The next – and possibly final – chapter of Selena Gomez’s music career might arrive sooner than we think. Selena, 28, got fans hyped on Tuesday (May 11) when she posted an Instagram Story of her wearing a bracelet bearing “SG3.” Many Selenators took this to mean that “Selena Gomez 3,” or her third album, was coming.” SG3 IS COMING!!!! YEEEESSSSSS I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR HER BAD BITH ERA.” “THE HYPE IS REAL SHE’S COMING!!!. THE START OF A NEW ERA. SG3 IS COMING.”
Selena via Instagram Stories #SG3 pic.twitter.com/GqD0vH8qHq
— Selena Gomez Worldwide (@WorldwideSelG) May 12, 2021
To say there was excitement would be an understatement. But, there was also some confusion over Selena’s “SG3” bracelet. “I thought Rare was ‘SG3’ since Stars Dance and Revival were her first two non-[Selena Gomez & the Scene] albums,” tweeted one user. Others shared the sentiment: “wait, why is it called #SG3 when we’ve had Stars Dance, Revival, & Rare already? Am I missing something?” “WAIT, HOW IS ITS SG3 IF STARS DANCE, REVIVAL, RARE?!? ISNT IT SG4?!?!” “why does she pretend stars dance didn’t exist, lmao.” A few Selena experts weighed in, theorizing that Selena’s (alleged) upcoming album is considered #SG3 because “she didn’t have artistic control over Stars Dance, so its Revival, Rare and now the 3rd album.”
omggg selena gomez is about to release a new album!!!!😳🤩 #SG3IsComing
— 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹 (@_angelicadavid) May 12, 2021
“Stars Dance was under a different a different label,” added another fan. Stars Dance was on Hollywood Records, Inc., a record label of the Disney Music Group (and Disney was where Selena got her start, both with her recurring role on Hannah Montana and her starring part in Wizards of Waverly Place.) All three of the Selena Gomez & The Scene albums are on Hollywood Records, so fans theorized her album Revival was her literal artistic revival. “Obviously Revival was her rebirth then Rare being the second part of her journey is now SG3 would be her now.”
I don’t understand why “SG3 is coming” is trending, like SG3 is Rare, SG2 is Revival and SG1 is Stars dance. Why is everybody skipping Stars dance?! Is there something that I’m not aware of?!
— Danaë 💛💛 (@DanaeFrancois) May 12, 2021
Stars dance was under a different a different label, also it represents her revival. Obviously revival was her rebirth then rare being the second part of her journey is now SG3 would be her now
— ᴇᴅɢᴀʀ ᴄᴀʀᴅᴇɴᴀs (@edqar_cardenas) May 12, 2021
This news of SG3 (or SG7, but who’s counting?) comes two months after Selena told Vogue she was considering walking away from her singing career. “It’s hard to keep doing music when people don’t necessarily take you seriously,” she told the publication. “I’ve had moments where I’ve been like, ‘What’s the point? Why do I keep doing this?’ ‘Lose You to Love Me’ I felt was the best song I’ve ever released, and for some people, it still wasn’t enough.”
“I think there are a lot of people who enjoy my music, and for that, I’m so thankful, for that I keep going,” she continued, “but I think the next time I do an album, it’ll be different. I want to give it one last try before I maybe retire music.” When pressed about this retirement talk, she said she “need(s) to be careful” and clarified that she wanted to focus more on producing and to “give myself a real shot at acting.” Selena will reportedly star in Spiral, a psychological thriller with Drake as an executive producer. She’ll also be part of the upcoming Only Murders In The Building.
Selena released Rare in January 2020. In Mach 2021, she dropped Revelación, her seven-track EP that was her first Spanish-language project.