The actor-singer-entrepreneur stars in Emilia Pérez, the new Spanish-language musical about a cartel boss who undergoes gender-affirming surgery. Gomez talks with Tonya Mosley about re-learning Spanish, her Disney years, and working alongside comedy legends Martin Short and Steve Martin in Only Murders in the Building. Also, Ken Tucker shares three great country songs: Maren Morris' "People Still Show Up," Dwight Yoakam's "A Dream That Never Ends," and Shawna Thompson's "Lean On Neon."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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This is Fresh Air. I'm Tanya Mosley, and I recently had the chance to check out the movie Amelia Perez, the new Spanish-language musical that stars my guest today, Selena Gomez. The film is centered on a lawyer named Rita, played by Zoe Saldana, who is kidnapped and tasked with helping a ruthless Mexican cartel leader secretly undergo gender-affirming surgery to begin a new life as Amelia Perez.
Selena Gomez plays Jessie Del Monte, the wife of the cartel leader, who knows nothing about her husband's transition and is led to believe that Emilia Perez is a distant cousin. The film is almost entirely in Spanish, and Gomez, who grew up speaking it but lost fluency, took lessons to prepare for the role. Here she is singing a stirring performance of Bienvenida, which means welcome.
Bienvenida a tu país amado, bonita. A tu lujosa cárcel, primita. Donde todo es caro, encantada. Y gracias a la familia, bienvenida. Sé amable, saluda, querida. A tu tía matrona y mía. A las nuevas custodias, primita De tu jaula dorada bienvenida
That's Selena Gomez singing in the new Netflix movie musical Amelia Perez. As an ensemble, Gomez, along with Zoe Saldana and Carla Sofia Gascon, who portrays both Amelia Perez and the cartel leader before she transitions, won the Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize for Best Actress. Selena Gomez is an actor, singer, and the founder of the successful cosmetic line Rare Beauty.
She began acting in 2002 at 10 years old on the television series Barney and Friends. She went on to star in several Disney shows before her breakout role in the series The Wizards of Waverly Place. As a musician, she's had 16 consecutive top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, the longest active run of any artist. And she's the most followed woman on Instagram.
We talked about some of her struggles with such a high level of fame and her diagnosis of lupus and bipolar disorder. Gomez was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role in the mystery comedy series Only Murders in the Building alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short. Selena Gomez, welcome to Fresh Air.
Thank you. That was such a lovely introduction.
I was wondering, you spent, was it nearly half a year, training, preparing for this role, learning Spanish. You actually grew up speaking Spanish until something happened. It took a turn when you weren't speaking it anymore.
I was fluent when I was seven, and before then, all up until then. But I got my first job at seven, and most of my jobs from that point on were English. And I moved from Texas to California to pursue my dream with Disney. And I, again, just lost it. And that's kind of the case for a lot of people, especially Mexican-American, I think. you know, my cousins and people and our lives.
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