Selena Gomez is tense and nervous and can't relax

Selena Gomez is a Bad Liar because she is a good girl

The 24-year old pop star is a Mexican-American Latina from Texas who has made it to the top. She went from struggling to survive with her mom to Barney and Friends to Disney.

After three albums as Selena Gomez and the Scene and two solo records, Selena is the most popular person on Instagram. She has a new deal with the Coach fashion house and was the April 2017 cover of American Vogue.

Selena is known for her vulnerability. In her Vogue article, she talks about going from a packaged Disney kid to just being herself and how liberating that was.

She is not shy about switching from being a power girl to falling apart. One of America’s most famous pop stars occasionally suffers a lack of confidence and self worth, but then who doesn’t (especially when part of our country is saying so loudly that they don’t like us).

Selena canceled her last “Revival” tour to check into a psychiatric facility. She plays up her insecurity with the imagery from Bad Liar, but it is just a game. Petra Collins’ photo of Selena wearing a hospital “Risk” band was shot when Selena got home from a treatment for Lupus.

Being in her 20s, Selena sings a lot about love. We are a full-contact people, all touch, all the time, and wear our emotions on our sleeves. But touring and celebrity can be a lonely enterprise.

2014’s The Heart Wants What it Wants marked Selena’s Shift to getting realMaybe being brutally honest is the key to her success. Running from something only makes it dog you more. Just ask the President. The only way to conquer something is to turn and face it. Turn your weakness into strength.

Growing up is never easy and the glare of celebrity makes it much harder. While exploring what it means to be a young woman today, Selena is not afraid to celebrate going to church, weekend picnics in the park, or cooking tortillas at home. Selena is a bad liar because in a very modern Latina way, she is a good girl.

Bad Liar

Selena teased Bad Liar the first single from her upcoming album due May 18. The Instagram video clip samples David Byrne’s 1974 Talking Heads’ song Psychokiller “I can’t seem to face up to the facts…I’m tense and nervous and I can’t relax…”

#BadLiar 5.18

A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on May 16, 2017 at 5:33pm PDT

Selena Covers American Vogue

Selena Gomez on the April 2017 cover of American Vogue

The editorial was shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott and styled by Camila Nickerson.

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Keith Widyolar

Keith is Editor-in-Chief of "New York Latin Culture Magazine;" Marketing Vice President at Wubba, the world's #2 dog toy brand; and a brand marketing consultant.