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Selena Gomez toyed with the idea of retiring from music in 2021 and backtracked. Now, less than three years later, she is talking about leaving the industry behind again. The singer and actress appeared on Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett’s SmartLess podcast, where she discussed why she wants to stick to acting in the future.
“I started having a lot of fun with music and then touring was really fun. But I was doing my TV show at the same time [Wizards of Waverly Place], and I just found it really fun so I just kept going but the older I get, the more I’m kind of like, I would like to find something to just settle on,” she started, via Deadline.
Part of it is to manage workload, she added, revealing that “I went to a mental institute and canceled one of my tours,” because of the amount of work and pressure attached to being a pop star. “It just got to me because I love working, and it distracts me from bad things.”
There will still be at least one new album, Gomez revealed, one that she has been teasing for quite some time. “I do feel like I have one more album in me, but I would probably choose acting [if asked to pick between it and music],” she said. When the hosts pointed out that she doesn’t need to pick and can do both, she replied, “You’re right, but I am going to want to chill because I’m tired.”
Gomez spoke on the podcast about how she got into singing after doing the theme song for her Disney Channel show Wizards of Waverly Place. “Disney is, it’s safe to say, a machine and, in a way, forcefully require that I know how to sing so I could sing the theme song [of a show],” she said. “They know how to package someone and make it a whole triple threat thing.”
She shared that she never intended to be a singer initially, but thought making an album would be fun when Disney gave her the option. “I don’t think I’m the best singer, but I do know how to tell stories and I love being able to make songs,” she shared.
Previously, Gomez watered down her comments about retiring from music in her September 2021 interview with ELLE.
“I don’t think I’ll ever quit making music,” she said then, adding that she still felt the need to prove herself in that particular category. “I’m not saying I want a Grammy. I just feel like I’m doing the best I can, and it’s all about me. Sometimes, that can really get to me.”
She went on to say that, for her, music is personal, especially compared to acting, where you are playing a part. By performing and writing songs, “you’re pouring yourself out,” she said.
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.