Selena Gomez’s New Album: Is It Coming in 2023?

View gallery

• Selena Gomez’s Last Album Was 2020’s Rare.
• In 2021, Selena suggested she was going to give music “one last try” before maybe “retiring.”
• Selena announced a new song — “My Mind & Me” — would accompany her AppleTV+ documentary in Nov. 2022.

Selena Gomez gave fans of her music something to be excited about in November 2022. After releasing a Spanish-language EP in 2021 and jumping on other people’s music in the years following the release of her album, Rare, Selena was set to release her first solo song in a minute. “My Mind and Me” was part of the soundtrack to the AppleTV+ documentary film, Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me. Shot over six years, the documentary – premiering Nov. 4 on AppleTV+- showcases Selena’s struggles with maintaining her mental health while at the height of her pop superstardom.

“[My Mind and Me”] happened in a really organic way,” Selena told Vulture in an interview about the documentary. “I went through this moment where I was allowing people into my life through my journal, these producers who worked on the song and know me very well; we’ve worked together for a very long time. I remember releasing all of this stuff to them, and I was scared of what they were going to think.

“But ‘My Mind and Me,’ the idea and the chorus, came up, and it was really moving to me,” she added. “These people took my story and made it something bigger than me. I was really grateful — I keep saying that, but I truly am someone who’s grateful for these moments. It’s crazy to realize it’s about to be released to everyone else who may feel how I felt.”

Selena also gave an update, saying she’s been “working for years on this new record.” The comments came more than a year after she whipped her fans into a frenzy by posting an Instagram story of her wearing a bracelet bearing the letters “SG3.” The letters – shorthand for “Selena Gomez’s third album” – gave fans more hope since the IG Story came on the heels of a Vogue interview where she admitted she was almost done with music. “I’ve had moments where I’ve been like, ‘What’s the point? Why do I keep doing this?’” she said. Judging by her fans’ reaction, the point might be the happiness Selena’s music brings to so many.

Ever since Selena’s first single – 2008’s “Tell Me Something I Didn’t Know,” off of the soundtrack to the Another Cinderella Story soundtrack – fans flocked to her voice, as there was just something special about this Selena. Over the next ten years, she would come into her own as a musical artist, first as part of Selena Gomez & The Scene and then as a solo artist. While part of The Scene, Selena released three studio albums: Kiss & Tell (2009), A Year Without Rain (2010), and When The Sun Goes Down (2011). The records were successful, as all were certified Gold, but it was clear that Selena was destined for something more.

Stars Dance, Selena’s first full-length solo album, arrived in 2013. The album’s lead single, “Come & Get It,” signaled a sea change for Selena. The song veered more towards electro-pop and was a smash hit. It reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, topped the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart, and as of 2021, the music video has over 700 million views. In 2015, Selena released the For You EP (featuring “The Heart Wants What It Wants,” not the first nor the last song Selena would write about Justin Bieber, but one that has come to define their complicated relationship) as well as her second album, Revival. The album brought Selena to a new level of success, going Platinum and spawning four hits – “Good For You,” “Same Old Love,” “Hands to Myself,” and “Kill Em With Kindness.” She would get her first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 with her single, “Lose You To Love Me,” off 2020’s Rare. As of May 2021, Rare has been certified Gold and is packed with Platinum-certified singles “Bad Liar,” “Fetish” (featuring Gucci Mane), “Wolves,” and “Back To You.”

2021 saw Selena Revelación, a seven-track EP, and her first release to be prominently in Spanish. Now, as fans eagerly await the (hinted) follow-up, here’s what we know:

When Will Selena Gomez’s New Album Be Released?

As of November 2021, there is no release date for “SG3” or confirmation that the album is on the way.

For those who might be keeping track, it might be odd for Selena to hint that her next album would be “SG3” when she’s already put out three solo albums (Stars Dance, Revival, Rare) and three albums with Selena Gomez & The Scene. According to a fan theory put forth by Selenators, one seemingly confirmed by Selena’s bracelet, Selena’s first album doesn’t count.

Stars Dance was released on Hollywood Records, the label owned and operated by Disney Music Group. Selena, as a teenager, first tasted fame as an actor on the Disney Channel television series, Wizards of Waverly Place (not to mention her role on Hannah Montana, another Disney property.) Many fans theorize that Selena didn’t have artistic control or could express herself completely during part of the Disney organization. Revival and Rare were released on Interscope, and fans consider them more true to her voice. So, this unnamed, unconfirmed album would be “SG3.”

“We’ve actually been working for years on this new record, only because I want to be able to grow through my music,” she told Vulture in Nov. 2022. “I am the person who’s terrified of what will happen once it’s out, so I want it to be really well done and representative of where I am. There is a bunch of fun stuff that I’m so eager to leak, if I’m being honest. I shall not. But I’m so excited. It’ll be fun and refreshing, I think.”

What Is Selena Gomez’s New Album Called?

As of May 2021, it’s unclear what her (unconfirmed) album would be called.

“It’s hard to keep doing music when people don’t necessarily take you seriously,” Selena explained in that Vogue interview where she hinted her music career might be coming to an end. “‘Lose You to Love Me’ I felt was the best song I’ve ever released, and for some people, it still wasn’t enough. I think there are a lot of people who enjoy my music, and for that, I’m so thankful, for that I keep going, but I think the next time I do an album it’ll be different. I want to give it one last try before I maybe retire [from] music.”

What Will Selena Gomez’s New Record Sound Like?

Selena Gomez might incorporate more songs in Spanish into her next music project. After murals popped up in Mexico hinting that Selena had something in Spanish on the way, Gomez released two singles, “De Una Vez” and “Baila Conmigo,” in January 2021, right before she announced the Revelación EP.

“I think if anything, I’ve learned just that during this pandemic,” she told Zane Lowe on Apple Music in January, “It’s been pretty heavy, but in general, it’s allowed me to be patient with my choices. And obviously, I’m very vocal, too, about what’s going on, but this has been something I’ve wanted to do for ten years, working on a Spanish project, because I’m so, so proud of my heritage, and just genuinely felt like I wanted this to happen,” she explained. “And it happened, and I feel like it’s the perfect timing. Just with all the division in the world, there’s something about Latin music that globally just makes people feel things, you know?”

“You know what’s funny,” she added, “is I actually think I sing better in Spanish. That was something I discovered. It was a lot of work, and look, you cannot mispronounce anything. It is something that needed to be precise, and needed to be respected by the audience I’m going to release this for.”

Who Will Feature On Selena Gomez’s New Album?

Rare saw appearances by just 6ack (“Crowded Room”) and Kid Cudi (“A Sweeter Place”), and neither song was released as an official single. Revival only had one guest appearance, and that was A$AP Rocky with “Good For You.” Stars Dance had no features, while Revelación boasted appearances by Rauw Alejandro, Myke Towers, and DJ Snake. Selena may stay the course and just have one or two guest stars on this rumored album. But, at this point, it’s all speculation.

What Songs Are On Selena Gomez’s New Album?

As of May 2021, Selena hasn’t released any tracklisting or spare single that could be part of this rumored new album.

—

If Selena chooses that she has one album left in her before calling it a career, then she can rest easy knowing that she has been the soundtrack for millions of fans who have grown up beside her. Those same fans are currently excited for her new song and “SG3,”  whenever – if ever – it arrives.