Selena Gomez graces the April 2021 cover of Vogue, where the multi-platinum singer opened up about potentially retiring from her musical career.
At 28, Gomez has three Billboard 200 No. 1 albums, 18 Teen Choice Awards (making her the fifth-most awarded artist), more than 5 billion U.S. song streams (per MRC Data), and 215 million Instagram followers (and was at one point the most-followed person on the platform). Her influence is far and wide reaching since her Barney and Wizards of Waverly Place days, but the multi-hyphenate star believes there are still people who don’t take her seriously — and it’s making her rethink her continued trajectory in the music industry.
“It’s hard to keep doing music when people don’t necessarily take you seriously,” Gomez said during her cover story interview, which was published online Tuesday (March 9). “I’ve had moments where I’ve been like, ‘What’s the point? Why do I keep doing this?’ ‘Lose You to Love Me’ I felt was the best song I’ve ever released, and for some people it still wasn’t enough. I think there are a lot of people who enjoy my music, and for that I’m so thankful, for that I keep going, but I think the next time I do an album it’ll be different. I want to give it one last try before I maybe retire music.”
“Lose You to Love Me,” the lead single from her third studio album Rare, is her first and only No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, where she had been notching hits for an entire decade prior to reaching this milestone. Frequent collaborators and acclaimed songwriters Justin Tranter and Julia Michaels helped capture her autobiographical heartbreak in the ballad.
“Once I stopped, and accepted my vulnerability, and decided to share my story with people — that’s when I felt release,” the singer told Vogue.
But she wants to hone in on sharing other aspects of her talent with the world, paying more attention to producing and giving herself “a real shot at acting.” She’s currently filming her upcoming Hulu series Only Murders in the Building with Steve Martin and Martin Short. Gomez was also tapped for the In the Shadow of the Mountain biopic about Peruvian mountaineer and social entrepreneur Silvia Vásquez-Lavado. With her production company July Moon Productions, the star is also producing the upcoming horror thriller film Dollhouse.
While a fourth album might be Gomez’s “one last try” before seriously considering retirement, her fans have her Spanish-language EP Revelación to look forward to on Friday (March 12). The seven-song project includes previously released singles “Baila Conmigo” featuring Puerto Rican rapper/singer Rauw Alejandro and “De Una Vez.” Gomez also enlisted DJ Snake on “Selfish Love,” and Puerto Rican rapper/singer Myke Towers on “Dámelo To,” on top of the remaining tracks “Buscando Amor,” “Vicio,” and “Adios.”
