Selena Gomez recalls 'pressure to seem more adult' early in her career

Selena Gomez recently opened up about the struggles she faced while growing up in the spotlight, and said she felt the expectation to be overtly sexual early in her career.

In an interview with Allure for the magazine's October 2020 Best of Beauty issue cover story, Selena Gomez, who was 23 when she released her second studio album "Revival" in 2015, revealed that she felt "pressure to seem more adult" at the time.

"I just did things that weren't really me. There was pressure to seem more adult on my album, Revival. (I felt) the need to show skin... I really don't think I was (that) person," the 28-year-old said.

The album which topped the charts with its release, featured 16 songs including "Hands to Myself," "Same Old Love," "Good for You" and "Kill Em with Kindness." Gomez created a sensation with the album's cover art which featured a black-and-white picture of the pop-star dressed in high-waisted black shorts with her hair and arms crossed over covering her breasts.

In an interview with Ryan Seacrest ahead of the album's release, the "Fetish" hitmaker had said that the picture was a "beautiful representation of where I am." She also explained that she is wearing shorts even though she appears nude in the cover photo saying: "I have these high-waisted shorts that are cut off, and it kind of reminds me of a little Linda Ronstadt '70s vibe. I always used to get told I look like her and I started listening to her music because of that and I love '70s."

However, the "Disney" alum has now confessed that she felt she was pushed beyond her comfort zone while working on the album and felt the need to show skin.

The singer released "Rare," her third and latest studio album, earlier this year. It marked her first album since "Revival" and also her first since she battled and recovered from lupus disease. In the interview with Allure, Gomez recalled the constant criticism of her weight even though she had been transparent about her diagnosis with the autoimmune disease for which she underwent an urgent kidney transplant and a second surgery for complications related to the first operation.

"I was dealing with a lot of medical problems, so I fluctuated in weight a lot. It was just unfair for someone to handle," she said.