Selena Gomez may be engaged to Benny Blanco and so in love, she even released an album with him, but that won't stop fans (and, let's face it, everyone else) from speculating about the real inspo behind her songs. And right now, they're convinced that Selena's “How Does It Feel To Be Forgotten” is about Justin Bieber.
“How Does It Feel To Be Forgotten” is the ninth track off Selena and Benny's joint album, I Said I Love You First, and regardless of inspiration, it's a stand out. Moody, yet sassy, the song is part meditation on a past relationship, part revenge track, and has an absolutely deliciously vicious chorus: “You're so embarrassing / Go cry where no one's watching / I can't imagine it / How does it feel to be forgotten?” Ouch.
To be fair, the song could be about an old friend gone by the wayside. The lyrics start with a run-in with someone from her past: “Cause you walked in, big-ass grin / Talking like we're friends, honey what were you thinking? / He loves me, I love him / Look at you, just look at you now.” So, okay, it definitely sounds like it's about an ex, but Selena's dating history also includes Charlie Puth and The Weeknd—it could be about anyone, right? Right?
Not according to fans who have linked the “talking like we're friends” lyric to reports from 2024 that suggested that Justin wanted to reach out to Selena and Benny to clear the air, but that they weren't interested. “[Justin has] tried so many times to make peace with them and get past the BS, but they just won't let it go, and now he's saying good riddance,” a source told In Touch at the time. “He thinks they're lame and immature, and he's not going to bother trying to be friendly anymore.” Other fans have already started putting the track to video of Justin out and about (and, yes, crying in public).
Seemingly anticipating how fans would want to tie her new music to Justin, Selena told Spotify's Countdown To... that the songs on I Said I Love You First weren't necessarily about her public relationships. “Most of this album has nothing to do with what everyone may go to,” she said. “I've evolved so much and I have experienced life with new people. I've had to go through transitions with friends and lose people in my life and gain new people, and I've had a whole new life forever.”
She continued, saying that while she knows fans will interpret her songs however they see fit, she thought it was important to know that as far as she is concerned, the songs are “about both our pasts and our history and also just inspired by friends and relationships.”
Whoever inspired “How Does It Feel To Be Forgotten” is definitely having a pretty bad day, but, personally, I'd like to thank them for their service. It might be my favorite Selena song yet.
