at Sterling Sound in New York.
Critical reception
"Forget Forever" received positive reviews from the music press, which gained focus on Selena's vocals and her dancing atmosphere. After the leak, Sam Lansky of Idolator reviewed the first version of the track, "Rule the World", and said that it was "electrifying", in addition to having praised its refrain and beat. After the release of the album, he stated that the new version was one of the highlights of the album, and also cited it was a good choice as a single. Amy Sciaretto from PopCrush echoed Lansky's words, also choosing her as the highlight on the album and adjectivizing her as "fun EDM". Sciaretto completed that "she won’t team up with Deadmau5, but she might have David Guetta looking to employ her for a track!".[10] Popdust's Nate Jones gave the song a positive review, saying it is "bright and expansive, flying over an EDM beat that can't help getting us ready for summer".[6] Bill Lamb of About.com commented that "the bitterness of the novel that went awry is transformed into dazzling and dancing synthesizers" in the song, which he called an epic breakup song".[19]
Jeff Benjamin of the TV channel Fuse also give his opinion after the illegal publication, and noted a stylistic change of the artist, and compared the work to Rihanna's works. Finally, he concluded, "Gomez is walking in complete dancing mode, and this new leaked track 'Rule the World' is another indication".[20] More negative, Liat Kornowski of The Huffington Post adjectived the song as "a clubby track fit for after-midnight, five drinks in is a failed one" Although she appreciated Selena's vocal performance, she criticized the lyrics, writing it looks more like a parody of the American comedy show Saturday Night Live.[15]
Credits and personnel
Recording and management
- Mixed at MixStar Studios (Virginia Beach, Virginia)
- Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City)
- BMG Gold Songs/R8D Songs/The Lone Pharoah/AIX Publishing/One Stop Coffee Shop/BBMG Music (ASCAP) and BMG Platinum Songs/R8D Music/Bang Bang Music/Part of the Problem Publishing (BMI), All rights administered by BMG Rights Management (US) LLC
Personnel
- Selena Gomez – vocals
- Jason Evigan – songwriting, production
- Clarence Coffee – songwriting; production (as part of The Monsters & Strangerz)
- Alexander Izquierdo – songwriting; production (as part of The Monsters & Strangerz)
- Jordan Johnson – songwriting; production (as part of The Monsters & Strangerz)
- Stefan Johnson – songwriting; production (as part of The Monsters & Strangerz)
- Marcus Lomax – songwriting; production (as part of The Monsters & Strangerz)
- Dan Book – additional vocal production
- Serban Ghenea – mixing
- John Hanes – mix engineer
- Chris Gehringer – mastering
Credits adapted from Stars Dance liner notes.[21]
Chart positions
Chart (2013) | Peak position |
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South Korea (Gaon Music Chart)[22] | 118 |
References
- ↑ Yona Kirby (13 February 2012). "'I can't believe it's actually over': 'Bawling' Selena Gomez announces split from her band The Scene" (in inglês). Daily Mail. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ↑ Lucy Wood (12 December 2012). "Justin Bieber visits Selena Gomez on 'Behaving Badly' film set" (in inglês). Sugarscape. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ↑ "Inside Selena Gomez's New Action Film, 'The Getaway'" (in inglês). Hollywood Life. 9 April 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ↑ "Selena Gomez Says 'Come & Get It' Is Not About Justin Bieber! by On Air with Ryan Seacrest on SoundCloud – Hear the world's sounds". SoundCloud. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
- ↑ "Selena Gomez Ditches Her Band The Scene on New Album". Fuse. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
- 1 2 Nate Jones (14 March 2013). ""Rule the World": Selena Gomez Has No Time for Self-Pity in New Song". Popdust. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
- ↑ Jocelyn Vena (15 July 2013). "Selena Gomez Throws Epic Dance Party With Stars Dance Teasers" (in inglês). MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ↑ "Selena Gomez To Release 'Stars Dance' July 23, Preview The Full Album Here" (in inglês). Star Pulse. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ↑ Sam Lansky (13 March 2013). "Selena Gomez's 'Stars Dance': Album Review". Idolator. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- 1 2 Amy Sciarreto (23 July 2013). "Selena Gomez, 'Stars Dance' - Album Review". PopCrush. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- 1 2 Sam Lansky (13 March 2013). "Selena Gomez's "Rule The World": Hear The Dance-Pop Leak, Which Is Not A Single". Idolator. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- 1 2 Jon Obrien (18 July 2013). "Selena Gomez leaves the Disney pop behind on 'Stars Dance'". Yahoo!. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- ↑ Nate Jones (14 March 2013). ""Rule the World": Selena Gomez Has No Time for Self-Pity in New Song". Popdust. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ↑ Michael McCarthy (16 July 2013). "Selena Gomez: Stars Dance — A Track-by-Track Review". Love is Pop. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- 1 2 Lauren Luca (23 July 2013). "Selena Gomez's 'Stars Dance' Tracks Reviewed By HuffPost Editors: The Best And Worst Of Her Debut Album". Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ↑ Jocelyn Vena (19 July 2013). "Selena Gomez Says Stars Dance Kiss-Off 'Forget Forever' Is 'The Place I'm In'". MTV News. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ↑ Jim Farber (23 July 2013). "Selena Gomez's 'Stars Dance': music review". New York Daily News. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ↑ Mikael Wood (27 July 2013). "Selena Gomez's sexy new vibe shines through in 'Stars Dance'". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ↑ Bill Lamb (24 July 2013). "Review: Selena Gomez". About.com. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ↑ "Selena Gomez Hits Full Dance Mode on New Song Leak". Fuse. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ↑ Stars Dance liner notes [CD] Hollywood Records (2013).
- ↑ "Selena Gomez - Forget Forever (Gaon Music Chart)". Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved 16 July 2014.