Selena Gomez did her first in-depth interview of 2019 and she did not hold back. The 26-year-old pop star touched on a wide variety of personal topics, including therapy, shedding her Disney persona, and why she struggles with social media. Selena has been laying low recently, but she also made sure to assure her fans that new music is coming very soon.
When it comes to Selena's public persona, she's conscious of the fact that some people think she's PR-trained. "I always say this and maybe I repeated it too much, but I donât really think people know my heart because I think that sometimes people may think that I politically say the right thing or Iâm safe or Iâve been trained to speak this way. I donât know how to be trained, like how on earth would someone be training me to speak things?" she explained.
She also opened up about how "there came a point in my life where I just started not to care" so much about her persona and how she's perceived by the public. "Obviously my situation is different and very weird but when I was younger, I was exposed to all of this [fame]. It was just all these pictures and all the things and all I would do is look at the flaws" she said. "It is hard. And I think that you kind of create this other persona of yourself and then when I started going through real, really difficult things, it just allowed me to have worth, to know that Iâm worthy and that I am who I am. And who is that? And do I like that person? I think that itâs important for me. I donât want to be anything thatâs a show or a persona. I just donât."
The "Back to You" singer likes to keep her fans in the loop, too, often telling them when she's planning on taking a social media hiatus. Selena disappears from social media often because it's "not that healthy to be on it all the time." She went on to say that she "noticed with me, I got kind of depressed looking at these people who look beautiful and amazing, and it would just get me down a lot so I just think taking breaks is really important."
"But just know that most of it isnât real. And I hate to say that, I donât mean to be rude, but itâs very unrealistic in a lot of ways, and I think that for me, I want to protect the youngest generation because they are exposed to so much information, and I feel like that causes a lot of anxiety at the youngest age," she continued. "Like, I didnât grow up with that. I had dial-up internet. I think that sometimes people are exposed to too much, and you should really protect what youâre seeing and be mindful, be really mindful of how it makes you feel."
Selena isn't afraid to speak about her experience with therapy, either. She often encourages her friends to try it, as well. "I am a believer of therapy....I wish I could have done a lot of things and experienced things maybe a little differently [when I was younger]. But I go to therapy," Selena said in the interview with a laugh. She cites therapy as the reason she now understands herself, as well as her childhood in the spotlight, much better.
Though she's a big proponent of trying therapy, Selena also knows it can be difficult at first. "Itâs just hard. One of my friends asked you know, I want to start going to therapy, [and I said,] 'Itâs good, just tell me how your first experience goes.' And sheâs like, 'I donât really know, and I just didnât really like it.' And I said to her, 'You have to just give it a month because you canât go in and do that, and itâs hard for people to open up.' But I think that itâs just one of the most important things to get to know yourself. Not saying everyone in the world has to do itâŚbut I do think that itâs helped me understand myself and my childhood a lot better," she said.
As for what she's looking forward to this year? Like her fans, Selena is excited for her upcoming album. "I'm looking forward to my album and I'm looking forward to spending time alone," she said. "I think I'm finally, finally, finally at the age where I love being alone."
Selena also revealed her album will have "no collaborations on it." She said "working on this new record, I just wanted it to be me, all me. Every song is a story Iâve experienced. To that point, I think thereâs no one whoâs going to tell my story better than myself. I just really wanted to kind of just live with my story a bit and create it into something that means a lot to me."
Who else can't wait to hear Selena's new album?
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