Talking to Selena Gomez, who’s not just a pop star, but a BOSS.
“She’s exhausted,” her manager tells me. Even though she’s ahead of schedule, everything is still a little frantic. Her new album, Revival, debuted at number one, and two singles are sitting comfortably in the top 20. She’s already done four interviews by the time she gets to me, and though she seems genuinely happy to chat, there’s a bit of a darkness following her.
She’s been up since at least 5:30 a.m. and in this building filled with lights and cameras since 7 a.m.
When she sits down on the couch for our interview, she’s fidgety. The lights have to be moved higher. Her microphone cord is bothering her. She adjusts her knitted dress to sit flush with her skin, and pulls her mane of hair around and over her shoulders. When she blinks, her eyelashes seem eight miles long. Around her, a dozen people move quickly to get the camera in place. They are asking her questions rapidly, with a kind of rushed importance. She nods. She shakes her head. Things change.
Someone asks her for a mic check and she brightens. She looks away from her entourage of people and at the camera and smiles. It’s a full smile and the happiest she’s looked since she started getting settled. “One, two, three, four,” she says in a monotone before lifting her voice into a sing-songy progression, “hi, hiiiii.”
Somewhere a switch flips. Suddenly, Selena Gomez doesn’t look exhausted at all. She looks at me and in that same sing-songy voice says “all riiiight,” and her crowd of people behind me hush.
“There’s just a huge difference from being famous and being successful,” Selena tells me. “I’ve been working since I was 7. I’ve never had anything handed to me.”
She’s not famous, you see. Selena Gomez is a success story.
Selena Gomez worked hard. At only 23 years old, she’s already been working for 16 years.
Selena found opportunities and seized them. In 2002, at age 10, she joined Barney & Friends, working long days to film episodes and honing her ability to act and sing. She had cameo appearances on Disney shows. She took minor roles on movies. By the time she landed her breakthrough role on Wizards of Waverly Place, Selena already had an IMDB credit list a mile long. “I’ve constantly worked my whole life, and that’s how I wanted it,” she told me.
At 16 years old, she signed a five album contract with Hollywood Records, a pop music label owned by Disney.
But from her business decisions after Stars Dance, it’s obvious that she wasn’t really happy. To get out of her contract with Hollywood Records, Selena released a greatest hits album in 2014 titled For You. It had 15 songs on it, but only one of them was new: “The Heart Wants What it Wants.”
But the timing of the song’s release wasn’t what Selena wanted. “”The Heart Wants What it Wants” was supposed to be on Stars Dance—fun fact,” she told me.
There’s a hint of bitterness in her voice. In our conversation, she doesn’t talk a lot about her previous album and her experience with The Scene—and at the same time, she cannot stop talking about it. Everything she says about her new album Revival is a comparison. Before Revival, no one asked Selena what she wanted. No one cared what ideas she had. “[Revival] was the first time somebody just kind of looked and me and were like, ‘All right, so what do you wanna do?'” she tells me.
Someone should have asked sooner, because it’s obvious Selena knew exactly what she wanted all along.
“I really wanted to be able to go into the studio and talk about stuff. And just—the moment I went in, I would say that to people. I would be like, “here’s where I am.” I don’t really wanna work with anybody who doesn’t wanna work with me.”
Selena Gomez won’t be discounted. She executive produced this album. She wrote six songs for it. She chose which songs made the album and which ones didn’t. “There were a lot of songs that they were probably not happy that I maybe didn’t want,” she laughs. “But that was the point.”
“If I’m like, maybe I’m not happy with that, they’re like, you made the decision,” she tells me. “That’s what you have to do. I think that’s what I needed. I didn’t need any excuses. I needed to really kind of get my **** together.”
“I’m a lot more honest, when it comes to my music,” she says. “I’m unapologetic about my work. Nothing I do is going to be perfect, but I think I’m able to understand that and as long as I have a healthy perspective on it, that’s all that matters.”
“The biggest thing before is—I would feel embarrassed to ask questions, because then I would feel like, maybe I’m not smart, and maybe I won’t know what I’m talking about.” It was imposter syndrome, and it kept her from speaking up when she wanted to. But now, Selena says, things are different. “I’m like why are you doing that? Says who? Why? Tell me this, this, and this.”
Selena Gomez isn’t taking orders anymore; she’s giving them.
Some member of her staff has arrived to help her get up from the couch gracefully. I stand up, too, and extend my hand for a handshake, but she ignores it, swerving around my outstretched arm and wrapping her arms around me in an entirely unexpected—but not unwanted—hug.
That’s the thing about Selena Gomez. She’s authentic, and vulnerable, and honest. But she’s also the ****ing boss.
Another proof HWR sucks as a label & knows nothing about music. They didnt want [her #6 peaking hit] The Heart on Stars Dance and they didnt let any of her own [self written] songs on the album. I remember when that radio host said they even had doubts about Come & Get It and asked DJs about it.
Glad she makes all the decisions now with her music & tv/movies. Interscope & WME are GREAT with her, doing whatever she wants to do.
THWWIW doesn't fit the concept of SD, so I understand that decision.
It was better to save it for a bigger purpose opposed to wasting it as a Target bonus track or something.
Yall do realize her concept for her 4th album might of not been what Stars Dance is & The Heart is not the only song they didnt like. And who said she wanted The Heart to be a bonus track? 0_0
I think she wanted to do something like Revival/GFY/The Heart with them, but as she says they didnt care for her ideas or let her songs on the album. So she left and found someone who wants to hear her ideas. And with good reason.
There's more to the article, if anyone's interested.
it must eb frustrating to be with HWR since most popstar that were signed with them before never say anything nice about them and are always in a rush to be released/never sign with them again.
This was such a good read. Even though I love Stars Dance, I can only imagine how much better it would have been if Selena had the creative control she wanted for it. When you compare interviews from the Stars Dance era to the Revival era, it's obvious that she is so much happier now than she was then. And yes, her personal life wasn't the best during that time but it's obvious she's so much more proud of this album than that one or any of her others. Hollywood Records are truly a terrible label.
This was such a good read. Even though I love Stars Dance, I can only imagine how much better it would have been if Selena had the creative control she wanted for it. When you compare interviews from the Stars Dance era to the Revival era, it's obvious that she is so much happier now than she was then. And yes, her personal life wasn't the best during that time but it's obvious she's so much more proud of this album than that one or any of her others. Hollywood Records are truly a terrible label.
She just let them do whatever they want with the album so she can be done. Knowing the next one will be a compilation. Interscope CEO did say they were in talks ever since Spring Breakers tot alk about her future...
She just let them do whatever they want with the album so she can be done. Knowing the next one will be a compilation. Interscope CEO did say they were in talks ever since Spring Breakers tot alk about her future...
Yeah, it's obvious that a compilation album was planned and that explains why she said it was her "last album for a while." during that particular time.
Yeah, it's obvious that a compilation album was planned and that explains why she said it was her "last album for a while." during that particular time.
And everyone thought she was giving up, when she was planning ahead.
It hit HWR hard. Gotta love her.
it's nice to see her get credit where credit is due 
