Good For Her

Selena Gomez just turned 24, is at the top of her game, and yet admits she is still figuring out her life. Evolving through everything from career challenges to public heartbreak to chemotherapy, she’s happy to now say,“I feel confident, I feel empowered, I feel in control.”

- Veronica Parker / Jane Taylor

It’s surprising to hear Selena Gomez worrying about her looks or her body image. Doll-faced, curvaceous, long-legged, and blessed with a voice that carries authority well beyond her 24 years, Gomez should have no reason to fall victim to any attempt at body shaming. Yet the pop star made headlines by confessing to an L.A. radio station that harsh internet comments about a minor weight gain a few years ago were “really hurtful . . . but I’m not gonna give a f – – k what people say. I’m not gonna let them get to me.”

That’s the kind of attitude that prompted her to pose nearly naked, however discretely, for the cover of her album Revival, that marks a new chapter in both her music and her approach to life. As the lyrics from the opening track signal to listeners, “No more hiding... it’s my time to butterfly.”

Revival is the highly anticipated follow-up CD to her vibe-changing R&B single, “Good for You,” which revealed a more mature, sexier, and bolder new Gomez. Having fired her mother and stepfather as her managers earlier this year, the Texas beauty and former child star is in the process of transitioning from her teen pop princess persona to a more sultry, seductive performer.

“I was afraid of revealing too much about myself in the past,” Gomez says. “Now I want to be able to say, ‘this is who I am, and I don’t care what some people might think.’ That’s why the album is called ‘Revival,’ it’s about me waking up and figuring out who I am and what I want. The songs are the true reflection of what I’ve gone through and how I’ve evolved. This is a new beginning for me.”