Music Review: Selena Gomez "Slow Down"

Selena Gomez

Slow Down

Album: Stars Dance

Year: 2013

              Selena Gomez grinds against a generic hot guy in the trying “Slow Down.”

           Bent synths open the single, setting a flummoxed tone. She checks over shoulder to see if the hot guy in skinny jeans and a navy blue dress shirt is staring at her. He glanced back at her. She turns around to face him, parting her lips while taking tiny sips from her straw of her drink. She lingers on the straw; keeping it in her mouth a she keeps her eyes on him. After nodding his head to the other woman he was talking to, he strides over to her. She tells him it’s time to hit the dance floor. With her back turned to him, she takes him by the hand. On floor, she wraps her arms around him, asking if he approved of the curves on her body. She lets him know before she can fully decide if she will stay by his side all night, he has to turn her on. (“Now that I have captured your attention/I want to steal you for a rhythm intervention/Mr. T say I'm ready for inspection/Show me how you make a first impression.”)

           In the pre-chorus, she runs her hand down the length of his arm and then turns her body into his, sliding down onto the floor. (“ Oh, oh/Can we take it nice and slow, slow/
Break it down and drop it low, low/Cause I just wanna party all night in the neon lights 'til you can't let me go.”)

           In the chorus, she puts her arm around his neck as his hands cross her waist. She lets out a heavy breath. She wishes the DJ would stretch out the notes for awhile longer, allowing the moment to last.  (“I just wanna feel your body right next to mine/All night long/Baby, slow down the song/And when it's coming closer to the end hit rewind/All night long/Baby, slow down the song.”)

         She tells she’s looking for the right guy. He could meet her strict qualifications if he stays with her until last call. She also informs him she’s a great kisser and he’ll be awestruck by her. (“If you want me I'm accepting applications/So long as we keep this record on rotation/You know I'm good with mouth to mouth recitation/Breathe me in, breathe me out/So amazing.”)

            The pre-chorus and chorus are sung again.

           In the bridge, she has tons of energy now from the rising synths. She’ll be there until4 a.m., squeezing in kisses with him between the songs. (“Breathe me in, breathe me out/The music's got me going/Breathe me in, breathe me out/No stop until the morning/Breathe me in, breathe me out/You know I'm ready for it/For it, for it/Yeah/Breathe me in, breathe me out/The music's got me going/Breathe me in, breathe me out/No stop until the morning/Breathe me in, breathe me out/You know I'm ready for it/For it, for it/Yeah.”)

         The chorus is sung again to end the single.

     Gomez’s pinched, sinless vocals are unseasoned, lacking in spice, leaving a dry taste behind. Even though she is technically of age to sing sexed up club songs, she couldn’t even lure a fish to her with a worm stuck in her pout.

       The ingenuous “Slow Down” gets itself in over its head.