Selena Gomez was a bright-eyed teenager when she starred as Alex Russo on the Disney Channel’s “Wizards of Waverly Place” in 2007.
Six years later, she’s all grown up and taking on more adult roles.
Early this year, she was a bikini-wearing, adventure-seeking co-ed in the racy “Spring Breakers.” And in the recently-released thriller “Getaway,” she co-starred with Ethan Hawke as a gun-wielding, tech-savvy punk.
But Gomez, 21, is also a singer whose fourth album, “Stars Dance,” recently knocked Jay Z from the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart on the strength of her biggest hit single to date, “Come & Get It” and a soldout world tour.
Yet focusing on her dual careers isn’t easy, Gomez admits, when her personal life — especially her on-again, off-again relationship with pop star Justin Bieber, which she refused to discuss with Viva — is constantly in the public eye.
Twenty-one is an age when we make mistakes, learn from it and continue to grow, and that’s hard enough. You have the added pressure of going through that stage publicly. How do you deal?
It does get to me. I think I’m normal, I’m human and I feel those emotions of when people talk about you. It’s never a good feeling because half the time it’s just bull and it’s not real.
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That’s what I have to learn — that there’s a difference between the media world and the real world. In the real world I’ll drive my Ford Escape to the grocery store and buy myself some food.
In the media world, it’s like, “Oooh, I drive my car to go somewhere secretive.” It gets too clouded, so I just have good people around me who don’t care about that.
What was it like to bump Jay Z from the top of the Billboard 200 chart? That’s hip-hop royalty you just pushed aside.
I know! It felt good but I was still a little nervous because his following is very passionate and committed, so I was nervous. I didn’t think that I’d get No. 1, so when I got it I was very shocked.
It was such a crazy feeling and after four records and having the fourth be No. 1, it was great and humbling because it felt like I tried all styles of music and kept going until I got my sound.
You said the “Stars Dance” tour will probably be your last work in music for a while so you can focus more on acting. What are your ultimate goals for that?
I just want to keep getting better. There are roles that I’ve played and I felt like I just didn’t do a good job — and that’s good. I’m going to have movies that are not that great and I might have roles that might not be for me, but I just want to keep getting better.
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The only way to get better is to just keep doing it. That’s why I want to take a break (from music)…I want to really be the best I can be.
You seem to steer clear of the problems we’ve seen in other child stars. What do you tell young people that are struggling with identity and growing up?
The one thing I tell even my fans (is), “You are who you surround yourself with.” You really are.
I like to surround myself with positive people who are really fun, who don’t need to do crazy things to have a great time. It’s all about just being in a really good circle and that’s how you’re going to find who you are — by being with people that love you and support you.
Your love life is always a topic of discussion. Now that you’re single, if a guy liked you how would he even approach you?
Well, I don't know, because I haven't had that happen in a while. I’m very picky, though. I’m confident and I believe that you should have somebody who really does love you for who you are.
That’s the hardest part, just trying to find someone that will just love the core person and not anything else around it.
But I don’t have to worry about that anytime soon, because I’m totally enjoying being with me and my family and my friends, and just focusing on that. That will come when it comes, but I’m happy just being “me” right now.
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