Hip-Hop Lives Here
Hip-Hop Lives Here
Long before Benny Blanco entered her life, Selena Gomez had her eyes on a handful of stars.
While speaking to W for the publication’s best performances issue published Friday (Jan. 3), the 32-year-old singer-actress shared that she “probably had too many crushes” when she was younger. “Jesse McCartney — when ‘Beautiful Soul’ came out — that was just life-changing for me,” Gomez said, giving one example.
“I loved Chad Michael Murray from One Tree Hill,” she continued. “I also just had crushes more in real life than on actors or musicians.”
Speaking of crushes, the Rare Beauty founder also opened up about her first kisses — on screen and off. Gomez has previously said that her very first smooch was technically with Dylan Sprouse during a guest stint on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, about which she told W: “It was really funny because both of us were so young. We were figuring out how to kiss. I had never done it, and I was so scared.”
But of her first kiss without cameras present, Gomez recalled, “My real-life one would probably be with a boy named Juan, and I was 14.”
The “Lose You to Love Me” singer’s W cover comes in honor of her performance in Jacques Audiard’s musical drama Emilia Pérez, for which she recently nabbed a Golden Globes nod for best supporting actress. Her costar in the film, Zoe Saldaña, as well as Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Zendaya, Paul Mescal and more also posed for the publication’s best performances package.
When Gomez did her interview for the issue, she wasn’t yet engaged to a certain pop-music hitmaker. Now, Blanco is poised to be the Wizards of Waverly Place alum’s forever celebrity crush after he popped the question in December.
The pair had, however, celebrated Halloween 2024 together before Gomez spoke to W, with the Spring Breakers star dressing up as Alice from Alice in Wonderland while her then-boyfriend went all out for a Mad Hatter tribute. “He used prosthetics!” Gomez gushed to the publication.
“Until this year, I hadn’t dressed up for Halloween since I was a kid,” she added. “We were invited to a party, so I had a reason to dress up … I think it’s safe to say we won best costume at the party.”
See Gomez on the cover of W below.
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SZA has teased the possibility of releasing two albums of “peaceful children’s music” to complete her current contractual requirements.
The singer and rapper released ‘Lana’ last month after almost a year of speculating about its release. Rather than a standalone album, it exists as a deluxe version of her 2022 LP ‘SOS’, her second studio record.
Now, just weeks after it became available, SZA has suggested that she is ready to move on from its slick R&B aesthetic and onto a very different vibe, even hinting that she is tempted to seek a quieter life after fulfilling her current obligations.
Writing on X on Saturday (January 4), SZA wrote: “To fulfill my last 2 album requirements I think I just wanna make peaceful children’s music n get outta here. Then go be a farmer n donate the produce to underserved communities.”
Both ‘SOS’ and its 2017 predecessor ‘Ctrl’ were released as part of SZA’s deal with Top Dawg Entertainment and RCA Records. It is not clear how many more albums she is signed up for as part of the deal, but her comments would suggest that there are two remaining full-lengths expected as part of the contract.
‘Lana’ added an extra 15 tracks to ‘SOS’ existing 23 songs, bringing the overall number of tracks associated with the project to 38. However, last week, SZA told fans that “all updated mixes” and “new songs” are due to be added on Monday (January 6), “when the label comes back from holiday”.
When it was eventually shared on December 20, ‘Lana’ included a Kendrick Lamar feature on ‘30 For 30’, as well as production from Lil Yachty and Benny Blanco on one track each.
Lamar’s feature comes after SZA appeared on his surprise album ‘GNX’, and the pair and labelmates have announced a joint North American tour for this year.
The singer also revealed on Christmas Day that she had parted ways with Terrence “Punch” Henderson, who she has worked with since 2011. Henderson, the co-president of Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), had been heavily involved in the making of ‘Lana’.
When ‘SOS‘ was first released, it received acclaim from critics, as well as nine Grammy nominations. It hit Number One on the Billboard 200 and Number Two on the UK Single Chart, also being certified 3x Platinum in the US.
In a five-star review of ‘SOS’, NME described it as “a comeback album well worth the wait,” adding: “’I’m making the best album of my life for this next album,’” SZA told Flaunt in 2020 and ‘SOS’ is just that – a phenomenal record that barely puts a foot wrong and raises the bar even higher than she set it before. That quote, though, came with a caveat: ‘Because it’s going to be my last album.’ Here’s hoping SZA reneges on that declaration but, if this is the last we hear from here, at least she’s going out on the highest of highs.”
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