Gomez gets girl-power boost in new music and film

New York: Katy Perry and Britney Spears appear on a CD together but it`s not the latest ‘Now’ compilation.

Rather, the pop singers have written songs on Selena Gomez & the Scene`s new album, ‘When the Sun Goes Down.’ “I did have a lot of artists that I was very lucky enough to have songs written by and it`s a good, uplifting album,” Gomez said of her third CD. “It`s really fun and very dance-y and I hope people like it.” Spears co-wrote the dance song ‘Whiplash,’ while Perry co-penned ‘That`s More Like It. Singer Priscilla Renea — who co-wrote Rihanna`s ‘California King Bed’ and Cheryl Cole`s ‘Promise This’ — co-penned three songs on Gomez`s album, including the lead single and Top 40 hit ‘Who Says.’ And the disc has a writing credit and guest appearance from British singer Pixie Lott. ‘I think it`s a powerful CD,’ Gomez said in a recent interview. The 18-year-old`s first two albums have reached gold status. The new record — which has three songs co-penned by Gomez — is out next week. Days after her disc`s release, Gomez will get another girl-power boost with the July 1 release of her new movie, ‘Monte Carlo,’ which also stars Leighton Meester of ‘Gossip Girl’ and was co-produced by Nicole Kidman. Gomez says leaving Los Angeles to shoot in Paris and Budapest was “so refreshing.” But the grueling promotional tour that has followed — maybe not so much. The nationwide campaign, including a string of mall appearances, was recently interrupted when Gomez was hospitalized in Los Angeles for exhaustion, malnourishment and low iron. The singer-actress, who is dating teen pop star Justin Bieber, says she enjoys having friends ‘in the business’ and others who are not. ‘Personally for me, I feel like it`s good to have a balance of both,’ she said. ‘I have people in my life that are in the business and then I have friends who aren`t in the business and family, so it`s nice to kind of keep that. ‘You want people that obviously understand what you`re going through and then you also want people that`s like, “Let`s not talk about (movie) sets or press or any of that, let`s just talk about normal things.” Yet the entertainer, whose ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ is ending its fourth and final season on Disney, says she`s noticed that her life — and the people around her — are changing. ‘Your life definitely changes a little bit and you kind of think people`s motives change toward you,’ she said. ‘Just got to be careful — that`s all.’ Bureau Report