“Younger And Hotter Than Me," Selena Gomez's Lovingly Loathsome Letter to the Industry
“We’re not getting any younger, but your girlfriends seem to.”
With over 1 million views a day since its release 5 days ago (as of March 26th, 2025), Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s music video for “Younger And Hotter Than Me” takes Gomez back to her adolescence, and 2000s babies back to their childhood.
Track 2 off of Gomez and Blanco’s newly released album, I Said I Love You First, “Younger And Hotter Than Me” at first listen sounds like a somber soliloquy aimed towards a past lover that has moved on. But, any Wizards of Waverly Place fan can quickly recognize the set of Gomez’s music video for the track – the living room of the Russo home, covered in sheets, left to collect dust.
Gomez played the show’s star, Alex Russo, for 4 seasons and a movie. She was a young wizard who grew up with the viewers. Gomez got her start at a young age on children's show Barney & Friends, and skyrocketed to fame soon after. Growing up under the fluorescent lights of studios and public scrutiny harmed Gomez and other young children stars far more than we can imagine.
When first advertised, I Said I Love You First could seemingly be about Gomez and Blanco’s loving, passionate relationship and new engagement. While some songs may be implied to fall under that category, “Younger And Hotter Than Me” is about a different, more damaging relationship (and no, it's not the one with Justin Bieber).
Gomez’s relationship with the TV and film industry is tumultuous, love-hate, and longstanding. Gomez’s music video for “Younger And Hotter Than Me” is about how that industry replaces aging stars with their younger remakes. Gomez, forever living in the dusty set that was her home during her adolescent years, realizes that she’ll never be admired like she was back then. She despises her increasing age and society’s desire for her to decrease with it.
Gomez will be forever beautiful, talented, and adored by many, but networks like Disney and Nickelodeon don’t often recognize that and instead discard older actresses and deem that they’ve already passed their prime. But for Gomez, she proves she’s just getting started – she’s now a self-made billionaire who runs a very successful beauty brand, Rare, and is still a successful actress.
The “Younger And Hotter Than Me” video shows Gomez living on the old set of Wizards of Waverly Place with Blanco visiting her. Symbolizing her still at the restaurant, Gomez reminisces on her time on set when the lights shined on her rather than on the next shiny thing.
The “Younger And Hotter Than Me” music video shows us the depth of damage that the TV and film industry can have on young actresses, the regret that follows, and how often those actresses have to lose the limelight to learn to love themselves.
