“New York back in August / 10th floor balcony / Smoke is floating over / Jane and Greenwich street,” sings Selena Gomez, 27, at the start of “Souvenir,” one of the three bonus songs included in the deluxe version of Rare, released on Apr. 9. While the other two – “Boyfriend” and “She” – gave Selenators a reason to bop their head on a Thursday, it was “Souvenir” that had Abelena fans freaking out. Though she doesn’t directly address her ex, The Weeknd, 30, by name, Selena dropped a major line in the chorus that had fans gagged in shock. “You’re giving me chills at a hundred degrees /it’s better than pills how you put me to sleep / Calling your name, the only language I can speak / taking my breath, a souvenir that you can keep.”
Catch that? Selena’s fans certainly did, and they drew a connection between her “Calling your name, the only language I can speak” with “Call Out My Name,” a track The Weeknd allegedly wrote about her on his now-famous breakup EP, My Dear Melancholy. “Call Out My Name and Missed You by the Weeknd & Souvenir by Selena. IT CAN’T BE A FUCKING COINCIDENCE,” one fan tweeted, and others agreed. “The Weeknd: ‘Won’t you call out my name?’ Selena: ‘Calling your name, only language I can speak.’ And I oop.” “This song has so many references about The Weeknd: Call out my name and In your eyes.”
The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) dropped My Dear Melancholy in March 2018, following his and Selena’s breakup in October 2017. While they were together, the two had a high-profile romance on the streets of Manhattan. The then-couple evenly reportedly moved in together while she was working on Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day In New York. Ergo, those references to Greenwich village and Jane Street in “Souvenir” had many fans thinking she was talking about her ex.
THE WEEKND: “call out my name”
SELENA GOMEZ: “calling your name, the only language I can speak”
— seansky 🇵🇪 #peruanlivesmatters (@skyisrare) April 9, 2020
Keep in mind, Abel (supposedly) wrote about Selena first. “We found each other / I helped you out of a broken place / You gave me comfort / But falling for you was my mistake,” Abel sang on “Call Out Name,” one of the many songs fans think is about her on Melancholy. “I put you on top, I put you on top / I claimed you so proud and openly / And when times were rough, when times were rough / I made sure I held you close to me … So call out my name (Call out my name, baby) / So call out my name when I kiss you so gently (Ohh) / I want you to stay (I want you to stay).”
Some think Abel carried the pain of this broken heart onto his new album, After Hours. In that “In Your Eyes,” he sings how he’ll “pretend that I’m in the dark / I don’t regret ’cause my heart can’t take a loss,” indicating a lover is two-timing him with another. After Selena and Abel broke up, she reunited (for seemingly the last time) with Justin Bieber, and that breakup would inspire her biggest hit yet, “Lose You To Love Me.” Plus, if all this wasn’t enough, fans think “Missed You,” a track on the deluxe edition of After Hours, reference to a reference. “I said your name by mistake, played it off like I’m just confused / But I was frontin’, lyin’ to myself when I know the truth.”
