How did Selena Gomez transition from Disney Channel to mature entertainment… and no one seem to notice or mind?

Selena had one of the most flawlessly smooth transitions from kid-friendly entertainment to entertainment with more adult themes as she got older, which isn’t always the easiest thing to accomplish for child stars.

It’s actually really difficult for child stars to do, and that’s why you see a lot of stories of child stars growing up and going down the wrong path in their adulthood.

But that hasn’t been the case for Selena.

Selena has been open and honest about mental health struggles, like bipolar disorder and depression, but her career has never actually taken a hit.

I’m an independent pop culture journalist. I spent seven years, writing professional entertainment articles for iHeartRadio, RapTV, official Netflix synopses, and several other outlets.

And right now, I want to share my two cents on how Selena was able to make such a smooth transition from being a child star to being an adult celebrity who is respected and taken seriously in the entertainment industry.

Scrubbing her squeaky clean Disney Channel image

Like most child stars who are graduating from Disney Channel or Nickelodeon, Selena was obviously also interested in scrubbing away her squeaky clean Disney Channel image, which is probably the biggest and most obvious reason why she agreed to start in the movie Spring Breakers.

The movie premiered in 2012, which was the same year that her Disney Channel show, Wizards of Waverly Place, was coming to an end with its final season.

That is not a coincidence.

And what about some of the music she decided to start releasing as she moved forward in scrubbing away her squeaky clean Disney Channel image?

While she was part of the band Selena Gomez & the Scene, which formed in 2008, she was signed to Disney’s Hollywood records releasing kid-friendly songs like Who Says, Tell Me Something I Don’t Know, and Naturally.

Obviously, her music started touching on more adult themes after she left the record label owned by Disney and signed onto Interscope Records.

I’m just shining a light on the most crucial answer to the question of how she could transition from this to this.

And it’s the fact that Selena desired to stop being perceived as the innocent little girl from Disney Channel as she started getting older.

This is something everyone should be able to understand. No one wants to be stuck being thought of as a little kid forever.

Selena played her cards right and was able to create a smooth transition for herself.

Selena’s sexiest movie role was inarguably GOOD

Let’s talk about Spring Breakers since it’s the movie that stirred up the most chaos, started the most conversations, and brought in the most backlash for Selena when she agreed to star in it.

Because yes, there were some fans who were completely outraged that Selena went straight from playing Alex Russo to partying in a bikini in an R-rated film.

But as much as people might have wanted to be pissed off or frustrated at Selena‘s decision to film the movie like Spring Breakers, actually watching the movie in its entirety caused some fans to shift their perspectives entirely.

And that’s because Selena‘s performance in the movie was so incredibly impressive.

Her role in the movie was thought-provoking and relatable to a lot of young people who are struggling with things like peer pressure, trying to fit in with friends who might be bad influences, and wanting to live a fun and fulfilling life where you know deep down, you aren’t wasting your youth.

Although some people might criticize the overall premise of spring breakers, one thing nearly all critics can agree on is that Selena performance in the movie was golden.

She showed up and showed out, which in my opinion is partly why it was so easy for people to become more forgiving and comfortable with her decision to fill it as she transitioned from kid-friendly entertainment to adult themed entertainment.

Her performance in the movie was described as “artistic growth“ as she played a character named Faith, who is grappling with her own moral dilemma in the middle of race, dirty, provocative, gritty chaos.

The character she played shed light on the trials and tribulations of moral ambiguity, ethical scrutiny, self-reflection, and introspective questioning.

It actually goes way deeper than you might’ve thought at first glance if you haven’t watched or rewatch that movie anytime recently.

But there are layers to that movie, which is why critics respected Selena‘s performance in the film.

And in my opinion, it’s why she wasn’t slammed so terribly by fans who are genuinely shocked that she agreed to start in the movie fresh off the heels of Disney Channel.

Selena‘s super sexy songs are inarguably GOOD

Let’s discuss Selena‘s sexiest song releases, and the fact that they are undeniably good.

You literally can’t argue against the fact that some of Selena‘s best songs have a hypersexual message to them, yet they are still revered by music lovers everywhere.

Selena‘s transition from kid-friendly entertainment to more adult themed projects worked out well for her because many of the songs she agreed to record are just undeniably that good.

Inarguably good.

Many of the songs she recorded that pushed the boundaries of being super edgy and sexy were so good when they were originally released that it’s impossible for people to be angry at her over them or hold a grudge against her for “inappropriate content.”

I’m talking about songs like Hands to Myself, Fetish, Come & Get It, Good For You, and Body Heat.

I’m not gonna lie… Selena was on her grown woman shit with some of these lyrics.

In Hands to Myself, she sings, “Come on and give me a taste of what it’s like to be next to you. Won’t let it drop go to waste…“

In Good For You, she sings, “Let me show you how proud I am to be yours, leave this dress a mess on the floor…”

In Body Heat, she sings, “Like a diamond. I need a little pressure. So press me down till I scream…“

And don’t even get me started on the music videos for these songs. Based on things I’ve seen on Reddit from the grossest dude in the world, Selena‘s music videos are considered “spank bank” material. So take with that what you will.

But regardless of confessions like that from random perverts on the Internet, one thing you have to acknowledge is that these songs are just incredibly good.

They’re catchy, they’re fun, they make you want to listen from start to finish.

Selena agreed to record music that maybe only adults should be listening to, but it’s not like she was dropping trashy songs that didn’t actually sound good.

I want to add that Selena herself has admitted she doesn’t think she has the best, most powerful singing voice ever, but the songs she’s agreed to sing have been perfect for her vocal range and they’re the reason she’s taking home a Billboard Music Award, an MTV Music Video Award, and iHeartRadio Music Award, and much more than that.

Selena went in a more adult direction with her music choices as she got older, but the trajectory was still perfectly smooth.

The Miley Cyrus distraction

There’s no way we can ignore or deny the Miley Cyrus distraction.

Selena was distancing herself from her Disney Channel image at the same time as Miley, which served in Selena‘s favor because people were way more distracted by what Miley was doing in comparison to Selena.

Went through a huge transformation to shed her Disney persona when she released Bangerz in 2013 including Wrecking Ball where she literally swung on a wrecking ball without any clothes on.

That was the same album that she released We Can’t Stop as a single, which is still considered one of the best party songs of this generation.

And she also released Adore You as a single in which she was giving hard-core bedroom energy throughout the entire music video.

That was also the timeframe when her raunchy performance with Robin Thicke on stage at the VMAs became globally infamous.

It sparked major controversy and started cultural conversations about how far was too far.

Miley chopped off her long brown hair, bleached it blonde, and was twerking at every chance she got.

While this was all happening, Selena was also doing her best to move beyond her Disney Channel image, but with the widespread distraction of Miley‘s antics, Selena was sort of skating by without snagging as much negative attention or headlines.

Blending in neutral middle ground projects

Another reason for Selena’s smooth transition from this to this is that she blended in many neutral middle ground projects that catered to both a kid-friendly audience and an adult audience.

Over the years, Selena never fully abandoned her her fans who are under the age of 18, just because she herself has gotten older.

And we know that because Wizards of Waverly Place ended in 2012, but since then, she’s been a voice actress in the Hotel Transylvania animated movie franchise.

She’s starred in other projects that cater to viewers of all ages, including A Rainy Day in New York with Timothée Chalamet, The Fundamentals of Caring with Paul Rudd, Selena + Chef her reality TV cooking show, and Only Murders in the Building with Martin Short and Steve Martin.

Only Murders specifically has been the ideal project for Selena as a neutral middle ground show to star in since it attracts viewers from every generation from Gen Z to boomers.

And many of her songs have been on that same wavelength.

You won’t just catch songs like Fetish and Hands to Myself from Selena.

She’s also released songs like Calm Down, Ice Cream, Love On, and many of the tracks from her new joint album with Benny Blanco that aren’t just reserved for an audience of adult listeners.

Her neutral middle ground movies, shows, and music has certainly been a positive move in her transition from this to this, in my opinion.

Selena’s real-life struggles showcased her level of maturity

A big reason I think Selena’s transition has been so smooth is that her real life struggles have thoroughly showcase her level of maturity.

Selena was dealing with a very adult level of stress during her 10 year off and on relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Justin Bieber.

She admitted that she needed to check into a mental health facility amid all of that chaos in 2014 because she was really going through a hard time.

2014 is when she checked into a facility called Dawn at the Meadows in Arizona.

In 2016, she checked into a Tennessee facility for anxiety, depression, and panic attacks.

And in 2018, she entered treatment again, following her break up with Justin.

Kids who are in la la land without facing any heartbreak or adversity don’t understand the struggles or pain of depression and anxiety.

In real time and in real life, Selena was facing some very real and adult heartache, which is why I believe fans were more comfortable embracing her as she grew up and started taking on more mature roles in her career.

The fact that Selena has always been super open, honest, and vulnerable about what she’s been through and what she goes through is a huge piece of this puzzle.

Things that were happening in Selena‘s real life allowed the world to start viewing her as a mature and emotionally aware young woman, which allowed people to become more accepting of the decisions she made in her career as well.

Selena’s brutal honesty about becoming a woman in front of the world…

Selena has been brutally honest about what it’s felt like for her growing up in front of the lights and cameras and becoming a woman in front of a world who’s always heavily scrutinized her.

She opened up about her time filming spring breakers during an interview with Elle saying, “I was only 18 or 19. It was the first thing I did right after my Disney show and it was such a crazy detour. That’s when I knew I was going to fall in love with filmmakers and really gritty, fun stuff that was a little too graphic. I know that people will judge my involvement in the movie as a whole, I’m prepared to accept that.”

She went on to describe Spring Breakers as a “project I’m proud of despite its uniqueness.”

When Today interviewed her right after the movie premiered in theaters, they asked her about it, and she said, “It was completely liberating. Up until this film, everything I’ve been part of definitely has been a bit more processed… I feel like I did grow up shooting this. This is the first movie I shot by myself without my mom coming. It was the first time I got to improvise as much as I have.“

Selena admitted she knew people would judge her for starring in the movie, but she did it anyway, because it was the right thing for her.

She revealed that starring in that movie specifically helped her feel like she was growing up. It allowed her to embody self growth, which is a beautiful thing.

Along with Wizards of Waverly Place, Selena‘s earlier kid-friendly roles on Barney & Friends, Another Cinderella Story, Ramona & Beezus, Spy Kids 3D, Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and Princess Protection Program really shaped the public perception of who she was as a young starlet.

As the years have progressed, she has reclaimed her identity to prove that who she is in the entertainment industry goes beyond the projects she starred in when she was still a child.