Selena Gomez is a virtuoso of sorts. Gomez was first introduced to the world as a child actor on Barney & Friends before she got her big break in the lead role of the Disney Channel series, Wizards of Waverly Place. Along with a flourishing acting career, Gomez has transformed into one of the world’s biggest pop stars with hits like “Come & Get It,” “Hands to Myself,” “Wolves” and many others.
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But she’s not afraid to share the wealth, co-writing and appearing on songs by her contemporaries. Based on the variety of songs she’s been a part of, it’s clear that Gomez knows no musical boundaries. Check out three songs you didn’t know she was featured on.
1. “Ice Cream” by Blackpink
Written by Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Tommy Brown, Victoria Monet, Bekuh Boom, Teddy, Steven Franks and 24
Two major forces in pop music came together when Gomez teamed up with South Korean pop supergroup Blackpink for some “Ice Cream.” Gomez was part of the all-star writing team including Ariana Grande for the hip-hip-influenced track. Gomez shines as she sings, Diamonds on my wrist, so he call me ice cream / You could double dip ’cause I know you like me. “Ice Cream” was released as a single off BlackPink’s The Album in 2020, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“It was such a good time,” Gomez said of working with Blackpink. “It’s a whole other culture and it’s beautiful. I was really excited about this opportunity.”
2. “Anxiety” by Julia Michaels
Written by Selena Gomez, Julia Michaels, Ian Kirkpatrick and Scott Harris
Gomez has long been open about her struggles with depression and anxiety. It was only natural for her to sing about the topic of mental health with her friend and “soul sister” Julia Michaels. The two co-wrote “Anxiety” with Ian Kirkpatrick and Scott Harris for Michaels’ 2019 EP, Inner Monologue Part 1.
“I was like, ‘I think it’d be really awesome to have a song with two women on it that struggle with the same thing, that are talking about something other than two women fighting for a guy’s attention, or something like that,'” Michaels explained to Zane Lowe about the song’s meaning. “It’s almost like a female empowerment song without it being a female empowerment song.”
“This song is extremely close to my heart as I’ve experienced anxiety and know a lot of my friends do too,” Gomez said. “You’re never alone if you feel this way.”
[RELATED: The Meaning Behind “Lose You to Love Me” by Selena Gomez]
3. “Already Miss You” by Prince Royce
Written by Selena Gomez, Prince Royce, Toby Gad and Makeba Riddick
Gomez was born and raised in Texas where she was fluent in Spanish until the age of seven, as her father is of Mexican heritage. She got to explore these roots when she teamed up with Latin singer Prince Royce on “Already Missing You,” a deep cut from his Latin Grammy Award-nominated album, Soy El Mismo. In addition to being a co-writer, Gomez is a featured vocalist on this dance-club-ready track that finds them trading lines as they sing, I can’t even face the daylight / ‘Cause I’m already missing you / Baby we’ll say we’ll be alright / But I’m already missing you.
Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFI
