Selena Gomez and the Scene are back with their third full-length album in three years titled ‘When The Sun Goes Down’. Lead single from the album ‘Who Says’ was written by Priscilla Renea and Emmanuel Kiriakou, with the latter also producing the track. The song was released on March 14^th 2011. At first, Gomez intended to wait until the release of the album, but wanted to put the album together after hearing ‘Who Says’. According to Gomez, the song was intended to inspire people, and fire back at haters, particularly those involved in cyber bullying. ‘Who Says’ marks a distinct departure in sound for the band, as it has an acoustic and organic feel , compared to their dance-pop and club-orientated singles previous to this album. It is a teen pop number with inspirational lyrics that are about embracing yourself and not letting anyone else bring you down. The song received positive reviews from critics, who appreciated its message and change of pace. ‘Who Says’ was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The song’s music video features Gomez going around a city, removing make-up and performing with the band on the beach. The band have performed the song numerous times. Due to the comments made by Gomez, critics said that the song’s inspiration was partly due to the attention she received with boyfriend Justin Bieber.

As part of the iTunes Countdown to When The Sun Goes Down, a Spanish language version of the song ‘Who Says’, called ‘Dices’, was available for download on Monday 13^th June, following the release of single ‘Bang Bang Bang’ the week before. The song was produced by Edgar Cortazar. Also on the album, Britney Spears co-wrote a song called ‘Whiplash’ and Katy Perry wrote ‘That’s More Like It’.

by Liam Sellick