I
T JUST TOOK ME A COUPLE
years to get through some
shit,” says Selena Gomez,
27, who has been open
about the personal hardships
that caused the longest
album hiatus in her career: a kidney
transplant, battles with anxiety and
depression, and public breakups
with Justin Bieber and The Weeknd.
Yet Gomez continued collecting
hits during the break, including
“Bad Liar,” “Back to You” and the
Marshmello team-up “Wolves,”
which all hit the top 20 of the
Billboard Hot 100. Gomez’s steady
singles output was “a smart strategy
in today’s streaming world, and
it allowed her to experiment with
different genres,” says Interscope
chairman/CEO John Janick. But
Rare, her first album since 2015’s
Revival, is a more fine-tuned,
rhythmic pop collection that focuses
on Gomez’s personal difficulties.
Rare was preceded by “Lose You to
Love Me,” a ballad about finding self-
acceptance after being emotionally
wounded. The lead single became
Gomez’s first No. 1 song on the
Hot 100, and is now the centerpiece
of a project the singer says is “one
of the greatest things that has ever
happened to me.”
“Lose You to Love Me” indicated
that Rare was going to be a
revealing project, but it’s even
more personal than expected.
I used to be terrified of saying
anything. I would find myself
protecting people that never
protected me or cared for me. I was
just done being silent, and I felt like
I deserved to have a moment for
myself, after going through so much,
and throwing that all into this album.
I think I got to a place of, “This is
what I’m going to do and I’m not
going to be afraid of it.”
You’ve spoken about becoming
more forthcoming in the studio —
even with close collaborators like
Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter.
I had people around me that were
my partners through all of it, and
specifically with Justin and Julia, they
have become my family; they’re able
to bring out the best in me. I had a
say in production, in how I wanted
everything to be put together,
melodies — [I was] more involved
than I’ve ever been before.
Were any parts of this album
difficult to record or listen back
to now?
I didn’t want to be triggered by the
same things — I wanted to get out
what I was feeling, and then I wanted
to celebrate it. When I wrote “Lose
You to Love Me,” I was kind of a
mess. And by the time we shot the
music video at the end of the year, it
had a completely different meaning,
and it was so freeing. It was actually
fun for me, because I let it go.
You were working on this album
until the very last minute. Are
you already thinking about
creating more music?
There’s so much that I feel great
about as far as other songs that
didn’t make the album. I’m not
going to stop, which is a first for
me. Usually once I’ve completed
a project, I feel OK with putting it
down for a while, but I think I’m
going to continue, and perhaps
[plan] some side projects with
music. I have all these different
goals, and I’m in the happiest place
I’ve ever been in my life — and I say
that with such conviction. So I think
the possibilities are endless.
LOOK AT HER NOW
How Selena Gomez emerged from a five-year album hiatus as her happiest self
BY JASON LIPSHUTZ
Q
&
AGOMEZ:ASHLEY^OSBORN.^ M
ETZ:CHRISPIZZELLO/INVISION/AP^ IMAGES.IN LATE 2018, UNIVERSAL MUSIC
Group Nashville (UMGN) president
Cindy Mabe flew to Los Angeles to see
a private screening of the April 2019
faith-drama Breakthrough, hoping to
land her artist Carrie Underwood’s
“Love Wins” a spot on the soundtrack.
But after the screening, Mabe had a
new goal: to sign the film’s lead, Chrissy
Metz (who also stars in the hit NBC se-
ries This Is Us) to a recording contract.
Mabe recalls being blown away by
Metz’s performance — especially her
delivery of the Diane Warren-penned
track “I’m Standing With You.” Says
Mabe, “I knew that music was Chrissy’s
first love, and that this could be a natu-
ral progression. She connects to human
beings like no one else.”
Prior to meeting with Mabe, Metz
had been flying between Los Angeles
and Nashville for two years (on her own
dime), trying to launch her music career.
But on Jan. 13, Metz officially signed to
UMGN. Prior to closing the deal, Mabe
arranged for Metz to lead a powerful
rendition of the Breakthrough ballad
alongside now labelmates Underwood,
Lauren Alaina, Maddie & Tae and Mickey
Guyton at the Academy of Country
Music Awards last April, just weeks
before the film’s release.
Mabe says there was competition
among labels to sign the singer-actress,
but Metz assures that UMGN was always
the front-runner for her, saying, “The
genuine care, expertise and love for their
respective positions was inspiring. Devel-
oping connections on common ground
felt natural from the beginning.”
The two-time Golden Globe nominee
— who cites Otis Redding, Mavis Staples
and Stevie Nicks as just a few of her
biggest sources of inspiration — is now
gearing up to release her debut country
album later in 2020. And while she can’t
share many details about the forthcom-
ing project yet, Metz teases that it’ll
be “vulnerable, firsthand storytelling
about loss, grief, personal growth and
understanding.” Adds Mabe: “I’m excited
for the little girl in her that was told she
could never do this, to see her dreams
come true.” —JOSH GLICKSMAN
SIGNED
Chrissy Metz
LABEL (^) UNIVERSAL MUSIC
GROUP NASHVILLE
Metz onstage
at the ACM
Awards in 2019.
Gomez
60 BILLBOARD • JANUARY 25, 2020