Expectations (song)

"Expectations" is one of the first songs Jauregui wrote while she was in a process of self-exploration and re-evaluation post Fifth Harmony's disbandment.[2][3][4] She premiered the track in June 2018 in São Paulo, Brazil, along with two other songs she wrote, as the opening act for Halsey's Hopeless Fountain Kingdom Tour in Latin America.[2][5] Jauregui said the fans' passionate response to the song when she performed it inspired her to release it.[2] Jauregui later said that she was "putting the final touches" to the song. She gave fans a brief preview of her upcoming single on October 1, 2018 with an 18-second snippet of its video.[6] She said of "Expectations" as her debut solo song: "Just the context of it and the mood of it, I feel like is a really great introduction to the world that I'm about to give people."[4]

Composed in a compound time signature, "Expectations" is a guitar-driven, slow-burning, soulful R&B song.[11] Lyrically, "Expectations" finds Jauregui depicting a relationship state in which her partner does not appear to be responsive.[12] It expresses vulnerable assumptions and the struggle of wanting to change the situation.[7][13] Jauregui said that the record is an "exploration of when you’re in a relationship with someone and you don’t want to have expectations. But they kind of get in the way, regardless".[7] She wrote the song after experiencing something that made her "upset". She went in the studio the following the day and wrote it in about 30 minutes.[4] She also produced the vocals.[14] Jauregui played with double meaning for the single, simultaneously alluding to expectations on her output post-Fifth Harmony.[15]

Billboard editor Gil Kaufman said that in the slow and sultry song, Jauregui's vocals rise into an "urgent moan" on the "pleading" chorus, and the track's "smoky, late night" mood is amplified by its "ripping" blues guitar solo.[7] Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos described the record as "slow burning".[8] The song has "atmospheric strings and sensual beat", and builds up to an "electrifying" guitar solo, wrote Idolator.[12] Paris Close of iHeartRadio described it as a "pensive number" in which Jauregui "purrs with hope on the bluesy chorus".[13] Harper's Bazaar's Erica Gonzales considered "Expectations" a "sultry, stripped down" bluesy guitar record.[16]

Idolator praised the record's instrumentation and "slinky" production, considering the song a "bold moment that is bound to put Jauregui on the right path" as she sounds "utterly at ease and highlights her compelling vocals", delivering "heaps" of personality.[12] Time wrote that Jauregui "makes a soulful statement" in an "R&B mixed with rock 'n' roll" song "that swings and sashays at Jauregui’s deliciously languorous pace" while her lyrical delivery has "plenty of punch".[17] Newsweek called it a "sultry and honest" debut single.[18] Earmilk regarded the song as a proclamation of Jauregui's "ability to stand on her own as both a singer and a songwriter".[19] MTV said the "smoky" song showcases Jauregui's "powerful pipes and marks a clear departure from Fifth Harmony's airy pop material".[4] BBC described the song as "fierce-yet-vulnerable".[2] Harper's Bazaar called the song a "sultry, stripped down departure" and "a strong introduction to Jauregui's next chapter."[16] Stereogum deemed it a "masterclass in tension and release".[20] Uproxx called "Expectations" an "impressive" solo debut in which Jauregui "sounds completely at home" and "more confident and comfortable than ever on her own".[21]

In the preview of the music video, the background features a moody black-and-white clip of Jauregui slowly walking down a dimly lit hall and standing on a bridge as a muffled snippet of the song plays in the background.[6][22] Creatively directed and co-edited by the artist, the video was released on October 24, 2018 with Jauregui portraying two sides of herself.[3][4][7] Jauregui said of her concept for the video: "I wanted to focus in on the duality of existence. The more naïve, young, innocent self, and then the more dominant, sensual, violent self, because they both exist in me, and so they were exploring each other […] and that happened".[23] Billboard said the "moody" music video is a "heartbreaker".[7] Uproxx described the video as "striking" and "setting high expectations for what's to come from Jauregui."[21] MTV wrote that it is a "stunningly sinister visual" that makes a similarly "strong statement" as the song.[4]

On May 6, 2019, Jauregui performed the song live on The Late Late Show with James Corden.[24]