Last minute change? The Weeknd’s Selena Gomez dub at Coachella came in the form of a dropped lyric on his song “Party Monster,” which fans recognized for its mention of “Selena” in the past. The Dawn FM singer noticeably changed the name up on his song during his exhilarating set.
While the namesake on “Party Monster” in the line “Like Selena, ass shaped like Selena” actually refers to Mexican singer Selena Quintanilla, many fans throughout the years believed the lyric to be about Selena Gomez herself. However, in this specific set, The Weeknd changed up the name to Brazilian singer Anitta. “Like Anitta, ass shaped like Anitta,” he sang.
“Party Monster” was written months before the “Save Your Tears” singer got together with Selena. The song was released in 2016, while the Only Murders in the Building star and the Weeknd were first reported together in January 2017. The two moved into a New York City apartment together but amicably split in November 2017.
Three months after their breakup, The Weeknd released his My Dear Melancholy EP, where he reflected on the impact of his past relationship. “I think I just had nothing else to say on this…whatever…It was just like this cathartic piece of art,” he says about the writing process. “And yeah, it was short, because that’s all I had to say on this situation.”
Selena has positively spoken about her relationship with The Weekend, and has continually supported him in his career. “Something that I’m really proud of is that there’s such a true friendship [between me and The Weeknd],” she said in an interview with Billboard in November 2017. “I truly have never experienced anything like that in my life. We ended it as best friends, and it was genuinely about encouraging and caring [for each other], and that was pretty remarkable for me,” she said at the time.
The Weeknd headlined the coveted Sunday headlining spot after Kanye West dropped out at the last minute. He shared the spot with Swedish DJ group Swedish House Mafia as they closed out the first weekend together. Anitta also debuted on the Coachella stage this year, making her the first Brazilian solo artist to perform at the desert music festival.