Selena Gomez has spoken for years about the future of her music career as she prioritizes acting projects. With her next album indefinitely on hold, she revisited the topic again during her Actors on Actors discussion for Variety with Saoirse Ronan.
Ronan asked Gomez about her other “persona” as a musician. Gomez first differentiated her work in musical films from her discography as a pop artist. She said, “I love storytelling, and my music career is separate.” She then made it clear that her music career has an expiration date: “I don’t see that being a forever thing.”
She explained, “I’ll always have music in my life because my partner’s a musician [her boyfriend, Benny Blanco, is a producer], and I love having moments to do it for fun. It can be a little vulnerable when you’re putting yourself out there versus escaping into a character.”
Later in the discussion, Gomez reflected on her talent as a singer and actress. “I definitely think my strong suit is probably acting,” she admitted. “But one thing I’m proud of in music is being able to tell a story—my favorite songs are mostly ballads, and they’re very transparent and honest. But I think I might be a little too old for the pop-star life. I’m genuinely so happy to just be in this new era of my life, because in a lot of ways, it’s just the beginning.”
Gomez last addressed her music in October. She told Variety, “I currently don’t have anything [in the works], but I will say music is going to always be a part of me. So I don’t think any movements are happening right now, but it will always be in my life.”