25-year old Selena Gomez currently holds the record as the artist with the most consecutive Top 40 hits, helped, in part, by her latest success “Back To You”*– it’s already a global hit, charting in dozens of countries–it’s near top ten on the American Top 40 chart.
“Back to You” has almost 76 million YouTube views, which is enough reason to give it a listen, just to know what America is tuning into.
As the title implies, the song is about longing to rekindle a past romance; the presentation is smooth and silky, her voice is deep and clear, and the lyrics are smart:
You could break my heart in two
But when it heals, it beats for you
I know it’s forward but it’s true
I wanna hold you when I’m not supposed to
When I’m lying close to someone else
You’re stuck in my head and I can’t get you out of it
If I could do it all again
I know I’d go back to you
Gomez is a Big Star (and worth about $50 million). Her on again/off again relationship with Justin Bieber has been tabloid talk for years.
Even though “Back to You” is about carrying a torch for a lost lover, a topic as old as time, Gomez’s song is fresh–a 21st century interpretation–serious but no big emotional moments. Fifty years ago Dusty Springfield look and sound-alike Chris Clark** sang the same sentiment in “I Want To Go Back There Again.”
*Back To You” is on the soundtrack of Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why” (Season 2)
**Chris Clark is an early Boomer, born February 1946, year one of the Baby Boom.