Getty Some are looking for clues in the lyrics of Selena Gomez's Vulnerable.
Vulnerable is the sixth track on Selena Gomez’s highly anticipated album, Rare. The song is about choosing to stay vulnerable and open to experiences, even if means taking on risks in a romantic situation.
In an interview with Spotify, Gomez described the making of this album as a “nightmare,” but a positive one, saying, “I thought that I was so ready, like, two years ago…I had collected all of these sessions and don’t even remember half of them because it evolved each year. And something would happen to me and it would be very drastic, and would take me somewhere else. And then all the sudden, I found this healing, and I saw something bigger than what I thought that I was. And I think that added the end of the album.”
Some people are wondering whether Selena meant the Vulnerable lyrics as a message to her former boyfriend, the now married Justin Bieber. Rare is Selena’s first album since she broke up with Bieber. He’s now married to Hailey Baldwin, but Selena and Bieber had a famously up-and-down relationship for years dating to around 2011. Vulnerable isn’t the only track on the album, either, that people think might be about Bieber, who, by 2019, revealed he didn’t even follow Selena on Instagram.
The couple finally called it quits in 2018. According to US Magazine, a source close to Gomez explained, “She obviously chose happiness and her friends and family and is so thrilled about her decision-making process. She feels more empowered than ever and is looking forward to this next chapter.” The source added: “Selena started seeing the bigger picture when it came to their relationship, like what was more important: her general happiness and her family and friends’ approval, or her being together with Justin, where no one really supported their relationship.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Vulnerable Song Lyrics: ‘If I Was the Greatest Thing to Happen to You, Would You Know It?’
Could the lyrics of Vulnerable be an ode to Justin? Selena hasn’t confirmed that, but, like many artists, she’s known to pour her heartbreak into her music. Although Selena sings about relationship problems, she paints herself in the album as a survivor with a bright future. She told Billboard: “I wanted a record that made people feel something, whether that was a hard relationship to get through, or gaining your confidence back, or being okay with just having fun. So there’s different layers to it, and I’m so grateful that it ended up becoming what it is now, after four and a half years.”
The song starts out, “If I gave you every piece of me, I know that you could drop it
Give you the chance, I know that you could take advantage once you got it
If I open up my heart to you, I know that you could lock it
Throw away the key and keep it there forever in your pocket.”
You can read the rest of the lyrics here.
Are There Any Hidden Easter Eggs in Vulnerable?
Vulnerable might, to some fans, seem like a direct acknowledgement of Gomez’s tumultuous relationship with Justin Bieber. However, she hasn’t indicated any connection between Bieber and the song. With that said, the lyrics that could pertain the most to her former relationship are the following:
“If I show you all my demons
And we dive into the deep end
Would we crash and burn like every time before? (I’ll stay vulnerable)”
One reason people think Selena might be directing a lot of the Rare messaging to Bieber? According to The New York Post, her first words on the album are: “Baby, you’ve been so distant to me lately / And lately don’t even want to call you ‘baby,’” which could be a reference to Bieber’s 2010 hit single, “Baby.”
Other songs on Rare, such as “People You Know” and “Kinda Crazy,” also refer to relationship troubles and a man letting a woman down. You can read more about the album and its release date here.
Selena Said Her Songs Were About Abuse in a Previous Relationship & Made Taylor Swift Cry
Selena did appear on a British radio station, KISS FM UK, and said that two of her songs – “Lose You to Love Me” and “Look at Her Now” – dealt with abuse in a past relationship. She didn’t specifically name the other person in that relationship, though. Gomez also dated Nick Jonas, so Bieber isn’t her only past relationship.
According to Gomez, the songs made both Taylor Swift and her mom cry.
“They were crying because of how proud they were for me stepping into a whole new era of my life and it not involving the horrible things — the abuse, the emotional chaos,” the 27-year-old singer said to KISS FM. Selena and Justin were off-and-on for years, and he started dating Hailey only two months after their final break up, according to Insider.