The Heart Wants What It Wants

"The Heart Wants What It Wants"
Single by Selena Gomez
from the album For You
Released	November 6, 2014 (2014-11-06)
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2014
Genre	Pop
Length	3:47
Label	Hollywood
Writer(s)	Antonina Armato Tim James Selena Gomez David Jost[1][2]
Producer(s)	Rock Mafia
Selena Gomez singles chronology
"Slow Down" (2013) "The Heart Wants What It Wants" (2014) "I Want You to Know" (2015) Music video "The Heart Wants What It Wants" on YouTube

"The Heart Wants What It Wants" is a song by American recording artist Selena Gomez from her 2014 compilation album For You. It was released on November 6, 2014 by Hollywood Records as the lead single from the record. It was written and produced by Antonina Armato and Tim James, who collectively form the production duo Rock Mafia; additional songwriting was provided by Selena Gomez and David Jost.^[2][3] A mid-tempo pop track with minimal electropop and trip hop beats^[4] as well as R&B influences, its accompanying music video was premiered on November 6, 2014, alongside the premiere of the song itself.^[5][6]

Background and release

Gomez said about the song, "And it's also a step for me knowing like, 'Ok, this is what I'm about to say, and I need to say it when I'm ready' [...] And I think after this year, it's the perfect way to end the year, it's the perfect way to end a chapter in a way. It's like, this is what I'll say about every single person that has judged me for every decision that I've made, for every person, [and] heart that is being judge for something they've done, and now I just want to release it," Gomez stated in an interview with Ryan Seacrest on 102.7 KIIS FM during the world premiere of "The Heart Wants What It Wants."^[7] In its first day on radio, the song had a listening audience of 10.061 million.^[8]

Reception

Critical reception

	"The Heart Wants What It Wants" A 22-second sample of "The Heart Wants What It Wants" by Selena Gomez, where the chorus is heard.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The song received critical acclaim by critics for its lyrics, production, vocals and new direction, compared to Gomez's previous efforts. Lucas Villa of AXS favorably compared "The Heart Wants What it Wants" to the music of Lana Del Rey for Gomez's use of "trip hop beats, guitar and distorted Emile Haynie-styled yelps" alongside her "darkest" lyrics yet. He further wrote that the song "stands as a heartbreaking revelation in her five-year-old songbook, one that's vulnerably beautiful and unapologetically honest."^[9] Tim Sendra of Allmusic highlighted the song and praised it by calling it "very adult and real-sounding" and adding that "she acquits herself well here too."^[10] Popology Now called this song "emotionally charged."^[11]

Idolater praised the song: "The Rock Mafia-produced gem shows the former teen queen in an entirely new light. There’s a vulnerability we haven’t seen before as Selena sings about the dark-side of her very own fairytale with palpable honesty and conviction" and the editor called it the selling point of an album and added that if Selena follows this direction, many hits will be coming for her.^[12] The Times of India editor Kasmin Fernandes added that this song shows her in an "entirely new light."^[13] Renowned for Sound was also positive: "smooth dose of pop with a second guessing love storyline."^[14] When reviewing single, Music Times concluded: "Emotional song channels Justin Bieber drama but is still stunning on its own."^[15]

Commercial performance

The same day of its release, "The Heart Wants What It Wants" reached number two on the US iTunes; single "Ready to Run" One Direction avoided its arrival at first place. Mediabase reported that on its first day the single received a radio audience of over 10 million, making the means to compare its radio debut with the "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus, who debuted with four million less. Also in its debut it reached number one on the Billboard Twitter Real-Time list, which tracks the most mentioned and shared on Twitter songs.

During its first week, "The Heart Wants What It Wants" sold 102,000 digital copies in the United States, which allowed it to debut at number six in the list Digital Songs. These sales gave Gomez her second best debut on the list, after "Who Says" with her band Selena Gomez & the Scene, which debuted with 116,000 copies. The Billboard Hot 100 list, which combines the single's digital sales, plus its performance on the radio and streaming, debuted at number twenty-five; the best entry of the week. In Streaming Songs it debuted at number thirty-seven because it received 3.1 million streams. Thanks to her performance at the American Music Awards on November 23, 2014, Gomez got her second top 10 in Billboard Hot 100, and it reached number six; same position obtained by "Come & Get It" in May 2013. The week after its introduction, the song sold 136,000 copies and reached number five on Digital Songs, since it had a 98% increase in downloads compared to the previous week. Simultaneously, it reached the fifth position in Streaming Songs and debuted at number forty-two on Radio Songs. In the latter, managed to position itself as her second top ten, again behind "Come & Get It". In the counting of Pop Songs, based on the level of airplay that songs receive in the United States, "The Heart Wants What It Wants" became Gomez's third top 10 single in her solo carrer and her third consecutive single that make it to the first ten. On the other hand, in late January 2015, the song debuted on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart, marking the most popular songs in the dance clubs of the United States.

In Canada it also achieved the best debut in its first week, at number nine. This automatically turned "The Heart Wants What It Wants" Gomez's third top 10 in the country and her second best positioned single after "Come & Get It" which peaked at number six followed by "Love You like a Love Song", which reached the tenth position. Weeks later "The Heart Wants What It Wants" equaled the position of "Come & Get It" in the Canadian territory.

Live performances

Gomez performed the single for the first time at the 2014 American Music Awards.^[16] In her presentation, Gomez wore a skin-colored dress, and the background consisted of images as dark lights, thorns, roses, broken glass and wings appeared behind her on the screen. At the end of her performance, the singer added the phrase "I thought you were the one...".

Caitlin White from MTV described the visuals as "amazing" and said: "It is a more mature song for Selena, but one that almost everyone in the audience could relate, given the intense and emotional response public '. After her presentation at the American Music Awards, the song went to number one on the Billboard Twitter Real-Time, position it had occupied in its release.

Music video

The music video was filmed in black and white and directed by Dawn Shadforth over a year before its release.^[17] The video received over nine million views in its first 24 hours. Actor Shiloh Fernandez appears in the music video as Gomez's love interest.^[8] The UK edition of the International Business Times called the video "emotionally charged".^[18] The video has received over 100,000,000 views and was Vevo certified before the end of 2014. It currently has over 215,000,000 views on Youtube, with over 225,000,000 on Vevo.

Awards and nominations

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

External links

• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics