"Revival" | ||
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/32/Selena_Gomez_-_Revival_%28Official_Standard_Cover%29.png/290px-Selena_Gomez_-_Revival_%28Official_Standard_Cover%29.png | ||
song by Selena Gomez | ||
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from the album Revival | ||
Released | October 9, 2015 | |
Recorded | April 2015 at Rock Mafia Studios Santa Monica, California Casa Aramara Punta Mita, Mexico | |
Genre | Electropop | |
Length | 4:06 | |
Label | Interscope Polydor | |
Songwriter(s) | Antonina Armato Tim James Chauncey Hollis Justin Tranter Julia Michaels Adam Schmalholz Selena Gomez | |
Producer | Rock Mafia Hit Boy Dubkiller (additional producer) |
"Revival" is a song by American singer Selena Gomez from her second solo studio album, of the same name, released on October 9, 2015 as the first track on the record.
The song was written by Gomez, Antonina Armato, Tim James, Chauncey Hollis, Justin Tranter, Julia Michaels and Adam Schmalholz and was produced by Rock Mafia and Hit-Boy with Dubkiller handling the additional production. The song was first recorded in Rock Mafia Studios in Los Angeles and was finished when Gomez was in Mexico with her crew on Casa Aramara in April 2015.
The song is an electropop song, which contains R&B influences. The song has an experimental production and it has in her composition drums, keyboards and a spoken-word introduction. Lyrically, the song deals with themes of self-care, embracing one's inner power and self-restoration. The track was included on the setlist for Gomez's 2016 Revival Tour as the opening song and a remix of the song was performed at the end of the show.
Background and release
For the first time in her career, Gomez was given full creative control following her signing with Interscope Records. She told the producers that although the production was important, she wanted its focus to be the lyrics. During the album's recording process, Gomez went on a trip to Punta Mita, Mexico in April 2015 with Hit-Boy and a few members of his producing team, as well as Rock Mafia and songwriters Justin Tranter and Julia Michaels.
Rock Mafia and Hit-Boy assisted Gomez on the creation of few tracks, only two that ended up on the album: "Body Heat" and the album's title-track, "Revival".
Recording and composition
The song was written by Selena Gomez, Julia Michaels, Justin Tranter and Adam Schmalholz with Chauncey Hollis and Antonina Armato and Tim James known by their production name Rock Mafia. Rock Mafia and Chauncey Hollis, known by his stage name Hit-Boy, produced the track and Dubkiller handled the additional production. The track was engineered by Steve Hammons, Adam Comstock and Danny Parra at Rock Mafia Studios in Santa Monica, California and at Casa Aramara in Punta Mita, Mexico. HazeBanga, Nigel Lundemo, Hit-Boy and Dubkiller programmed the track and in the instrumentation, Jamie Muhoberac played keyboards and Rock Mafia played percussion. The song was sent to be mixed by Rock Mafia and Steve Hammons served as the track's mixing engineer. Finally, the song was sent to Chris Gehringer to be mastered at Sterling Sound in New York City.
Musically, "Revival" is an experimental electropop song with R&B and synth-pop influences, and heavily incorporates elements from tropical music, inspired by Selena's trip to Mexico. The song starts with a spoken-word introduction, where she says:
"I dive into the future
But I'm blinded by the sun
I'm reborn in every moment
So who knows what I'll become"
In the production of the song we can find sparkling synths, uplifting chorus and guitars crunching over a syncopated beat. The song is written in the key of C♯ major with a tempo of 125 beats per minute in common time. The track follows a chord progression of B – C♯ – E – B♯, and Gomez's vocals span from A2 to C♯4 giving almost 2 octaves of range.
Lyrically, "Revival" deals with themes of self-care, embracing one's inner power and self-restoration. In the lyrics "This won't take too long, you'll see / I'm just tryna get to me", it has been pointed out that Gomez wants to make a new sound, she wants to make people forget her character from the Wizards of Waverly Place and from her previous pop band Selena Gomez & The Scene and to meet the "new" version of herself.
Personnel
Credits and personnel adapted from Revival liner notes
- Personnel
- Selena Gomez – vocals, songwriting
- Antonina Armato – producer, percussion, mixing
- Tim James – songwriting, production, percussion, mixing
- Chauncey Hollis – producer, programming
- Dubkiller – additional producer, programming
- HazeBanga – programming
- Nigel Lundemo – programming
- Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards
- Steve Hammons – engineering, mix engineering
- Adam Comstock – engineering
- Danny Parra – engineering
- Chris Gehringer – mastering