Selena Gomez has been getting dragged online for her performance at the AMAs yesterday, which hundreds of fans slammed for being ‘off-key’.
But now a source has told PEOPLE that the singer suffered a panic attack right before hitting the stage, and that it seriously impacted her performance.
WATCH: Selena Gomez sings off-key in her own chorus during AMAs 2019
No shade to Selena here but her AMAs performance yesterday was noticeably shaky, and now we know why.
As the source explains, this was the first time Selena had performed on stage for a really long time and Lose You To Love Me is a raw tune about heartbreak and learning to love yourself, so we can understand why Sel would have been feeling vulnerable.
“She definitely had a panic attack. She was nervous. She hasn’t been on stage in two years, and it’s an important song in her career,” the source revealed.
“She really wanted to deliver.”
The source continued: “It threw her off. She did sound better at rehearsal.”
Even though her performance was slammed online, the source told the mag that our gal still had fun regardless.
“She had fun afterwards with her friends and family and was in good spirits.”
Selena has been open about her mental health journey in the past, revealing in a powerful speech earlier this year that she has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression.
“I think that we are better when we tell the truth,” Gomez said in her acceptance speech for the 2019 McLean Award for Mental Health Advocacy.
“And so, this is my truth. Last year, I was suffering mentally and emotionally, and I wasn’t able to stay all buttoned up and together. I wasn’t able to hold a smile or to keep things looking normal.”
Gomez went on to say that she sought help and that she was ‘relieved’ to finally able to address the feelings that had weighed her down for years.
“I sought support and the doctors were able to give me a clear diagnosis,” she said.
“The moment that I had received that information I had actually felt equal parts terrified and relieved. Terrified, obviously, because the veil was lifted, but relieved that I finally had the knowledge of why I had suffered for so many years with depression and anxiety.”
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