After more than 15 years of making music, Selena Gomez hints at officially retiring from her singing career.
During her recent appearance on the SmartLess podcast with Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes, Gomez admitted to having one more album in her. “I would probably choose acting,” she said when asked about which career she’s focused on. “I am going to want to chill because I’m tired.”
Selena Gomez then said that she wanted to be an actress and never really intended to be a singer full-time. “But apparently that hobby turned into something else,” she continued. “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.”
Along with hinting at music retirement, Gomez reflected on how she started singing to begin with. “I started having a lot of fun with music and then touring was really fun,” she recalled. “But I was doing my TV show [Wizards of Waverly Place] at the same time and I just found it really fun, so I just kept going.”
Selena then said her goals have changed as she aged. “But the older I get, the more I’m kind of like, I would like to find something to just settle on,” she continued.
Selena Gomez pointed out that her interest in music started while she was starring on Dinsey Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place. “Disney is, it’s safe to say, a machine,” Selena said about her former employer. “And, in a way, forcefully requires that I know how to sing so I could sing the theme song [of a show]. They know how to package someone and make it a whole triple threat thing.”
Selena Gomez Opens Up About Seeking Mental Health Help After ‘Overworking’ Herself
Along with discussing potential music retirement, Selena Gomez spoke about how she received mental health help after overworking.
“I went to a mental institute and canceled one of my tours,” Gomez said. “It just got to me because I love working and it distracts me from bad things.”
Selena Gomez spoke about her mental health struggles in Oct. 2023. Her “darkest days” inspired her first annual Rare Impact Fund Benefit. “I struggled with the world inside my head for a long time,” she explained at the time. “And I felt lost and I felt hopeless at times. And in 2020, I received my diagnosis of bipolar disorder.”
Gomez explained that the diagnosis changed everything quickly. “I actually got the knowledge and the answers that I had been desperate for for so long. And understanding that obviously makes me become more aware of it and I’m less afraid than I used to be.”