Selena Gomez On Writing "Lose You To Love Me," Her Album Title 'Rare' + More!

We are here tonight to celebrate one of the biggest pop stars of our generation. Yeah, her talent, her grace, her perseverance, her strength make her just an incredible role model for women and for everybody really. And we haven't had an album from her in almost five years which we'll have to ask her what the heck's been going on. And of course we are ready to hear what she's been working on. Shall we bring her out? Shall we do this? Let's do it! Selena Gomez, come on out! Selena! Yeah! Oh man. Hi Selena, how you doing? I'm alright, how about you? I'm doing awesome. Let me get to it here. I know I kind of alluded to the first question. Everybody's waving at you. Yeah. It's been... Thank you guys. It's been so long. I love you guys so much. It has been a minute, you know, since four and a half, roughly four and a half years since the last album. What's been going on? What's taken this so long and why is now the right time? Honestly, I think that I've obviously have gone through some stuff and I had moments of being super inspired and throughout the years I would have this patch of time where I would feel like I needed to just say all the nasty things and all the sad things that I needed to get out and then I wouldn't do any more than that. And then throughout the years, I mean, this is what's kind of gotten me through the past four years. Have you been working on this album for basically those four, four and a half years or have you done the bulk of the recording in 2019? No, I actually have kept the recording of the songs that we did from two years ago, three years ago. And I'm really glad that I didn't rush this process. I don't know why. For some reason, it just never felt like it was complete or that I felt like it needed to be out. Every time I'd think about it, I'd get nervous. And then sure enough, in 2019, I had, you know, I had written Lose You To Love Me in the beginning of the year, which I wouldn't have had a few years ago. And then towards the summer, writing Look At Her Now. And in between that, I'd gained so much confidence and understanding of who I am, what I love, what I don't love. I think it was important for me to wait this long. Hey, why did you decide Rare would be the perfect title for the album, aside from it being, you know, the first track? But why Rare as the title? Because Rare is a song that I wish... that I wish I could just actually say personally to every single person. Because I think there's so much going on. And I was actually just having this conversation. It's just so much pressure. And everybody thinks they have to look exactly the same and they have to do these things. And the truth is, you don't. And I felt that way too. I've been guilty of being like, well, maybe should I do that? Maybe I will be... should I get a little of that? And, you know, I just... honestly, it gets in your head. And this song is the opposite of that. It's not a cocky way of saying, I'm like, I'm the sh**. It's more just like, oh, wait, we're on the radio. I'm so sorry. Uh-oh, Selena's cursing. It's a song that says, I know that I don't have it all, but I do know that I deserve something special. And that song is exactly how I feel. I won't tolerate being treated any other way, anyway. Let's talk about the obvious, Lose You To Love Me, your first number one single. How'd that feel? That was pretty awesome. It was kind of surreal. And I mean this in the most sincere way. I never really was one that necessarily cared for the numbers and the charts because I feel like music in general is incredible. And I think there's room for everyone. So I was very surprised. I was very happy. But I think what it meant to me was, oh, I get it. I felt like I had gone through so much and I'd always wonder why I had put myself through that. And then I thought, this is why. I was like, I finally get that this was the broken part and it completed everything I needed. And then I got to share that message with the world, which means they're not alone. And it's hard for anyone to walk through something like that. So, yeah, I was very proud of it. And it was awesome. Wow, yeah. Was there ever, before we go into it, was there ever any hesitation before putting a song that vulnerable out? No. Because I think people had already narrated their own story for me. And if you know me, that's something that frustrates me a lot. So I have no issue with, you know, I choose when I am okay with sharing so much. But the whole point of it was, it was just matter of fact. I wanted people to hear my side of it because I deserve that. Mic drop. I had listening sessions before, Selena, and it's always, I was always, you know, like, what do we do while they're playing the song? Do you and I act like we're having a chat? Do we bob our head? Like, what do we do? This is turning into, like, they're performing for you your music. So there's that. And if you're watching on livexlive.com, and of course, if you're listening on the radio, which I hope you are, you can't see this, but I'll explain it. There's a couple of people in the front that says, we flew from Costa Rica to be right there. So you want to say anything to them from Costa Rica? First off, I already spoke to them back there. So we're homies now, basically. But when I hear people come from everywhere, I know what it takes to get to a place. I love Brazil. And I love Costa Rica. But it means the world to me because I know that it's a hard thing to do. To travel and all of that. And that means the world to me. Your music is everywhere, right? I mean, it's all over the place. We took a family vacay, me and my wife and daughter. We went to Paris and London. Had a great time. And these little tiny cafes were going, these little joints, you know. And sure enough, a radio was playing, or whatever service. And there's your song playing on the radio. I'm like, wow, you have taken over the planet! So there's that. Final question on Lose You To Love Me. Do you consider Lose You To Love Me the most, to date, the most powerful song you've ever written? Hands down. Why is that? Just the emotional attachment, people going through similar things? I just think I stopped being scared. I felt like even in the hardest situations, I found myself protecting people. Even if that means they were hurting me. And I think that's what it means to me. So I don't know. It's pretty simple. I just needed it to be something I had to purge. And I think it helped me feel better and comfortable with myself and not be so afraid to speak out. Lose You To Love Me