Wednesday night, Selena Gomez invited fans to sit in the audience of the Palace Theater in Downtown Los Angeles with the promise of having them be part of the video shoot for her latest single, "Same Old Love". The song would be the second song of her upcoming album, Revival.
Once the house lights went out, a giant screen descended on stage and began showing the "Same Old Song" video, directed by Michael Haussman. We were all curious - if we were there to be part of the shoot, why were we watching the finished product?
But the surprise was still to come.
In the video, Selena is being driven in a town car, where she sits in the back seat, singing the song as rain pours down the nighttime city. Her ultimate destination is still unknown at this point.
After observing enough brokenhearted people during her ride, which she subsequently abandons, it becomes clear that in the video Selena is expected to be at a concert venue for her own performance. There is panic by her handlers when the town car arrives with no Selena in sight.
Never fear, all is not lost. Though we're not sure why she decided to take a pedestrian detour, Selena arrives at the back door of the venue just in the nick of time. We see her glam squad put the finishing touches on her already flawless face as her stressed out handlers guide Selena through the dark and narrow path of the theater halls and on to the curtained stage.
Then, in a seamless transition, as the curtain in the video begins to lifts and expose the audience, the actual video screen on the Palace Theater stage rises and there in front of us -- as if she popped out of her own video -- is Miss Gomez herself, singing the chorus of the song right on cue. It's like she was there all along -- same dress, same hairdo, same everything. The crowd went wild, and the camera crew was there to capture the genuinely excited and surprised fans sitting -- actually now standing at their feet -- in the theater, going nuts. (And yes, it was done in one take. No stops and starts or repeats.)
Afterward, a chair was brought to the stage and Selena sat down and began a heartfelt speech. She thanked her fans for always being there for her, told them how much she adores them, and how this is a new stage in her life which includes a switch to new record label with Revival.
Then she sang her first single from the album, Good For You, spoke a bit more to the fans, asked to take a giant group photo with them, pointing to a photographer way up in the balcony.