Boy, bye! Selena Gomez and her frequent songwriting collaborator Julia Michaels aren’t afraid to call out the men in their lives through their art.
Michaels, 26, opened up to Variety on Friday, December 6, and described how her longtime professional relationship with Gomez, 27, came to be. The California native has helped the former Disney star pen a number of tracks, including her most recent single, “Lose You to Love Me.”
“When [Gomez and I] first started working together, it started as me writing the songs,” Michaels told Variety. “I walked in to the session one day because she wanted to change some words to the song, and [Gomez] was like, ‘We must be going through the exact same thing because you’re writing everything that I feel.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, cool, you had a s—ty ex-boyfriend too? Let’s go!'”
When the Monte Carlo alum dropped “Lose You to Love Me” in late October, fans were quick to speculate that the gut-wrenching track was based on her relationship with ex-boyfriend, Justin Bieber. Gomez and Bieber, 25, began dating in 2011 and finally ended their longtime on-off relationship for good in March 2018. The “Never Say Never” singer is now married to Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin).
“The song is obviously about Justin,” a source told Us Weekly exclusively at the time. “Her fling with The Weeknd did not inspire the song.”
Another insider added that the song has a more powerful meaning than just slamming an old flame. “It’s actually about finally being able to love yourself and moving on from a toxic relationship.”
Michaels revealed her songwriting philosophy, explaining that she’s most inspired by everyday conversations with other people and with herself. “I write everything as if you’re talking to the person you’ve wanted to confront,” the Grammy nominee said. “If you could say it to somebody, why couldn’t you say it exactly how you would in a song?”
The “If You Need Me” singer has written with major music stars like Ed Sheeran and John Legend, but so far nothing has topped the strong artistic bond she continues to build with Gomez.
“She walks into the room and we instantly start pouring out our feelings,” the artist told Variety. “There’s a blending of perspectives, and then we write.”
