Gomez gets girl-power boost in new music and film

[June 22, 2011]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Katy Perry and Britney Spears appear on a CD together but it's not the latest "Now" compilation.

Rather, the pop singers have written songs on Selena Gomez & the Scene's new album, "When the Sun Goes Down."

"I did have a lot of artists that I was very lucky enough to have songs written by and it's a good, uplifting album," Gomez said of her third CD. "It's really fun and very dance-y and I hope people like it."

Spears co-wrote the dance song "Whiplash," while Perry co-penned "That's More Like It. Singer Priscilla Renea -- who co-wrote Rihanna's "California King Bed" and Cheryl Cole's "Promise This" -- co-penned three songs on Gomez's album, including the lead single and Top 40 hit "Who Says." And the disc has a writing credit and guest appearance from British singer Pixie Lott.

"I think it's a powerful CD," Gomez said in a recent interview.

The 18-year-old's first two albums have reached gold status. The new record -- which has three songs co-penned by Gomez -- is out next week.

Days after her disc's release, Gomez will get another girl-power boost with the July 1 release of her new movie, "Monte Carlo," which also stars Leighton Meester of "Gossip Girl" and was co-produced by Nicole Kidman.

Gomez says leaving Los Angeles to shoot in Paris and Budapest was "so refreshing." But the grueling promotional tour that has followed -- maybe not so much.

The nationwide campaign, including a string of mall appearances, was recently interrupted when Gomez was hospitalized in Los Angeles for exhaustion, malnourishment and low iron.

The singer-actress, who is dating teen pop star Justin Bieber, says she enjoys having friends "in the business" and others who are not.

"Personally for me, I feel like it's good to have a balance of both," she said. "I have people in my life that are in the business and then I have friends who aren't in the business and family, so it's nice to kind of keep that.

"You want people that obviously understand what you're going through and then you also want people that's like, 'Let's not talk about (movie) sets or press or any of that, let's just talk about normal things.'"

Yet the entertainer, whose "Wizards of Waverly Place" is ending its fourth and final season on Disney, says she's noticed that her life -- and the people around her -- are changing.

"Your life definitely changes a little bit and you kind of think people's motives change toward you," she said. "Just got to be careful -- that's all."

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Online:

http://www.selenagomez.com/home

[Associated Press; By MESFIN FEKADU]

Mesfin Fekadu can be reached at http://twitter.com/musicmesfin.

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