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Episode #524 · Selena GomezJune 2013 · 00:07:19
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0:00Hi, I'm Selena Gomez and you're watching MSN exclusive. Thanks so much for coming up here. Of course, thanks for having me. Appreciate it. Thanks. So, new record. Yes, of course. I just heard snippets of it. I know. It's really nice though. It's all over the place. Like, it's musically, it's all over the map. Exactly. We got tunes that are like reggae, there was one that I wrote, like a Ke$ha kind of like, heartbeat, and there's the pop songs, obviously the singles and stuff.
0:46Yes. So, maybe we'll start by talking about wanting to diversify the sound of, and making every track literally their own. I actually appreciate that observation because that's exactly... That's what I'm here for. That's exactly what I wanted it to be. You know, I actually had never really had an opportunity to go into a studio and spend so much time working on a record. Before, I was doing my TV show and then I'd have to tour on the weekends, so I literally would go in, record a song, and then it would be on the record. And with this one, I got to go in, I actually would call the producers and writers and explain to them what I was listening to, what I was feeling, what I wanted it to sound like. So, I kind of had a couple of influences that for sure inspired me. And you're right, every single track on the record has their own individual style.
1:34And I think that's so cool because I love all types of music. I love all types of genre. It's interesting the way it starts. There's some moaning at the beginning. Which one? The first song on the record. Birthday. Don't know the titles. No one told me the titles. Just heard the record. Is it called... Okay, that exclusive. Birthday. Yeah, you say birthday in a lot. But that's a very mature progression sonically to add those kind of moaning sounds, as opposed to being the Disney person you've been known to be over the years. Sure, but I'm not necessarily... It's not a bad thing. Yeah, no, of course. No, I think it's more me being able to experiment. You know, going into the booth and actually having the confidence of being like, all right, let me try this. Let me see if this works. Messing around with melodies or just harmonies or as you say moaning.
2:21Well, that's what it is, isn't it? I guess that's the right term for it in a way. But yeah, no, I think in a way I really was able to just play. And that was fun for me to do. How much time did it take? You said you had spent more time in the studio. About six months. Oh, that is a long time. So when you're sitting down with these writers, I mean, Esther Dean is... She seems to be the queen of pop music right now, right? And she wrote the single. She's just killing it, yes. So when you sit down with Esther to write a song, does she give you the tune or do you sit down with her and say, here's what I'm thinking. Can we go this way? I don't like these words. Well, actually, we did reach out to her because I wanted obviously, because I did want to work with her, who wouldn't want to work with her. And when she thought of me, she actually had this song. So she sent it to me and it was so different. I hadn't heard anything like that before. And I thought it was very smart of her for, or and polite, that she gave that to me.
3:11Because it is a different feel for me. And it is a different feel that's on the radio in a way that has that tribal, that urban feel to it. So I was super stoked. And then I went in, I recorded it. I let her have the song. She kind of gave me some of her notes. And then we went back and fixed it up a little bit more. And then that was the single. Cool. And the next single, you just shot a video for. I did. In Paris. I know. In France. That was pretty awesome. I'm not going to lie. That was pretty cool. It was cool, especially because Come and Get It was such a cinematic, almost movie-like video. It was very beautiful. And the locations were stunning. And then for this one, we made it a little bit darker. It was a little bit more, it was a little harsh. And it was cool. The fashion, the hair, everything was very much just tough.
3:57It was cool. Is it a tough song? Yes. Is it a dark tune? Yeah. It's more, it's a lot faster. It's a lot faster. And it's a lot more, I got more, a little bit of a swag beat to it. That's your swag beat? No, please don't make light. Let that be that move because that was terrible. But I do dance in the video as well. This dancing thing is becoming... My thing. Yeah. And I hear you want that for the tour. I do, yes. It wants to be more of a dancing production than stage lights and effects and all this kind of thing. Yeah. I think it does, obviously it helps having incredible things in the background and all these incredible lights and all of that stuff. I probably will 100% add. But I mean, I just, I grew up with Brittany and Janet and all these people who just,
4:43that's what you do. You entertain and you can bring music to life by choreographing pieces that are amazing. And I have an incredible choreographer who just like completely kills it. Do you approach these live shows, are they coming from an acting background? I wonder if you approach these live shows from like getting into character on stage and thinking about it like you would a script. Knowing that it's a performance and you're almost a character on stage in a way. Yes, I like to say it's just like more a glamorized version of myself in a way. Okay. Because I would not wear a sparkly, vegas-y kind of outfit to the mall, but I would wear it on stage. So it's, yeah, I think it's more, it's just a different version of myself, I guess. Cool. We do something called Five Questions. Five Quick Questions.
5:28One more answer. Oh, dear. They're easy. I know, but sometimes I'm bad at these, but go. Okay. Road or studio? Road. And then or McCartney? McCartney. When you hear a song, what usually hits you first? Lyrics, melody, or rhythm? Lyrics. A song you've written you're most proud of? I won't apologize. In one word, Selena Gomez. Dorky. Well, that's a good one. I like that. Thank you. You don't seem very dorky. Oh, no, you don't know me. I hear you want a guy to take you out and bring you ice cream. So what I've done is I've brought you some ice cream. Shut up. I googled it. No! I googled it, and so Selena Gomez's favorite ice cream, and I don't know if this is correct or what it is, but they said chocolate chip cookie dough or rocky road. It's rocky road. It is rocky road.
6:13It's rocky road. You are so sweet. Thank you so much. For you. I'm not going to take you out and bring you ice cream, but I thought I'd bring something to you. It's kind of melting now because it's really hot. Is it? Oh, that's best. I always put it in the microwave for like 10 seconds before I eat it. What? Why? Because it kind of makes it good that way. You like it soupy. No, not soupy. 10 seconds is the right amount. You don't want it too hard. Then you can't get it. This is a new phenomenon. No, it's good. Trust me. I'm so happy. That's so sweet. Thank you. That's what I do for you. Thanks for doing this. Of course. You gave me a wrap up sign, right? You did. I thought you did. I'm legitimately ready to eat this right now. Holy cow. Oh my gosh. You got to get a little bit of both. Well, this is a yogurt. I couldn't find the ice cream.
6:59It's healthier. As a matter of fact. Oh my gosh. You brought yogurt to eat with that? No. Oh my gosh. Thank you. You can keep this. I don't need this. That's so amazing. And I love it. That's actually really good. It's not bad. It's good.
ABOUTThe archive
This interview is part of the Matt Schichter Interviews archive: more than 700 conversations with musicians, actors and filmmakers recorded between 2003 and 2014, beginning with The BackStage Pass. The archive also became Matt's short documentary Lennon or McCartney. Matt Schichter is now a Glasgow-based film producer and director. His films → · More about Matt →
Listen to the full archive on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.