Does anyone have eyes on Selena Gomez? The star was expected to attend the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, and I was really hoping she'd turn up in another little black dress in keeping with recent appearances in New York City and Toronto, Canada, to promote Only Murders in the Building and Emilia Pérez respectively. But the Rare Beauty billionaire was nowhere to be found long after the red carpet closed. When Taylor Swift surprised everyone by showing up late, it made Gomez's absence even more noticeable. Maybe she's out there getting engaged to producer boyfriend Benny Blanco or something? After all, she did discuss the topic of marriage (and whether or not she'd take Blanco's last name) in the press recently.
Fans know they missed a great fashion moment. In 2023, the singer returned to the awards show for the first time since 2015. She walked the pink carpet in a red beaded halter gown with floral appliqués and a fringe hem from Oscar de la Renta. She paired the look with super strappy red heels, diamond flower earrings, a diamond double ring and a matching bracelet. A sleek middle-part and brown smoky eye completed the fiery look, which got plenty of air time when Gomez and her “Calm Down” collaborator Rema collected their award for Best Afrobeats.
It was reassuring to see Gomez at the 2024 VMAs after mentioning the possibility of retiring from music more than once over the years. During a January 2024 interview on Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett’s SmartLess podcast, the “Single Soon” singer confirmed she's still considering it.
“I do feel like I have one more album in me, but I would probably choose acting,” she admitted when asked which passion she'd prioritize if forced to choose between them.
But it's hard to imagine a pop music landscape without Gomez in it. Let's hope we never have to. We'd take one missed VMAs over dozens of unreleased songs.
Selena Gomez hasn’t quit music, but her focus is on acting now—so it’s no surprise that of the two awards shows this week, she is only attending one: this Sunday’s Emmys. The singer was not seen on the red carpet of tonight’s MTV VMAs, where her friend Taylor Swift leads with 12 nominations.
Gomez herself has no nominations this year, although she did release her singles “Single Soon” and “Love On” in the past year. She told Vanity Fair in her cover story released on Monday that she doesn’t have any current plans to release a new album.
“I don’t know if I’m ready, you know?” she said. “It’s a vulnerable space. Acting has always been my first love. Music is just a hobby that went out of control. Now it is a part of who I am, so I don’t think I’m going anywhere. I’m just not ready yet.”
She told Rolling Stone in March that she isn’t done music, though. “I think it’s natural for people to take breaks, but I think for me, there is a whole other aspect to my life, pride and joy,” Gomez said. “I love film. I love TV. I just feel like I haven’t done a lot of the things that I want to do in that space. It’s not that it’s ‘no, never’ [to music], it’s more that I would like to explore that world a bit more and have the time to actually do that.”
She added then that she “hopes” her next album comes out in 2024 but isn’t sure it will. Her latest two singles “might not be really reflective of the project that I’m working on,” she said. “They are in spirit, but I’m excited to explore more styles of music, and I think people will hopefully be surprised by the contrast. I like releasing songs that I love and I care about. I just released them into the world and later comes the full album.”
To no one’s surprise, Selena Gomez honestly remains one of the most booked and busy celebrities in all of Hollywood. Like, the multi-hyphenate legit just dropped the first few episodes of Only Murders in the Building season 4, celebrated her fourth year since launching her Rare Beauty empire, came out with her brand new movie Emilia Pérez, and got named a literal billionaire (with a “b”!!!!!) by Bloomberg...meaning the actor is now officially ranked on the outlet’s Billionaires Index for the very first time.
Soooo, yeah. Though Selinators everywhere are gutted about the actor not stepping out at the MTV Video Music Awards—especially on the heels of her winning last year—it’s understandable! She could honestly be watching from the comfort of her own home (relatable) with her über-successful producer boyfriend, Benny Blanco (not relatable).
And speaking of Benny, recently, Selena opened up about her ‘ship during a candid convo with Vanity Fair...and even discussed those engagement rumors.
“We always make sure we’re protecting what we have, but there’s no rules. I want him to always be himself. I always want to be myself,” she confessed before revealing her thoughts on motherhood and her personal health journey.
“I haven’t ever said this...but I unfortunately can’t carry my own children,” revealed the celeb. “I have a lot of medical issues that would put my life and the baby’s in jeopardy. That was something I had to grieve for a while…”
“[But] I’m in a much better place with that. I find it a blessing that there are wonderful people willing to do surrogacy or adoption, which are both huge possibilities for me. It made me really thankful for the other outlets for people who are dying to be moms. I’m one of those people,” she continued. “I’m excited for what that journey will look like, but it’ll look a little different. At the end of the day, I don’t care. It’ll be mine. It’ll be my baby.”
Couldn’t be more obsessed with her if we tried. ❤️
