RASQACHEPEDIA: SELENA
Selena was another understated
mega-diva, and no offense to Selena Gomez, but there will always only
be one true Selena and she doesn't need a last name. She was a
self-made Madonna (with help from her entourage), and Taylor Swift,
Nikki Minaj, Katie Perry, & Beyoncé
rolled into one Tex-Mex-mix of flavor, style, and a booming,
beautiful voice that could ease into any style of song and gracefully
accompany an impressive resume of guest vocalists in enchanting
duets.
The
secret to Selena's success was the full backing of her team. Selena
was more than the leader of the team. She was the icon and message
carrier for everyone's hard work and dedication to creating a larger
than life experience. Her band was incredibly talented and could play
in a wide range of genres. Her outfits were apologetically out there
with bright colors and sequins with a just touch of sex appeal, and
many have been directly copied by nearly every 21st
Century pop diva. Any where Selena went, there was an army of behind
the scenes workers making sure that she was the center of attention.
The key though was that they were all part of the “Selena Family”
and this united them so that they could create the perfect conditions
for her greatness to flow naturally.
As
much as Selena was an unstoppable force of stardom, she curiously
gets left out of the conversation when people talk about the greats.
It was almost impossible to leave the house in the mid 90s without
hearing “Dreaming of You”, even if you didn't know who was
singing the song. Most of us know there was a Hollywood film on her
life, starring J-Lo of all people, and maybe half of us have seen the
film, but for the most part, Selena is not a huge part of public
consciousness. Perhaps she was stunted by the stigma that music by
Mexicans is only for Mexicans, or maybe “gangsta rap” had been
taking over all the crossover potential, but for those who knew, none
of that other stuff mattered. From 1989 to 1995 Selena put out an
album each year but 1991 and her dedicated fan-base bought over 63
million copies of her music, not including live albums or
compilations.
Selena
was simply born at the wrong time and never got the exposure she
deserved or would have already attained had she launched her career
20 years later. For this reason only, she remains unassuming to
anyone not from Texas, or otherwise in-the-know. It would have been a
pleasure to have seen her live longer and see how far her career
would have gone in these changing times.
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