Selena Gomez x selenander
Follow Selena Gomez: Instagram I Twitter
Follow @selenander: Instagram
LISTEN TO ‘REVELACIÓN’ OUT NOW
‘Fan Account of the Month’ (#FAOTM) is a fan-appreciation series on UMUSIC!
At UMUSIC, we acknowledge and value the efforts of fans from around the world. The passion, dedication and love fans have for their favourite artists is something the team at UMUSIC has admired for a long time. For this reason, UMUSIC has decided to feature a fan account every month. This will give our UMUSIC community the opportunity to learn about different fandoms, their hardworking members and more about the artists!
Fan account: A social media account created by a fan dedicated to a particular piece of pop culture. This series will focus on fan accounts dedicated to artists.
Update account: A fan-run social media source for fan accounts. An update account serves as the main source of updates on a specific artist. An update account will gather all media, promotional items, and information on an artist and share the information with other fans. Think of update accounts as a constantly updated Wikipedia for fans. This series will also focus on update accounts, which are simply larger fan accounts.
Read our September #FAOTM post here!
Read our November #FAOTM post here!
Read our December #FAOTM post here!
March’s fan account of the month features a Selena Gomez fan account, @selenander, run by Mohammad who is based in Beirut, Lebanon. Mohammad, known as Moh in the fandom, has been a Selena stan since 2016 and created the account right away, but became active in 2017. Mohammad provides fans with news and updates about Selena’s releases, along with reposts, edits and song lyrics via Instagram.
The team at UMUSIC asked Mohammad questions pertaining to Selena Gomez and her latest projects, merch and fan culture. Below are a collection of their answers…
Why are you a fan of Selena Gomez?
I feel like a lot of people would say her music, but it isn’t just about the music for me. There is much more to her. Behind those chart-topping hits, lies a human that’s been through it all; a victim of relationship abuse, bipolar disorder, and a life-threatening autoimmune disease called Lupus.
I’m a fan of the philanthropist; the owner of a beauty brand called “Rare Beauty,” whose main goal is to eradicate unrealistic beauty standards and destigmatize mental health by pledging to raise $100 million within the next decade to help give people access to mental health services. I’m a fan of the person that is constantly trying to do the right thing and see the good in people. I’m a fan of the youngest UNICEF ambassador in history. I’m a fan of the A-List celebrity who gave her platform of over 200 million followers to black voices to raise awareness for Black Lives Matter. I’m a fan of the person who dedicated her platform as a tool to push people to go out and vote. I’m a fan of the woman whose entire career depends on appealing to the public on social media, yet is ready to risk it all to call out platforms when they are in the wrong. I’m a fan of the person who donated to my country (Lebanon) after the Beirut explosion that I witnessed first hand, the person that shared donation links on all of her social media platforms to raise awareness for the second biggest explosion in history.
I am a fan of a good human.
How did it all begin? Can you describe your journey supporting Selena?
I became a passive fan during the “Wizards of Waverly Place” era. A whimsical, comedic, 3-time-Emmy-winning Selena Gomez played Alex Russo, shaping our childhood and making us who we are today. As I grew older, I listened to her singles like “Naturally” and “Who Says” but never got into music enough to know that these singles actually belonged to albums. Living in a country where foreign music had no viral recognition (during this time, at least) did not help either. When her music videos played on Disney and we had no Wi-Fi at home, I used to record the music videos on my iPod to replay them over and over again.
At the age of 14, I decided to start my fan account. This was right around the time that Selena’s iconic Coca-Cola photo was breaking records, making it the most liked Instagram post at the time. I was inactive for a while but there was this constant need to publicly support her, so I decided to come back. I started posting random pictures at first, then moved onto posting memes and video edits. On the night of the 2018 Met Gala, I decided to stay up for the first time and post live updates. I’ve been an update account and news outlet ever since.
How would you describe Selena fans and the fandom as a whole?
I would describe this fandom as a family. With Selena being completely offline with her team managing her socials, we don’t really get one-on-one interactions with her, so the least we can do is be there for each other. We are an extremely powerful fandom who has been supporting her since her debut. Recently, I had the honour of featuring a grandma who had a Selena Gomez-themed birthday party and my heart exploded with happiness. We are passionate to an extent that could get us in trouble sometimes, but we will do anything to protect her.
Describe the ‘Revelación’ era in one word.
Expressive.
‘Revelación’ translates to ‘Revelation’ in English and Selena expresses so many emotions on this project. She kicks off the EP with a melodic heartbreak anthem called “De Una Vez,” where she finds solace in her heartbreak, her need to dance, her need to love and lust, and her need to be felt and cherished. It is a no-skip EP with 7 tracks that express a variety of different emotions and sentiments. Selena finally got the chance to release this EP 10 years after she started planning the Spanish project.
What’s your favourite Selena moment?
When I saw pictures of her for the first time after leaving rehab in December 2018. I woke up at 7am to the news that she had officially left rehab and we started getting all these new pictures of her on a snow trip, radiantly smiling and looking healthier than ever before, surrounded by her best friends. I couldn’t help but cry.
Do you have a favourite Selena collaboration?
“Crowded Room” featuring 6LACK is hands down my favorite musical collaboration Selena has ever done. The song talks about a couple that only sees each other, even in a crowded room. This concept has previously been visualized in her “Back To You” music video. In “Crowded Room,” Selena sings about reciprocation in a relationship where she chants, “the more that you give, the more that you get,” as 6LACK’s verse kicks off about treating Selena like royalty. He says, “I turn every chair that you sit in into a throne.” Her vocals on this song are astounding and 6LACK’s soulful voice compliments it perfectly.
When it comes to visual collaborations, the “Fetish” music video with artist/director Petra Collins would definitely be my favorite. She brings so much to the table and somehow manages to narrate a film-worthy plot within 3 minutes. Her work is just impeccable.
What makes Selena Gomez different from other pop stars in the industry right now?
Teenagers standing behind the chart-topper once said, “That can’t be Selena Gomez, she’s wearing UGGS.” Selena is very human. She talks like a human, acts like a human, errs like a human, feels like a human.
She is a very candid person who doesn’t care if she wears the same clothes over and over again. She comes from poverty and knows what it’s like to suffer life’s toughest struggles because she’s been through it all and has experienced it first-hand. She sees the best in people regardless of what they may have done to her in the past. I have personally gotten to talk to a few people she has worked with and they all speak very highly of her. She is not your cookie-cutter pop artist that’s like, “this is my new single and here’s my makeup line,” she is very passionate about what she does and refuses to stop until it’s exactly the way she wants it to be.
Have you ever met Selena? If not, what would you say?
I sadly have not gotten the chance to meet Selena yet and that is because her last tour ended before I even became a fan. Realistically speaking, if I met her, I don’t think I would be able to express how much I love her and how much she means to me. Theoretically speaking, I would try to have a genuine conversation with her about life. She is a great listener and is very eloquent so a tête-à-tête (face-to-face) with her would mean everything to me.
Are there any other Selena Gomez fan accounts you would recommend?
I am so grateful I got to meet some of the best people ever through my fan account. Here is a minimized list: @clownators @shadeofsmg @dailydoseofsel @selenator @outfitsbyselenax @selfetishs @selenagomez.doll2 @sexlikeselena and @selenastats.
The UMUSIC team would like to thank Mohammad and all of the Selena fans for the hard work they put into their accounts. Your compassion, aesthetics and humour do not go unnoticed.
Keep checking our social media for our next fan account of the month!
If you know of a fan account that deserves to be nominated for this series, don’t hesitate to tweet us: @umusic #FAOTM