“That’s so not my personality,” Gomez told The Wall Street Journal of her 2013 hit “Come & Get It,” a song originally written for Rihanna. Gomez herself readily admits that much of her previous music didn’t sound like her. At one point a few years back, Gomez was reportedly in talks to have her own reality show it never happened but the idea feels right. She is chill and casual, she speaks like she’s talking to a friend. Her posts still feel unscripted and a little loose - in her stories, she often speaks directly to her followers, talking about her nervousness about her album launch, or how excited she is for an event. Gomez is currently the fifth most-followed person on the app, surpassing even the Kardashians. And people responded - as her 165 million Instagram followers prove. There was often a reality-show feeling to her posts.
Gomez could frequently be seen in videos online that showed her goofing around (think: the home movie that made “ Call Me Maybe” ubiquitous), or doing choreographed dances in sweatpants with her friends. The image she put forth was a little raw, a little messy, a tousled bun, not a polished up-do. (The same cannot be said for Bieber.) She talked about how much she loved junk food, her beloved baby sisters, her devoted mom. Even as their relationship evolved into a tabloid fairy tale, Gomez stayed relatable. What pushed Gomez to the pop culture fore was her romance with Justin Bieber, which started in 2010 and is still being analyzed ad nauseam a decade later. She isn’t the best singer, or the finest actress her voice can be weak, but her casual charisma never fails to draw you in. Indeed, where the longevity of Gomez’ fame seems to generate its power is in the unique overlap of celebrity and entertainment. Before long, Gomez was known as much for who she was as what she made. Gomez’s movies were largely unmemorable ( “Monte Carlo,” anyone?) and her band Selena Gomez & the Scene was forgettable too, but her personality and her personal life always made waves. She remained a constant on television for nearly 10 years after that, starring on the Disney Channel’s “ The Wizards of Waverly Place.” Disney crafted Gomez a pop career, they cast her in movies, and they employed their notorious celebrity making formula that sometimes works (and sometimes doesn’t). Gomez has been famous for most of her life - first gracing television screens on “ Barney & Friends” at 10 years old.