Why fans are speculating that Selena Gomez's new music is about Justin Bieber

Selena Gomez just released a new album in collaboration with her fiancé Benny Blanco.

As many of us could probably have predicted, people have immediately started speculating about whether some of Selena's new songs could be about her ex Justin Bieber and/or his wife Hailey Bieber. So, anyway, here's what we know about all that.

Specifically, there are rumours out there concerning the songs "How Does It Feel to Be Forgotten," "You Said You Were Sorry," and "Don't Take It Personally." Some people believe the first two could be about Justin, while the third could be about Hailey.

The lyrics to "How Does It Feel to Be Forgotten" go as follows (via Genius):

"And you walked in, big-ass grin
Talkin' like we're friends, honey, what were you thinkin'?
He loves me, I love him
Look at you, just look at you now

CHORUS
You're so embarrassin'
Go cry when no one's watchin'
I can't imagine it
How does it feel to be forgotten (Ah), forgotten? (Ah-ah)
How does it feel?
I hope one day you heal
How does it feel to be forgotten?"

Selena Gomez, benny blanco - How Does It Feel To Be Forgotten (Official Lyric Video) - YouTube

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On the simplest level, this song definitely sounds like it's about an ex of Selena's, with Justin being her most recent serious ex before Benny (Jelena dated on and off until 2018, though Selena and The Weeknd were romantically involved the year before that).

But more specifically, as reported by BuzzFeed, there's a theory that the "friends" element could point to Justin in particular, as he's rumoured to have tried to be friendly with Selena in 2024, but she allegedly wasn't having it.

Meanwhile, the lyrics to "You Said You Were Sorry" go like this (via Genius):

"Don't think about you
Happy without you
More now than I ever was

CHORUS
But I had a dream
You said you were sorry, said you were sorry
Sorry for everything
That you put on me, that you put on me"

Selena Gomez, benny blanco - You Said You Were Sorry (Official Lyric Video) - YouTube

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According to BuzzFeed, this song could be acting as a callback to Justin's 2015 hit "Sorry," which he once said was at least partially about Selena.

Last but not least, the song "Don't Take It Personally" goes:

"Please don't take it personally
Some things are just meant to be
Don't waste all your energy
We both know that he loves me"

The narrative voice here is essentially telling their partner's ex that they've lost.

But rather than this being a song in which Selena is talking to Benny's ex, she actually explained: "So this song is another song that actually we kind of put together in a way where it was actually told to me."

She continued: "So this is actually me in the experience of someone maybe in my past that, you know, had gone through whatever they needed to go through to get through life and this felt—this is odd to say, but yes, I'm the person that it happened to."

Basically, while we're missing some key details here, it could be that in these lyrics, a fictionalised Hailey is saying these things to Selena.

However, Selena has also said about the album: "Any time I release anything the interpretation is going to be up to the audience. However, I would like to say that most of this album has nothing to do with what everyone may go to."

These comments seem to deny that the album is about Justin, but it's all very likely to remain a mystery.