Bad Liar (Selena Gomez song)

"Bad Liar" was written by Selena Gomez, Julia Michaels, Justin Tranter, and Ian Kirkpatrick.[5] Its initial inspiration came from the American band Talking Heads of whom Gomez and Michaels are fans. During a session with Gomez and Tranter, Michaels suggested that they should write a song over the bassline of the band's 1977 single "Psycho Killer", specifically interpolating band member Tina Weymouth's riff. The minimal bassline from the song was used as a starting point for "Bad Liar" from which its topline melody developed. In an interview with Variety, Tranter recalled that it was "one of those magical moments where the song just comes together very quickly and felt so good."[6] Warner/Chappell Music executive Greg Sowder played "Bad Liar" to Talking Heads member David Byrne who liked the track and Gomez's vocal performance, and along with Weymouth and Chris Frantz granted permission for it to sample "Psycho Killer".[6][7]

"Bad Liar" has been described as a pop rock song and "slow-build tune",[8][9] that has "roots in indie rock and new wave"[10] and "pushed [Gomez] into indie-pop territory".[11] It begins with a steady beat built around rhythm and the jagged bassline from "Psycho Killer".[12][13] The production is otherwise sparse and textured,[14] featuring percussive snaps and handclaps.[15] Unlike with Gomez's previous single "It Ain't Me" which made use of reverberation and pitch contouring, her voice is restrained and emphasized on "Bad Liar" by being mixed to limit and contain it.[16][17] Her vocals are multitracked to emphasize urgency.[15] With several lines in the song being acrostic and syllable-reliant, Gomez uses a spoken-sung cadence.[12][16] The track is written in verse–chorus form, although it features both a pre-chorus and a post-chorus.[18]

The lyrics find Gomez narrating events of avoiding to admit her feelings for a new love interest, but later conceding that the difficulty of it makes her a "bad liar".[6][12] Upon release, "Bad Liar" was misinterpreted as a break-up song, prompting co-writer Justin Tranter to explain in a tweet, "You got some of the lyrics wrong, and it's actually about trying to hide magic feelings for someone new, but not being able to."[19]

Gomez first teased the single's release on Twitter on May 3, 2017, sharing a link to her website where fans could sign up for updates though a mailing list. On May 5, 2017, a countdown to the release was launched on the website.[20] "Bad Liar" was made available to be pre-saved on Spotify on May 16, 2017.[21] The song's official lyrics were premiered on lyrics website Genius the following day.[22] The singer also shared a short snippet of "Bad Liar" which received over 4.4 million views on Instagram in one day.[23] The single was released to digital and streaming outlets at midnight EST on May 18, 2017.[24][25]

Gomez worked with Canadian photographer Petra Collins for the single's promotional artwork.[26] On May 11, 2017, the singer began sharing a series of images on social media featuring the song's title and lyrics written in lipstick across a bathroom mirror.[27] The following day, Gomez posted the cover art for "Bad Liar" on Twitter. It features the song's title written in red lipstick across Gomez's one thigh as she lies on a bed of rocks in a periwinkle babydoll embroidered with flowers and butterflies.[28][29] Maria Ward of Vogue magazine named Gomez's babydoll "the look of the summer", complimenting its embroidery and "easy, breezy style".[29] An alternative cover art was shared by the singer on Instagram on May 17, 2017, showing her lying down wearing a small gauze bandage, and a yellow fall-risk hospital wristband given to patients who are at risk of falling due to lack of balance and weak muscles. According to Collins, the image was shot straight after Gomez came from hospital for a lupus treatment.[26][30][31] Alex Frank of Pitchfork suggested that it referenced tabloid reaction to the singer's time in rehabilitation.[13] Alex Kazemi of V magazine found the artwork powerful and vulnerable, regarding it as the most controversial imagery of a female singer since Fiona Apple's music video for "Criminal" (1997).[31]

"Bad Liar" received universal acclaim from music critics, with some deeming it Gomez's best song to date.[2] Upon release, "Bad Liar" featured as Pitchfork's "Best New Track" with Alex Frank calling it "a victory for an uncomplicated pop star who makes uncomplicated pop music, and a fizzy fun track that will sound as good all summer".[13] In his review for Rolling Stone, Elias Leight viewed the song as understated, clever and streamlined.[15] Winston Cook-Wilson of Spin magazine found Gomez's vocals pristine and the track "charmingly weird", calling its lyrics and sample usage "harebrained but ultimately brilliant". He appreciated "Bad Liar" for eschewing contemporary radio trends, concluding that it "mostly just sounds like itself, and there's no higher compliment to pay it."[16] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Nolan Feeney opined that Gomez "found her lane, and she's racing full speed ahead to some of the most unexpected pop music of the year."[32]

Jon Caramanica of The New York Times regarded the song among the most signature of Gomez's career, describing it as "deceptively original" and "determinedly anti-glossy, as if early DFA Records had tried to reverse engineer a pop song." Caramanica complimented Gomez's singing technique, writing that she "sings sweetly and with clever approaches to rhythm. She doesn't have much power in her voice, but she makes up for that with smart inflections."[33] Joe Lynch of Billboard called it "one of the best and most refreshing pop songs of 2017 so far" and "an addictive instant classic unlike anything else on the radio."[34] Raisa Bruner of Time magazine wrote the song was a "dramatic departure from [Gomez's] previous work" and "a surprisingly subtle pop song that builds effectively to hit status."[35] In 2019, Rolling Stone ranked "Bad Liar" at number 39 on its list of best songs of the 2010s.[4]

Credits and personnel adapted from Rare album liner notes.[66]

Contains elements of "Psycho Killer", written by Christopher Frantz, Tina Weymouth and David Byrne, published by WB Music Corp.(ASCAP) and Index Music Inc. (ASCAP)