At first listen, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s new song “Younger and Hotter Than Me” might sound like it’s about an ex who has moved on with a younger partner, but the duo has shared that it could actually have many different meanings. One of them includes the feeling of growing up as a former child star.
“When you’re young and you’re a star, and you’re thrown into this whirlwind of being so many people’s favorite thing in the world,” Blanco said in a behind-the-scenes video released earlier today, “eventually, people find new things to hold, they find new things they can pick up, and you’re kind of left in this world where you’re kind of in limbo where you’re either gonna make it to this next chapter in your life or you’re gonna fade off into obscurity, and it’s a lot of pressure, I feel, that’s put on people at such a young age.”
Gomez, who appeared on Barney & Friends at 10 years old and then led Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place as a teen, has previously addressed growing up in the public eye and becoming a celebrity as a kid.
“I have no regrets and I have a fantastic family and there were rules laid down by my parents and I’m appreciative of that,” Gomez told ELLE in our 2024 Women in Hollywood Issue. “However, I don’t think I would’ve done it very young if I was thinking of myself now. There were a lot of things that I felt stunted by. Then adding a lot of pressure from a lot of people didn’t help me develop a sense of self in my twenties. It was a very difficult time. I live with it every day. I try my hardest to stay positive about everything and focus on things like this [movie] that really make me happy. But I would just say maybe wait and have a little bit of a life.”
Gomez wrote on Instagram that songs like this one on her and Blanco’s joint album, I Said I Love You First, capture “the softer, quieter, more introspective parts of us.” She added, “It’s a special song for both of us, and the music video will be out tonight with the album.” The video reflects the contemplative nature of the song, featuring Gomez in a sweatshirt, walking through a studio lot, passing by young actors in costume or filming scenes.
Read the full lyrics below, courtesy of Genius.
Verse 1
Waited outside your apartment
You used to come down for me
I used to feel like an angel
Now I’m a dog on your leash
Begging for more
X on my hand drawn in Sharpie
Now I use my own ID
All of the girls at this party
Are younger and hotter than me
And I hate what I wore
But I hate myself moreChorus
For thinking you were different
Wish I never loved you
We’re not getting any younger
But your girlfriends seem toVerse 2
Looking for something to tell you
Looking for reasons to speak
Pictures of you at the movies
Is she younger and hotter than me?
Is it all in my head
Should have moved on insteadChorus
For thinking you were different
Wish I never loved you
We’re not getting any younger
But your girlfriends seem toBridge
Someone else
Was I someone else?
There you were
Someone else
Someone elseOutro
Waited outside your apartment
You used to come down for me
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