Selena Gomez Says She Feels ‘Too Old for the Pop Star Life’: ‘My Strong Suit Is Probably Acting’

Selena Gomez is diving deep into her acting era.

As part of Variety‘s Actors on Actors series, the Emilia Pérez actress sat down with Saoirse Ronan, who starred in Blitz and The Outrun. During their wide-ranging conversation, Ronan points out Gomez’s musicianship, which makes an appearance in Emilia Pérez with a solo that Ronan calls “dirty and sexy and raw.”

In response, Gomez shared, “I love storytelling, and my music career is separate. However, I don’t see that being a forever thing.”

She then elaborated that she’ll “always have music in my life,” as her boyfriend Benny Blanco is an award-winning songwriter, producer and musician. “I love having moments to do it for fun. It can be a little vulnerable when you’re putting yourself out there versus escaping into a character,” she added.

Gomez concluded that she believes her “strong suit is probably acting,” adding that “one thing I’m proud of in music is being able to tell a story — my favorite songs are mostly ballads, and they’re very transparent and honest.”

Ultimately, the multi-hyphenate revealed that she thinks she “might be a little too old for the pop star life,” but is “genuinely so happy to just be in this new era of my life, because in a lot of ways, it’s just the beginning.”

Gomez has previously opened up about her desire to shift away from music and focus on acting. “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 most recently told The Hollywood Reporter last month, adding that she’s “almost done” with her pop star career. “Music isn’t going away,” she said. “I just set it down for a second.”

The star hasn’t released a full-length album since her 2020 third studio project 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.”

In 2021, she unveiled a Spanish-language EP, Revelación. Earlier this year, she dropped the single “Love On,” a follow-up to her 2023 single “Single Soon.”