AMAs 2019: Selena Gomez Reportedly Had ‘Panic Attack’ Before First Live Performance in 2 Years

Selena Gomez gave her first live performance in two years at the American Music Awards on Sunday night, taking the stage to sing her two newest songs, “Lose You to Love Me” and “Look at Her Now.”

The 27-year-old was clearly emotional during the performance and fans online even wondered whether she had had a panic attack, a rumor a source confirmed to E! News.

“Selena definitely had anxiety and a panic attack before she went out and was putting a lot of pressure on herself,” the source claimed.

After the show, Gomez thanked fans for their support in an Instagram post. “Feels good to be back,” she wrote alongside a series of red carpet photos. “Thank you to my entire team and to my fans that stand by me. All of this is for you and because of you. excited for this chapter #sg2 @amas.”

The Texas native recently returned to the spotlight after an extended absence, and her slot at the AMAs was her first live television performance in two years. Both of her comeback singles are very personal to the star, who opened up about what the songs mean to her in an interview with Ryan Seacrest.

“More than anything I think I feel a sense of relief,” she said. “It’s been four years since I’ve been working on this album. It’s actually perfect timing because I was going to release it two years ago and none of the words that I’m speaking would have existed. So taking a moment to actually feel the feelings that I’ve gone through it’s just, I don’t know, I’m just so grateful that it’s out.”

“Lose You to Love Me” is an emotional breakup track, and Gomez said that she would “absolutely not” have released the song while she was going through the heartbreak that inspired it. Certain lyrics of the song and Gomez’s relationship history have led many fans to believe that the song is about her ex Justin Bieber, and while the star didn’t mention him by name, she told Seacrest that “Lose You to Love Me” is a natural follow-up to one of her previous releases, which was also speculated to about the Canadian singer.

“I released a song ‘Heart Wants What It Wants’ ages ago… I felt like within going from there to go where I am now, it’s like the greatest feeling, so it made sense,” she shared. “Behind what I’m saying in ‘Lose You to Love Me’ it is very black and white, there’s no in between. That’s it. And for ‘Look at Her Now,’ that’s just my life exploding into all these amazing things.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Emma McIntyre/AMA2019