Many songs ring out with words of love. It’s undoubtedly the most revisited theme in pop music, so it’s hardly surprising that there’s been numerous collaborations between romantically involved musicians, even if they aren’t strictly a duo or creating full albums together. On the flip side, simple collaborations can sometimes lead to new romances. Selena Gomez and benny blanco’s album “I Said I Love You First” is the latest case of the former and has everyone talking—though not everyone is so sweet on the concept. Given the sad end some couples have faced in the past, there’s even fans who believe it’s safer to keep professional and private life separate. More cynical observers may see their post-engagement interviews or even the album’s release itself as mere pieces in a larger commercial strategy. But even if there’s a grain of truth to those concerns, it’s fair to say that “I Said I Love You First” feels fundamentally different.

Selena Gomez has been in the spotlight her whole life, getting her start as a child star on the Disney Channel and becoming the most-followed woman on Instagram with over 400 million followers. Musically, she’s explored the emotional depth of her voice in a career that’s so far spanned three No. 1 albums, including “Revival” and “Rare,” and nine Top 10 hit songs. Meanwhile, her heavily scrutinized personal life has frequently found its way into both Hollywood headlines and her lyrics. At the same time, producer and songwriter benny blanco was behind some of the biggest hits of the 2010s, like “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry, “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5, and “Diamonds” by Rihanna. Unsurprisingly, his work has also included collaborations with Gomez. Their professional partnership began 10 years ago with her album “Revival” and has continued on with recent hits like the 2019 single “I Can’t Get Enough” and 2023’s “Single Soon.” In December 2023, the two went public with their romantic relationship, and by late 2024, they had announced their engagement. During that time, they began writing music together at home, eventually culminating in “I Said I Love You First.”

The album is both the product of and a testament to their love. But it’s not simply made up of songs celebrating it. On its horizontal axis, it represents a full timeline from the days before they met, to when they fell in love, and onward into the promise of the future. On its vertical axis is an intertwined web of emotions—everything from the excitement of newly blossoming love to the (excruciatingly well-documented) scars and jealousy that defined their past relationships, hoping (with a dash of anxiety) for the future, and all the growing they’ve done to overcome it all. As the couple has repeatedly emphasized in interviews, the stability they’ve found in each other translated into long, honest conversations that underwent an organic conversion into song, and ultimately blossomed into an album that reflects not only their relationship but their entire lives. To put it simply, theirs isn’t a love that merely glosses over the rough parts and parades itself around.

That much is clear right from the opening titular track, “I Said I Love You First.” You could easily brush it aside as a straightforward confession of love or gratitude, but it’s actually inspired by Gomez’s words of farewell to her fellow cast and crew on the final day of her breakout Disney Channel show, “Wizards of Waverly Place,” which aired from 2007 to 2012. It marks the beginning of who she would become today but also symbolizes her turning the page and saying goodbye to that chapter of her life. The second track, “Younger And Hotter Than Me,” feels like an unexpected turn given the album’s concept. The title isn’t a joke or a cheeky twist—it’s an honest look into feelings of jealousy and self-doubt. Tracks like “Call Me When You Break Up” and “Don’t Wanna Cry” similarly explore the sea of emotions Gomez had to swim through before she could find love with blanco.

The next track, “Sunset Blvd,” is written with a wink, while GloRilla’s rapping on “Cowboy” switches things up and brings out a bolder side of Gomez with a more openly sexual nuance. This thematic and tonal shift grows into a kind of celebration with “Bluest Flame,” co-written with Charli xcx. The burst of confidence is followed on the album by “How Does It Feel To Be Forgotten,” which literally poses the question in its title. It’s an introspective ballad, but not sad. Instead, it asks a loaded question. Is the emotion behind it complicated? Certainly. And what about when the issue shifts from her past to his past? The answer is that it makes the track “Don’t Take It Personally” all the more nuanced. This idea of wishing your future spouse’s ex well takes pop music’s (stereo)typical aggressive approach to the situation and flips it on its head. It’s a surprising show of confidence, in a way.

It’s no surprise that “Scared Of Loving You,” co-written and produced by FINNEAS, serves as the album’s musical finale, given how well it ties together its running themes. While the song came across as a simple love ballad when it was released on Valentine’s Day as a teaser for the full album, the track takes on a different tone when listened to at the end of the album, weaving together complicated emotional threads that include old flames. And don’t let the title fool you—the fear here isn’t about loving someone but about losing them. It’s not your typical bubbly, naive pop song. Instead, its strength comes from a similar place of intimacy that you usually get with a Billie Eilish piece.

This might actually be where some reservations about “I Said I Love You First” emerge. Many of its tracks evoke the styles of other artists. In addition to the previously mentioned Charli xcx and Eilish vibes, there’s Lana Del Rey’s melancholy ballads and West Coast loneliness, and Olivia Rodrigo’s metaphor-laden breakups. Some critics argue that Gomez hasn’t expanded on her musical style so much as been performative of these influences like an actor would be. Still, certain albums resonate with us on slightly different terms.

For comparison, let’s consider some other couple albums. Arguably the most famous modern example is Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s 2018 release as the Carters, “EVERYTHING IS LOVE.” The album was a celebration of their reconciliation after their marital difficulties were made public. For music’s most powerful duo, it was a declaration of victory, one polished with something more than the swagger typical of the genre. While it follows in the footsteps of other couples’ collaborations by focusing on the love they share in the moment, it feels especially monumental given their fame and the innate power of R&B/hip hop. “I Said I Love You First,” on the other hand, is an exploration of vulnerability. This isn’t to say one is better than the other, just that, unlike “EVERYTHING IS LOVE,” Gomez and blanco’s album takes things in a unique and unfamiliar direction.

Alternatively, consider John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 1980 album “Double Fantasy.” They take turns singing the tracks, presenting their individual perspectives. By contrast, Gomez is the central figure on “I Said I Love You First,” while blanco remains behind the scenes as a producer. It might normally be a bit odd for blanco to be credited as one of the main artists under such circumstances, but his emotional contribution to the creative process, along with the spot-on use of different genres on each track, is undoubtedly his achievement. As the cover art illustrates, Gomez and blanco allow listeners to peek into their private life—not through two individual projects merged together, but through a modern, producer-centric approach with a team of featured artists and writers.

Even though the couple already shares their lives on social media and fan theories are in a flurry, what they’ve crafted is a love letter, pure and simple. The fact that the songs on the album draw on other artists’ styles isn’t a stain on the artistry but a conscious choice to make smart use of modern musical vocabulary. And track after track of solid songs prove they did it right. Thanks to that, it stands as a powerful testament to their love today—a love letter that won’t fade, even in the face of anxiety, cynicism, or uncertainties about the future. As mentioned before, many songs ring out with words of love. But rarely do they do so as satisfyingly as this.