Selena Gomez has announced that she’s cancelling her upcoming world tour, disappointing fans and no doubt her record label. Selena released a statement thanking her fans for their support and apologizing to them for cancelling the tour, but she also added that she needs a break after working constantly for so many years.
Of course, the first reason that most people have jumped to is alcohol or drug addiction. However, I think it’s a lot more simple than that – just pure exhaustion and fear of burning out. If we look at famous pop stars who started out as child stars – i.e. Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, the ratio of long-term success to burning out is a lot lower than you would hope, which probably frightens Selena.
She has been working steadily since she got her start on Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place, without any break or complaints. Considering the trajectory of other Disney child stars, it’s remarkable that she’s not had any major drug controversies or really, any controversies. Sure, she made some relationship mistakes, but her career has been remarkably consistent since she left Disney. You could probably thank her family for that, but she also has a good head on her shoulders.
Now, if she continues working at this pace, that might not last for much longer. Drugs and alcohol are often easier to get addicted to if you’re not in the position to say no. And if Selena gets to the point of exhaustion, she might just turn to drugs to keep her going – and that happens to musicians far more than you’d think.
Anyway, it’s actually surprising that her label allowed her to cancel on such a short notice. They’re going to be losing millions of dollars, so either they’re the kindest executives we’ve ever heard of, or they just don’t have a choice in the matter… or there is more to this story and more wrong with Selena than we know.
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