In pop music, there are some artists who show fright when it comes to leaving a comfort zone. If they make it unique and akin to their style, like Dua Lipa’s foray into disco from electropop, it is to be admired; the others push out products of lesser quality in order to have mainstay in relevancy, based on trends. This isn’t necessarily the case on Selena Gomez’s new EP Revelación. She delivers an array of music in Spanish, which is, at times, as hollow as Kevin Bacon in The Hollow Man. Like the film the output is fine, but you just never care for much of it. There are a lot of colorful instrumentals from the production team and some fine features from two of reggaeton young stars, but they aren’t enough for some of the bland vocals from Selena.

Selena Gomez is no stranger to singing in her “ native tongue,” with previous excursions involving stagnant lines here and there, as well as her cover/duet producers mixed together on a rerecording of “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” by Selena. She has shown the ability to flow with rhythm without butchering pronunciations, but her range when singing in English has a more flourished and vibrant sound. Like Rare last year, Selena shows strength as a co-writer on Revelación. This EP isn’t devoid of bland sequences, chorus melodies and source material, but the co-writers on some of the songs help deliver on the overall sonic textures as they mix it all together (save for a mediocre chorus).

On the track “Baila Conmigo,” Selena Gomez  turns on the snooze button consistently with her dull delivery. It makes the track have slight equilibrium since it loses you with Selena, but brings you back with Rauw Alejandro. The other feature/co-lead artist brings unique grandstand moments like Myke Towers smooth and decadent flow on “Dámelo To,” and DJ Snake’s glitzy production on “Selfish Love.” The latter of which, is a phenomenal standout with the tropical percussion and the elegant transitions between Spanish and English. The writing is especially strong on these two, with the additions by co-writers Julia Michaels and Kat Dhalia respectively.

A lot of the co-production is handled by Tainy, whose success and consistent turn out of quality in the reggaeton genre has contributed to the affluent grandeur of the current pop/Billboard chart zeitgeist. Fortunately Selena Gomez only delivers two mediocre vocal deliveries, as it lacks that next level Selena can achieve. “Selfish Love” succeeds by working around her strengths with the melancholic BPM. “Adios,” also stands out as one of the few spanish tracks that has Selena working with her vocal strengths, with the glamourous pop production.

“De Una Vez,” shines as a melancholic latin-pop ballad that continues with beautiful bliss on “Buscando Amor.” The contrasting charm of the production elevates the dance floor with a level percussion pattern. It adds cadence to the range she evokes, which on most of the album doesn’t land as strong on some of the later tracks. 

Selena Gomez opens and ends the Revelación on high notes, with the middle of the pack having too many instances of mediocrity. It’s a solid mark on her career that shows she can take a leap and create different and unique songs in Spanish and grow her artistry more.