I Said I Love You First
2025 studio album by Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I Said I Love You First is a collaborative studio album by American singer Selena Gomez and American record producer Benny Blanco. It is Gomez's fourth studio album and Blanco's second. Following their respective studio albums Rare (2020) and Friends Keep Secrets (2018), it was released on March 21, 2025, through SMG Music LLC, Friends Keep Secrets, and Interscope Records.[1][2] The album contains guest appearances from Gracie Abrams, The Marías, Tainy, and J Balvin, with additional contributions from Charli XCX and Finneas. I Said I Love You First has charted within the top 10 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It received generally favorable reviews from critics.
| I Said I Love You First | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 21, 2025 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 34:38 | |||
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| Producer |
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| Selena Gomez chronology | ||||
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| Benny Blanco chronology | ||||
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| Singles from I Said I Love You First | ||||
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Background
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The first time Gomez and Blanco collaborated in the studio was for the former's second solo studio album, Revival.[3] For the album, Blanco has production credits on the singles "Kill Em with Kindness" and "Same Old Love". The pair then returned to the studio to recorded collaborative single "I Can't Get Enough" with Tainy and J Balvin, which was released in February 2019. Later, Blanco also participated in the creation of Gomez's standalone single "Single Soon", which was released in August 2023.[3]
In December 2023, Gomez officially confirmed her relationship with Blanco, and in December 2024, the couple officially announced their engagement.[3] In October 2024, Gomez stated that she had no date in mind for her next album's release, telling Variety "I currently don't have anything, but I will say music is going to always be a part of me," and, "I don't think any movements are happening right now, but it will always be in my life."[4] Gomez later affirmed "Music isn't going away," and "I just set it down for a second."[5]
On January 17, 2025, Blanco shared a short clip on TikTok responding to a fan who wrote him, "Benny please make some new songs for our queen." The clip showed Gomez recording music in her home studio.[6] Then on January 23, 2025, Gomez shared a video on her social media while working on new music in her home recording studio.[7] After a number of speculations, on February 13, Gomez announced the release of the album on March 21 and released a surprise promotional single "Scared of Loving You" for Valentine's Day. Many different signed, regular and limited CD, LP and 12-inch vinyls of the album were available for pre-order, along with pre-save on streaming platforms.
Composition and release
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Gomez announced her engagement to Blanco on December 11, 2024.[8] Two months later, she revealed they worked on a collaborative studio album, writing in an Instagram post: "my NEW album I Said I Love You First with my best friend @itsbennyblanco, is out on 3/21". According to a press release, the album will celebrate "the pair's love story" and "chronicles their entire story—before they met, falling in love and looking to what the future holds".[1]
I Said I Love You First is a pop[9][10] album that also includes songs in other genres, including Latin pop on "I Can't Get Enough"[11] and hyperpop on "Bluest Flame".[9] It follows a narrative starting with the end of a failed relationship to the meeting between Gomez and Blanco to "the couple's present-day happiness".[11][12] Its first track is a voice recording of a speech given by Gomez to the cast and crew of Wizards of Waverly Place.[9]
As part of the album's extended rollout, Gomez made the previously unreleased 2016 track "Stained", available for digital download via her official website on March 22, 2025.[13] Two days later, on March 24, a new special track titled "Talk" was released as a digital exclusive;[14] the song had previously been featured in an Apple commercial to promote the iPhone 16e and interpolates Cake's "Never There".[15] Gomez released the Seven Heavens Version of the album for digital download on March 25, featuring the song "That's When I'll Care" (Seven Heavens version).[16] The following day, she released the Call Me When You Break Up Special Edition, which included the acoustic and extended versions of "Call Me When You Break Up".[17] She further released two digital limited editions, with live from Vevo recordings of "Scared of Loving You" and "How Does It Feel to Be Forgotten" included respectively.
Promotion
Gomez and Blanco revealed the track list of their upcoming album, I Said I Love You First on March 4.[18] On March 19, Gomez and Blanco appeared on Spotify's Countdown To series to talk about the creation of the album.[19] Hot Ones, a YouTube series, released an episode featuring an interview with Blanco and Gomez on March 20.[20] An interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon was released on March 21 to promote the album.[21]
Singles
On February 13, 2025, "Scared of Loving You" was surprised released for Valentine's Day and was released as the album's first promotional single, alongside an official lyric video. It is an upbeat ballad written with Finneas O'Connell.[22][2] The lead single "Call Me When You Break Up" was released the following week on February 20, 2025. The song is a collaboration with American singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams. "Sunset Blvd" was released as the second single on March 14, 2025, with a music video.[23][24] "Younger and Hotter Than Me" was referred to as a potential single prior to the album's release.[25]
Critical reception
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| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 6.0/10[26] |
| Metacritic | 68/100[27] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [28] |
| Clash | 8/10[12] |
| The Guardian | [11] |
| NME | [29] |
| Pitchfork | 5.9/10[30] |
| Rolling Stone |  [31] |
| Sputnikmusic | 3/5[10] |
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, I Said I Love You First received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 68 out of 100 from eight critic scores.[27] Martina Rebecca Inchingolo of the Associated Press complimented I Said I Love You First for its inclusion of guest artists and its experimentation with different genres.[9] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard said that Gomez "at long last adds a compelling new entry to her catalog",[32] while Dakota West Foss of Sputnikmusic called it her "strongest collection of songs to date".[10] Robin Murray of Clash said the album surpassed expectations, calling it "a genuine thrill" and praising Blanco's "world-building capabilities".[12] Both Alexis Petridis of The Guardian and Georgia Evans of NME criticized the album's lack of a clear identity, with the former finding the nature of its songs unmemorable.[11][29] Rob Sheffieldd of Rolling Stone praised the album for its diversity and versatility in genres and styles, describing the album as: "a valentine that delivers exactly what it promises—a pop icon and a superstar producer celebrating a real-life romance that we all can root for."[31]
Commercial performance
In the United States, I Said I Love You First debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 120,000 album-equivalent units, consisting of 71,000 pure album sales and 64.04 million on-demand streams, making both Blanco and Gomez's highest first-week sales by units overall, as well as Gomez's seventh top-ten effort on the chart and Blanco's first.[33] The album became top-selling pure sales album of the week, topping the Top Album Sales chart, making Gomez's fourth consecutive number-one album on the chart and Blanco's first.[33] In the same week, four songs from the album entered the Billboard Hot 100: "Call Me When You Break Up" (46), "Ojos Tristes" (59), "How Does It Feel to Be Forgotten" (71) and "Sunset Blvd" (97).[34]
Track listing
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| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Said I Love You First" |
| 0:44 | |
| 2. | "Younger and Hotter Than Me" |
| 3:09 | |
| 3. | "Call Me When You Break Up" (with Gracie Abrams) |
| 2:06 | |
| 4. | "Ojos Tristes" (with the Marías) |
| 3:21 | |
| 5. | "Don't Wanna Cry" |
| 3:27 | |
| 6. | "Sunset Blvd" |
| 2:47 | |
| 7. | "Cowboy" |
| 3:04 | |
| 8. | "Bluest Flame" |
| 2:42 | |
| 9. | "How Does It Feel to Be Forgotten" |
| 2:41 | |
| 10. | "Do You Wanna Be Perfect" |
| 0:37 | |
| 11. | "You Said You Were Sorry" |
| 2:59 | |
| 12. | "I Can't Get Enough" (with Tainy and J Balvin) |
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| 2:37 |
| 13. | "Don't Take It Personally" |
| 2:34 | |
| 14. | "Scared of Loving You" |
| 1:50 | |
| Total length: | 34:38 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Call Me When You Break Up" (with Gracie Abrams; acoustic version) |
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| 2:50 |
| 16. | "Stained" (performed by Selena Gomez) |
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| 3:29 |
| Total length: | 41:07 | |||
Notes
- ^[p] signifies a primary and vocal producer
- ^[v] signifies a vocal producer
- "Call Me When You Break Up" does not include Gracie Abrams on physical editions.[35]
- "Ojos Tristes" contains an interpolation of "El Muchacho de los Ojos Tristes", written by Ana Magdalena and Manuel Alejandro, and performed by Jeanette.
- "Cowboy" features an uncredited spoken outro by GloRilla.
Personnel
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Credits adapted from album liner notes.[36]
Musicians
- Selena Gomez – vocals
- Benny Blanco – keyboards, programming (all tracks); bass, guitar (3); vocals (10), background vocals (11)
- Finneas – background vocals, keyboards, piano, programming (tracks 1, 2, 14); glockenspiel, guitar, synthesizer (2, 14); bass (2)
- Dylan Day – guitar (tracks 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14), keyboards (6)
- Lucy Healy – background vocals (tracks 2, 14)
- Justin Tranter – background vocals (tracks 3, 5, 6, 9, 11, 13)
- Cashmere Cat – keyboards, programming (tracks 3, 7, 8, 10); bass, guitar (3)
- Dylan Brady – keyboards, programming (tracks 3, 8)
- Julia Michaels – background vocals (track 3)
- Gracie Abrams – vocals (track 3)
- Pino Palladino – bass (tracks 4, 9, 11, 13)
- Henry Kwapis – drums (tracks 4, 9, 11, 13)
- Josh Conway – bass, guitar, programming (track 4)
- María Zardoya – vocals, programming (track 4)
- Jesse Perlman – guitar (track 4)
- Mikky Ekko – background vocals (tracks 5, 9, 13); keyboards, programming (5)
- Blake Slatkin – guitar, keyboards, programming (tracks 5, 13); background vocals (5)
- Sebastian – guitar, keyboards, programming (track 5)
- Jackson Shanks – guitar keyboards, programming (track 5)
- Kiddo – background vocals (tracks 6, 7, 11)
- Chrome Sparks – guitar, keyboards, programming (tracks 6, 10)
- Michael Pollack – background vocals, keyboards (track 6)
- GloRilla – background vocals (track 7)
- Jake Torrey – guitar (track 7)
- Charli XCX – background vocals (track 8)
- Phillip A. Peterson – cello, violin (tracks 9, 11, 13, 14); string arrangement (9, 11, 13, 14)
- William Fly – guitar (track 9)
- John Byron – guitar (track 11)
- Tainy – keyboards, programming (track 12)
- J Balvin – vocals (track 12)
- Chet Peterson – string arrangement (track 14)
Technical
- Benny Blanco – mixing (tracks 1–8, 10, 11, 13, 14); engineering, recording (all tracks)
- Chris Gehringer – mastering
- Cashmere Cat – mixing (track 5); engineering, recording (3, 7, 8, 10)
- Serban Ghenea – mixing (tracks 9, 12)
- Finneas – engineering (tracks 1, 2, 14), recording (2, 14)
- Dylan Brady – engineering (tracks 3, 8), recording (3)
- Josh Conway – engineering, recording (track 4)
- María Zardoya – engineering (track 4)
- Blake Slatkin – engineering (tracks 5, 13), recording (13)
- Jackson Shanks – engineering (track 5)
- Justin Tranter – engineering (track 5)
- Mikky Ekko – engineering (track 5)
- Sebastian – engineering (track 5)
- Chrome Sparks – engineering (tracks 6, 10), recording (10)
- Aron Forbes – recording (tracks 2, 14)
- Chris Sclafani – recording (track 3)
- Michael Harris – recording (tracks 4, 9, 11, 13)
- Bart Schoudel – recording (track 6)
- Phillip A. Peterson – recording (tracks 9, 11, 13, 14)
- Chet Peterson – recording (track 14)
- Will Quinnell – mastering assistance
- Bryce Bordone – mixing assistance (tracks 4, 9, 12)
- Andy Petr – recording assistance (tracks 4, 9, 11, 13)
- Ryan Tharayil – recording assistance (tracks 9, 11, 13)
- Ashlyn Banner – production coordination
Charts
| Chart (2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[37] | 5 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[38] | 5 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[39] | 6 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[40] | 5 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[41] | 6 |
| Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[42] | 30 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[43] | 15 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[44] | 12 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[45] | 40 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[46] | 12 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[47] | 2 |
| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[48] | 12 |
| Icelandic Albums (Tónlistinn)[49] | 32 |
| Irish Albums (OCC)[50] | 4 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[51] | 48 |
| Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[52] | 22 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[53] | 6 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[54] | 10 |
| Polish Albums (ZPAV)[55] | 5 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP)[56] | 3 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[57] | 3 |
| Slovak Albums (ČNS IFPI)[58] | 21 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[59] | 5 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[60] | 45 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[61] | 6 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[62] | 4 |
| US Billboard 200[63] | 2 |
Release history
| Initial release date | Region | Edition | Format(s) | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 21, 2025 | Various | Standard | SMG Music LLC, Friends Keep Secrets, Interscope | [64] | |
| March 28, 2025 | I Said I Love You First... |
|
[65] |
References
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