AMAs 2019: Selena Gomez Struggles Through First Live Performance in 2 Years

Selena Gomez’s return after two years to performing on television was a tough one as she struggled through opening Sunday’s American Music Awards with her two newest songs, “Lose You to Love Me” and “Look at Her Now.” The highly-anticipated performance lost its way as Gomez seemingly had a difficult time hearing herself during the slower, reflective breakup anthem, and while things picked up during the higher-energy “Look at Her Now” with a sparkling costume change, the set came to a close without her truly finding her rhythm.

The performance might not have been her best ever, but it was clear that Gomez was feeling the pressure stepping back onto the stage, getting emotional in what a source told E! News was a panic attack prior to performing.

“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 her performance, Gomez seemed to recover from the night, sending warm wishes to her fans and supporters. “Feels good to be back,” she wrote alongside a series of photos of her lime green red carpet gown. “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.”

It hasn’t been an easy road to her comeback singles, which are widely believed to be about her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber, with Gomez telling Ryan Seacrest in an interview that she’s been working on the album for four years ahead of its release.

“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.”

“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 added. “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 / Theo Wargo