You know how some celebrity couples just never truly leave the collective consciousness? That’s Jelena. Even now, years after Justin Bieber married Hailey and Selena Gomez moved on with Benny Blanco, people are still dissecting the lyrics. It’s wild. We’re talking about a decade of on-again, off-again drama that basically soundtracked the 2010s.
But here is the thing: fans love to claim every sad song is about the ex. Not all of them are. If you actually look at what Justin has said in interviews—specifically that legendary sit-down with Ellen DeGeneres—the list of confirmed Justin Bieber songs about Selena Gomez is shorter than the internet thinks, yet way more emotional than you might remember.
The Three "Purpose" Confessions
In 2015, Justin was doing the rounds for his Purpose album. It was his big redemption arc. During an interview with Ellen, he didn't even try to hide it. He straight up admitted that three specific tracks were written with Selena in mind.
The first one is "Mark My Words." It’s the intro to the album. It’s short, haunting, and basically a plea. He sings about not letting the relationship "fade away" after everything they'd been through. Honestly, it's kinda heavy for an opening track. It set the tone that he wasn't over it yet.
Then you’ve got "What Do You Mean?" This was the lead single that officially saved his career. While it sounds like a tropical house bop you’d hear at a beach club, the lyrics are about his frustration with the mixed signals he was getting. He confirmed to Ellen that, yeah, it was inspired by her. You can hear it in the line "Wanna argue all day, makin' love all night." It captures that specific, exhausting loop of a relationship that's failing but won't quite die.
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Finally, there’s "Sorry." This is the big one. It’s the ultimate public apology. Interestingly, Julia Michaels—who is one of Selena’s closest friends and frequent co-writers—actually helped write this. That’s a layer of "Hollywood is a small world" that most people miss. Justin used this track to ask for one more shot at forgiveness. Whether he got it or not is history, but the song itself was a massive olive branch.
The Raw Heartbreak of the "Journals" Era
If you want the real, unpolished stuff, you have to go back to Journals. This was 2013. Justin was in the middle of a "bad boy" phase, getting arrested and causing chaos, but his music was surprisingly vulnerable.
During a radio interview with Power 106 in LA, Justin was asked about "All That Matters." He didn't blink. He said it was written when he was in a "great place" in his relationship and that "she [Selena] was all that mattered." It’s a slow, R&B-heavy track that feels much more intimate than his later pop hits.
But then the breakup hit. Hard.
"Heartbreaker" came out during that same period. On Twitter (back when it was still Twitter), Justin mentioned he wrote it while going through a "rough breakup." Given the timeline, there wasn't anyone else it could be about. He was hurting. The lyrics "I still believe in love / I still believe in us" are about as subtle as a sledgehammer.
He also dropped "Nothing Like Us," which is probably the saddest song in his entire discography. It’s just him and a piano. No slick production, no guest verses. It’s a bonus track on Believe Acoustic, and it’s a direct response to their first major split. He sings about how nothing can replace what they had. It feels like eavesdropping on a private phone call.
The Songs People Get Wrong (And the "Ghost" Controversy)
This is where the fan theories start to outrun the facts.
Take "Love Yourself." Everyone—and I mean everyone—assumed this was a diss track aimed at Selena. The line "My mama don't like you and she likes everyone" felt like a direct shot. But wait. Justin told Ryan Seacrest the song was about an ex he didn't want to "put on blast." While it's possible it's about Selena, some people think it might actually be about a girl he dated briefly during one of their "off" periods. Remember, Ed Sheeran co-wrote this one, and it carries a lot of Ed's specific "salty breakup" energy.
And then there’s "Ghost" from the Justice album.
When this came out in 2021, the Jelena shippers went into a frenzy. They pointed to the lyrics "I miss your touch some nights when I'm hollow" as proof he was still pining for Selena. But Justin actually debunked this. He told British Vogue the song is about grief and the "quarantine situation" we all went through. It was meant to be a song about losing people to death or distance, not specifically a romantic breakup.
Does that stop people from editing "Ghost" over old videos of them on TikTok? Of course not. But according to the man himself, it’s not a Selena song.
The Music Video Clues: "Where Are Ü Now"
Sometimes the lyrics don't say it, but the visuals do. In the video for "Where Are Ü Now," Justin let fans go wild with graffiti on the frames. If you pause it at just the right millisecond, you can see "Where are r now, Selena" written on the screen.
The song itself is about feeling abandoned when things got tough. Justin has talked about how he felt like he was by her side during her hard times, but didn't feel that same support back. It’s a complicated, bitter sentiment that highlights why they probably weren't right for each other in the long run.
Why These Songs Still Resonate
The reason we’re still talking about Justin Bieber songs about Selena Gomez is because they represent a very specific kind of first love. It’s messy. It’s public. It’s full of mistakes.
Selena, for her part, gave us her side of the story with "Lose You To Love Me" and "The Heart Wants What It Wants." It’s like a two-sided conversation that took place over a decade of Billboard hits.
If you’re trying to understand the timeline, look at the release dates. Most of the "Selena songs" cluster around 2013 (Journals) and 2015 (Purpose). By the time he got to Changes and Justice, his focus had shifted almost entirely to his wife, Hailey. That transition is actually quite healthy, even if it bums out the fans who are still stuck in 2014.
The Essential Jelena Playlist (Justin’s Side)
If you want to hear the story in order, listen to these:
- Nothing Like Us – The initial shock of the first big breakup.
- All That Matters – The "honeymoon phase" before things got toxic.
- Heartbreaker – The realization that it’s actually over.
- Mark My Words – The attempt to fix it one last time.
- Sorry – The final apology for the mistakes he made as a teenager.
It’s easy to get lost in the gossip, but the music is where the truth usually lives. Justin was a kid growing up in the most intense spotlight imaginable, trying to navigate a relationship that the whole world felt entitled to. These songs aren't just hits; they're basically his diary entries from a very chaotic chapter of his life.
To get the full picture, you should compare Justin's confirmed tracks with Selena's "Lose You To Love Me" to see how both artists finally found closure. Understanding the timeline of their releases helps separate fan fiction from the actual history of their relationship.