The 23-year-old singer released the music video for "Kill Em With Kindness," the fourth and final single from her second studio album Revival, on Monday, and it's a sexy black and white affair.
The clip shows Gomez wearing a slinky, satin slip with a drape-y robe falling off of her shoulders as she smolders on a stool in front of a gray backdrop. As the clip progresses, Gomez begins to shed layers of her clothing, at one point wearing just a corset and underwear.
The young pop singer was shocked to hear the Prudential Center crowd's reaction, to her prodding of how many audience members were seeing her concert for the first time -- most were new to the scene.
Though an observer of Gomez's burgeoning music career-- a follow-up to her run as a Disney television star -- would be unsurprised to learn most of the 23-year-old's fans Thursday night were fresh.
Gomez was merely a footnote on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this time last year, and was known to many as an ex-girlfriend to pop leviathan Justin Bieber's, or Taylor Swift's squad-mate.
But like her former beau, the Texas native has enjoyed a swift climb to the mainstream summit, largely by discarding her pop-rock bubblegum for the pulse of sultry, dance-club bangers.
In the middle of her concert Saturday night in Miami, the "Come and Get It" singer took a moment to honor The Voice singer with a special dedication.
"One thing about Christina and her family is that she holds her faith so closely to her," Selena shared with the crowd before wiping away tears.
"I think it's not about a religion and it's not about good deeds. I think she just had faith and I don't really understand how this really happened, but I would like to dedicate this song to her."
The singer then headed to the piano where she delivered an emotional performance of "Transfiguration." "Words cannot begin to describe the pain I am feeling. I learned this business through the eyes of a father and Christina was like a second daughter to me. All I wanted to do was assist her in achieving her musical dreams while protecting her from the pitfalls associated with the business," Brian Teefey wrote on a GoFundMe page benefiting Christina's family. "I never could have imagined this horrific event being one of the pitfalls needing to be avoided."
Selena Gomez isn’t canceling her upcoming Tuesday, June 7, show in North Carolina, but she’s taking a stand against the “bathroom bill” in a different way.
“I am fortunate to have grown up in a home where I learned from an early age that everyone should be treated equally,” the 23-year-old pop star said in a statement to Billboard. “I went back and forth on whether I should cancel my concert in North Carolina and ultimately I think what is right for me is to move forward with my show and donate a portion of the proceeds to Equality North Carolina and their effort to defeat this act of discrimination.”
“I’ve been reassured the venue I will be performing in has gender neutral bathrooms as I want everyone coming to my show to be welcomed,” she continued. “I feel like my generation is the most progressive one yet and believe there will be a day soon when laws like HB2 won’t even be a consideration.”
Selena Gomez: Tour is really unpredictable, so it's kind of all over the place. Sometimes we'll wake up around 1:00 p.m. because we were on a 13-hour bus ride, or other times we'll get up around 10:00 a.m. and do a group workout. It changes from day to day, but usually, we keep the schedule pretty organized. Even if we wake up around 1:00 p.m., I'll do a workout—I'll do a Pilates machine or I'll sweat a little bit. Then I'll do stretches, a warm up, I'll kind of get into hair and makeup, take my time. Then I'll do interviews and meet and greets. Then we'll bump up my hair and makeup to keep [it] as fresh as possible, and I'll do a prayer and get on stage.
I love to keep everything very calm [backstage]. In my room, I always have fresh flowers and essential oils—I'll have lavender or lemongrass, it just depends on what we feel for that day. But I love to keep everything calm. I love my little station where I get ready and I've got my people with me. It depends on music, too, because sometimes I'll be in the vibe of wanting to listen to Rihanna or another day I want to listen to Patsy Cline and get into the mood a different way.
What goes into Selena's hair look?
Marissa Marino: So for meet and greet, a few hours before the show, we'll smooth it out and make it look pretty and presentable for those pictures. But I can't curl her hair for her show style then because three hours later it's not going to be holding up the way it was. So right before the show is when we do the really tight curls and the full look, which is the Pantene Style Series Airspray ($5.99; drugstore.com). I spray that on before I curl it and brush it through. Then I curl it, set it and backcomb each section and spray [it] again with the Airspray to set it. I would say we go through about a quarter of a bottle [every show] because I'm spraying it before, after and throughout.
You said you like to move your hair around on stage, and between the wind machines and hair flips, it really is moving! Is there a secret to the perfect hair flip?
SG: Nooo [she says laughing]! I think I just become like when you're a kid, and you do the inner rockstar thing. When I'm connected to the words I'm singing—which I've never felt more connected to music in my whole life than the past two years with this record and even new music I've been creating—it just takes over.