Selena Gomez
photo: cosmopolitan uk · cc by 3.0 ↗Selena Gomez was born in Grand Prairie, Texas, in 1992, named after the Tejano star Selena Quintanilla, and moved from the children's series Barney & Friends to a Disney Channel breakout as Alex Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place. She launched a music career fronting the band Selena Gomez & the Scene before going solo in 2013 with the dance-leaning Stars Dance, then reframed herself as a confessional adult pop artist across Revival (2015) and Rare (2020). Working in a breathy, electropop-inflected register, she scored her first US number one with the stark breakup ballad 'Lose You to Love Me' and a global hit with the 'Calm Down' remix alongside Rema.
Gomez grew up on Britney Spears, has said her first-ever concert as a child was a Spears show, and has named her as a major inspiration when trying to shed her Disney image; her solo debut Stars Dance is widely reported to have drawn on Spears' dance-pop template.
listen forThrow on the slinky, whispered verses of Spears' 'Toxic' right before 'Come & Get It' — both ride an exotic, coiled instrumental hook and a breathy come-hither vocal built for the dance floor.
Gomez has cited Aguilera's Stripped (2002) as a favorite album and the main inspiration behind her own more assertive, grown-up record Revival, an influence heard in the album's turn toward sultry, confidence-forward R&B-pop.
listen forCue up the sultry swagger of Aguilera's 'Dirrty' next to 'Good for You' — both build a slow, sensual groove under a hushed, confident vocal that flips vulnerability into open self-possession.
Janet Jackson is reported among the inspirations behind Revival, and her dance-driven, choreography-forward approach is cited as a model for the concept of Gomez's Stars Dance Tour; the echo is in the intimate, breathy funk-pop grooves Gomez favored on Revival.
listen forPlay the hushed, mid-tempo pulse of Jackson's 'That's the Way Love Goes' before 'Hands to Myself' — both lean on a minimal, finger-snap funk groove and a barely-there whispered vocal that lets the pocket do the seducing.