I’ll bet you $20 that nobody reading this hates Selena Gomez. I’ll also bet that your parents, even your grandparents, have at least heard of her. I personally can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t idolize Selena Gomez in some way. In elementary school, Alex Russo was on my lunch box, beach towel, and on posters all over my walls. I attended the Revival Tour in seventh grade as my first ever concert, and Rare Beauty is currently one of the most successful makeup brands, raved about by my generation. This woman, or at least her PR team, is a mastermind. Let’s talk about how she did it.
Maybe the reason Selena Gomez manages to stay relevant in a constantly evolving social culture is her ability to appeal to a wide range of audiences. The most apparent subgroup of Gomez’s fanbase is Gen Z. We grew up idolizing Alex Russo from Wizards of Waverly Place and, at least in my case, blasting Selena Gomez & The Scene CDs on our hot pink boomboxes. Selena Gomez raised our generation, dominating our screens and our radios. Wizards of Waverly Place was arguably one of the best Disney Channel shows of its time. The casting of comedian Dom DeLuise’s son, David DeLuise, came along with an impressive roster of guest stars, making the show entertaining to kids and parents alike and contributing to the show’s success. The hit show catapulted Selena Gomez’s career, soon earning her global pop star status.
My immediate family comprises three generations, and each member is familiar with Selena Gomez in some way. She voices the lead character in the Hotel Transylvania movies, all loved by my 11-year-old brother (who also happens to be an avid Wizards of Waverly Place fan since I introduced him to it). My parents are fans of Only Murders in the Building, which stars Gomez alongside comedy icons Steve Martin and Martin Short — two of my dad’s favorites. Selena + Chef, starring and produced by Selena herself, is a series enjoyed by all age groups.
A significant contributor to Selena Gomez’s widespread fame is her appeal to international audiences. Last year she released Revelación, an entirely Spanish album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums Chart. Gomez collaborated with Korean girl group BLACKPINK on their single “Ice Cream” in 2020 and teamed up with DJ Snake, Ozuna, and Cardi B on the Spanish hit “Taki Taki” the year prior.
Aside from being a widely recognizable actress, producer, and pop star, Gomez has established herself as a mental health advocate and philanthropist. Having been at one point the most followed person on Instagram, Selena has used her platform to advocate for mental health education, open up about her Lupus diagnosis, and encourage action toward political issues. This year she co-founded Wondermind, an online mental health platform. In 2017, she was the executive producer of Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, a show centered around the theme of teen depression and suicide. Her newly released documentary, My Mind and Me, dives into her tumultuous mental health journey. Fans who have struggled with mental health have developed a strong connection to Gomez.
Selena Gomez is far from a one-trick pony; just listing out (nearly) everything she’s involved herself in over the years is exhausting, but there’s no doubt it paid off.
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