Audacy Check-In

Because we "wanna be the first one on your mind when you wake up," we're premiering a special Audacy Check In with Selena Gomez. The multihyphenate queen joined us in the Audacy Sound Space at the Hard Rock Hotel New York to talk about her new album, 'I Said I Love You First,' with benny blanco, her collaboration with Gracie Abrams, and a sweet moment with her Only Murders in the Building co-star, Meryl Streep.

After hearing from benny last month, and finally feeling the full weight of their collaboration powers with the album's release, it's time to dive into the meaning and the making of 'I Said I Love You First.'

"I was in the studio for maybe five or six years, and I could not figure out what my 'sound,' if you will, was. I just didn't, I was frustrated," shares Selena. "I felt stuck. And then Benny had this idea of, you know, maybe doing something together. So we actually started with 'Younger and Hotter,' and that song was just really special and so beautiful. And FINNEAS, obviously is a genius. And I was like, we could do more. And that's when it all happened, and it was the quickest album I've ever put together."

The album was a true collaboration between the real life couple according to Selena. "The greatest thing was Benny understood," reveals Gomez. "If I just didn't care for it, it wasn't even a second thought. He was like, 'great, that's not what fits for you. That's not going to work then.' But in general, some of the music, I would try to kind of make my own interpretation. And it was really fun. And plus, being able to talk to him and write is so, it's just so easy."

Selena also talked about how Benny and her made the most of Gracie Abrams' one day in LA, opting for a more intimate music video for their hit, "Call Me When You Break Up." "The crazy part is she's in the middle of a tour, and she was in LA for one day. And we were like, 'well, there's no way we're going to shoot a music video.' Let's just be like cozy and make a video and call it the video. So she's so laid back and lovely. It was fun."

We couldn't let Selena leave without talking about Only Murders in the Building, working with Hollywood royalty like Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Meryl Streep. "She actually wrote me a full letter after the first season she had done with us," Gomez remembers of her Oscar-winning co-star. "It was all encouraging. And it was more so that she noticed the little things and the little things like, please and thank you and these tiny things. And it just is so thoughtful and beautiful. Like she is just a rare creature. She is incredible."