Selena Gomez Isn’t Done With Music (Yet): ‘I Just Set It Down for a Second’

Who says Selena Gomez is done with music?

In a career-spanning cover story for The Hollywood Reporter published Wednesday (Nov. 20), the 32-year-old multi-hyphenate clarified her future plans following a banner year in film and beauty — including acting and, yes, music. “I think I’ve done just as much as I wanted to do in music, but it’s exciting because I feel like I haven’t even started in film and TV,” she told the outlet.

“I know I’ve been a part of some great projects and I’m really proud of them,” she added. “I like that I have to earn my position, and I love storytelling. So, I’m excited to do more of that.”

Even so, the Rare Beauty founder promised she’s “almost done” with her pop star career. “Music isn’t going away,” she said. “I just set it down for a second.”

Fans have been waiting for a new album from Gomez since her 2020 third studio effort Rare, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 and spawned her first-ever No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Lose You to Love Me.” Earlier this year, she dropped the single “Love On,” a followup to her 2023 single “Single Soon.”

The releases led some fans to think that an album was in the works, but in an interview with Billboard in March, Gomez clarified that the two songs might not make her next LP’s tracklist. “I think objectively, I would like to say that I am working towards an album, but I don’t know if those songs would be on that project,” she said in March. “I feel like I’m brewing, and I’m in the process of really creating some great songs, hopefully. I don’t know if they would fit with what I’m gonna go with.”

In lieu of a new album in 2024, Gomez has been overseeing her Rare empire and mental health company Wondermind as well as promoting Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, in which she stars opposite Karla Sofía Gascón and Zoe Saldaña. “I genuinely thought it was going to be a movie that, like, came out in France,” she told THR of the film’s surprising success. “I was very confused. I was like, ‘Guys, why are we doing so many things right now?’ And everyone’s just laughing because it’s doing well.”

One person that’s been key through it all is Benny Blanco. In addition to producing “Single Soon,” the hitmaker has served as Gomez’s partner and cheerleader since they started dating in summer 2023.

“This is the safest I’ve ever felt in [a relationship], and I see a future with this person,” Gomez told THR of sharing pieces of their relationship on social media. “And when you put a little bit out there, people are not as hungry to hunt you down. Like, if they hear something, they’re going to, but if you’re like, ‘I did it,’ they’re like, ‘Oh, well there’s you, just going to Sushi Park.’ But there’s so much of my relationship people don’t see, that’s just mine.”

See Selena Gomez on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter and photos from the shoot below.