Selena Gomez Says She Felt Pressured to 'Show Skin' During 'Revival' Era

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credit: @selenagomez/Instagram

Selena Gomez recently reflected on the making of her latest hit album Rare and how it empowered her to take control of her career.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Selena explained how she was the most involved with the creation of Rare compared to her past albums. She said,

“I think that becoming more involved than I ever have been [in the making of the album] helped me gain confidence and empowered me completely. I took control over what I was going to say, what I was going to do.”

Selena wrote the album with close friends and collaborators Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter, who she says have “become family.”

 

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In addition to being more involved in the writing process, Selena also took control of her album’s release schedule. She said,

“I did not have my team or my A&R or my label in the process a lot. I controlled what was being sent.”

She added,

“It was my idea to release ‘Lose You to Love Me‘ and ‘Look at Her Now’ [back-to-back]. They were kind of nervous about it because they didn’t want to take away from either song. I knew from the get-go that ‘Lose You to Love Me’ was going to be the bigger song because I just felt it in my heart.”

Selena may finally have the confidence to dictate her career, but things weren’t always that way.

In her recent interview with Allure, she revealed that during her Revival era, she felt pressured to do things that “weren’t really me.” She explained,

“There was pressure to seem more adult on my album, Revival. [I felt] the need to show skin… I really don’t think I was [that] person.”

 

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But that was five years ago. And now that Sel is back in the public eye, she’s in full control. Not only has she taken full control over her music, but she’s also become more confident in speaking out on political issues like police brutality, immigration, and gun control.

She’s even become more confident in her love life, as evident by the songs on Rare. She previously told Apple Music,

“Now I have expectations [in relationships] where it’s like, if I were to do to this or if I were to give you, are you strong enough, are you capable of being someone that’s going to be in my life?”

I’m personally thrilled to see Selena Gomez finally realize her worth and actually act on it. She’s way too talented to let other people run her life.

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Lena Finkel
Lena Finkel is the Editor and Founder of Femestella and The Feminist Health Source. Prior to starting Femestella, she worked at People, InStyle, Tiger Beat, and Sesame Workshop (aka Sesame Street). She loves all things Real Housewives and The Challenge. When she's not busy binge-watching TV, you can find her taking an absurd amount of photos of her tuxedo cat Tom.