- The queen of Mexican- American music, boy!
- ♪ Bidi bidi bom bom ♪ - (singing along) ♪ Bidi bidi bom bom ♪
- (singing along) ♪ Bidi bidi bom bom ♪
- You guys are playing all her music. It's gonna make me cry.
- I just seriously think of her and what could have been.
♪ (industrial music) ♪
♪ (slow intro) ♪
- Aww! - ♪ Como la flor ♪
- Yes.
- (gasps) Selena.
- Aww, Selena.
- The queen of Mexican- American music, boy! SELENAS!
Ooh!! Yes!!!
- ♪ Con tanto amor ♪
♪ (holding note) ♪
- This is my girl.
- ♪ Con tanto amor ♪ - In my mind, I sing just like her.
- (singing along) ♪ Me diste tu ♪
♪ Se marchito ♪
Oh my god, I love her so much.
- I am seriously gonna get emotional right now.
- She was so huge, and such a tragic story.
- (singing along) ♪ Aaaayyy, como me duele ♪
♪ (keyboard notes) ♪
- (singing along) ♪ Aaaayyy, como me duele ♪
- ♪ (holding note) ♪
♪ (harmonizing) ♪
- Yeah. That's a queen right there.
- I love her. I don't even understand all the lyrics.
Love her.
- It's a shame that she had to die so young.
Her smile, I think, is what captivated a lot of people.
- She was beloved, like, by everyone.
- She was the diva-diva-diva-diva-diva.
Like, she was on top of it.
Okay, let's go. Next. I'm ready.
- ♪ Se emociona (Y se emociona) ♪
- (singing along) ♪ No razona ♪
♪ Y me empieza a cantar ♪
- Very '90s.
- Oh my god, that cropped denim vest.
- ♪ Bidi bidi bom bom ♪ - (singing along) ♪ Bidi bidi bom bom ♪
- (singing along) ♪ Bidi bidi bom bom ♪
- All of these are super classic.
- ♪ Bidi bidi bidi bidi bidi bom bom ♪
- (singing along) ♪ Bidi bidi bidi bidi bidi bom bom ♪
- ♪ Heyyyy, yeah ♪
- She could sing so good.
- She was making hits not only for her country,
but she was making hits for Mexico.
She was making hits for Latin America.
And I think she was one of the first to do it
out of the Latin American people.
- The crossover of the Spanish and the American,
because she did have some huge hits that were in English too.
- It's very, very unfortunate that she passed away.
I know she could be super, super successful.
She could be the Mexican-American Beyoncé.
- ♪ ...importa qué dirá ♪
- Forbidden love, aw.
- ♪ ...la sociedad ♪
- I could just jam all day with Selena, just on repeat.
- (whispering along) ♪ Te quiero ♪
♪ Amor prohibido murmuran por las calles ♪
- ♪ Porque somos de distintas... ♪ - I like her fashion.
- The more I watch this, the more I'm like,
'90s fashion is really coming back.
- I'm fighting back tears a little bit.
- ♪ ...dice todo el mundo ♪
♪ El dinero no ♪
- (singing along) ♪ Importa en ti ni en mi ♪
♪ Ni en el corazón ♪
- (singing along) ♪ O-oh, baby ♪
Yeah.
- She's so good.
- Growing up in a Hispanic family,
just they would play it all the time.
- I remember all the little cholitas,
where it's like this was their song.
- Getting emotional, I told you. (chuckles)
I just seriously think of her and what could have been.
- ♪ Baila ♪
- There she is with her bustier.
- ♪ Ritmo, ritmo sin igual ♪
♪ Nadie... ♪ - You guys are playing all her music.
This is gonna make me cry.
- ♪ Vamos a bailar ♪
♪ (cumbia beat) ♪ - (man) Y todos...
- People fell in love with her--
her dynamic personality, that smile.
Gosh.
- Aw. No. Keep going.
- Her voice is timeless.
- This song used to get played at the parties all the time.
- ♪ Yo tenia una esperanza ♪
- The look is more glamorous in this one.
- Aw. Look how pretty she is.
- ♪ Te quedaras tu conmigo ♪
- Her voice is just so good. - ♪ ...una ilusion ♪
♪ Que alimentaba el corazon ♪ - This is so sad.
- ♪ ...que hoy tiene que verte ♪
♪ Como solo amigo ♪ - Listening to her music,
all you can do is just smile or cry.
- (laughs) Oh. That's so sad.
- Inside you feel that tug right now.
Like, I'm feeling it right here.
- ♪ Y aunque vivi enamorada ♪ - Wow.
- ♪ Y totalmente equivocada ♪ - ♪ (whispers along) ♪
- ♪ No me importa ♪ - (hums somberly)
- So sad she had to leave so soon.
- ♪ ...importa ♪
♪ Porque esto si fuera... ♪
- (sighs) She was so well-rounded, man.
- ♪ Mi parte, lo mas lindo ♪
♪ El mas grande amor ♪
♪ Y aunque siempre... ♪ - She has such a beautiful voice.
- It's a little bit sad, you know, remembering that she's gone,
she's passed away.
- (taken aback) Man.
Man.
- Who doesn't love Selena Quintanilla?
- I wish she was still alive
so I could go see her at concert or something.
- When she died, a lot of other people's dreams died as well.
You think you have a million tomorrows,
and you don't know if you do.
- There was not as much visibility as there is now
for Latinos, Mexican-Americans, and she was on the verge of that.
And she was giving us a face, a voice.
Life is so short, and you could even be
on the verge of a breakthrough on top, and then you're gone.
- (FBE) So we're gonna play more music in a moment.
But this was the singer Selena,
who many considered to be the Mexican Madonna.
- Yes. Yes, she was.
- (FBE) Well, Selena broke through into the mainstream
and in many ways was one of the first Latin pop stars
to have that much of an impact.
And it was at the huge height in her popularity
that unfortunately she was murdered in 1995
when she was only 23 years old. - That's so devastating.
- (FBE) So we have some more music for you to listen to
from her crossover album in English.
Unfortunately, though, she was gone
before she could make music videos for them.
So these were made in tribute to her. - Oh, okay.
- Oh gosh. Am I gonna cry?
- ♪ Late at night when all... ♪
- Oh my gosh. Who doesn't know this song?
- This song in general makes me cry.
- ♪ I stay up and think of you ♪
♪ And I wish on a star ♪ - Aw.
- ♪ That somewhere you are thinking ♪
- This song is so good.
- ♪ Of me too ♪
♪ (soft instrumental) ♪
♪ 'Cause I'm dreaming ♪
- (singing along) ♪ Of you tonight ♪
So good!
- ♪ ...tomorrow I'll be holding you tight ♪
♪ And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be ♪
- See, this is when I got familiar with her,
like when this came out then the movie.
And then I was like, "Oh, okay."
- ♪ ...dreaming about you and me ♪
- (sighs deeply)
She could've totally took the industry
if she was still around, man. (sighs)
- Oh my gosh, that was such a good song.
- People compare her to the Madonna, the Spanish Madonna.
[Bleep] that. She's the Spanish Michael Jackson.
Like, she was brought as a little girl on stages by her parents
with her siblings. Like, it's the same story.
- ♪ So I should keep this to ♪ - I love this song.
- ♪ Myself ♪ - Did not know that this was Selena.
- Aw, dude. It's like a video for best moments.
- (singing along) ♪ I will fall ♪
- ♪ In love with you ♪
- This song's an absolute classic.
- ♪ ...in love... ♪
- I wish I could hit those notes real bad.
- (chuckles) She's too cute, man. Just too cute.
- She was such a good, stylish person too.
Fashion, hair, everything.
- ♪ ...in love with you (Baby) ♪
♪ I could fall... ♪ - You just-- you never know.
- ♪ ...fall in love with you ♪ (song fades)
- That sucks, man.
She's so good, and all that talent, you know.
Just because of this stupid person.
- If you don't know Selena, do yourself a favor.
Like, this is American music history.
Like, this happened here.
Like, you need to go and listen to this.
- (FBE) What was it like when someone so young and so talented
just at the start lost her life like that? - It's devastating,
especially for the reasoning and how it happened.
For you to confront somebody about stealing
and then the person shoots you, it's crazy.
- I remember all the Spanish news were just talking about Selena.
- The first thing I thought was,
"How can people be so jealous or so hateful
that they're willing to off someone
who's created such a fantastic legacy?"
- I was in love with her at five years old.
She was my first crush. I started crying.
I was crying, bawling.
Ma's like, "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay."
It was heartbreaking for me.
- In 1995, I was a young mom.
I just felt for her family.
I knew she was very close to her family.
And I felt for her mother especially. I just--
I couldn't even imagine.
- (FBE) So Selena is often credited with popularizing Latin music
in the United States, which at the time was mostly dominated
by male artists. So she was a huge role model for young women.
She was also involved in numerous philanthropic efforts.
- Really? I didn't she had a philanthropic background.
- She really was a great role model.
- (FBE) What are your thoughts about her music and legacy?
- I think it's still huge.
It opened the door for other Latin artists.
- It shows us that anything is possible.
As a brown girl, I know anything that I can dream of
can become true if you really pursue it.
- She's a huge-- just a huge role model.
And even in the Latina industry, just for male, for females,
just amazing.
When I was little, I didn't really know who she was.
Just hearing her music. And as you get older,
you know more and more about her.
And you start loving her more about
the messages she would sing about
or just the stuff that she's been going through,
and you just idolize her.
- I like the idea that she was out for the women
and for the community and was able to break down, you know,
the whole issues of men dominating.
She's reaching out to the young kids too
and gave young girls, you know, to look for a role model.
- She got on top of the Billboards in a time when, you know,
Hispanic-Americans were just mainly migrating into the country.
That is just so freaking beautiful, man, so beautiful,
that we have so much culture in one piece of land.
And she was part of that.
- It's impacted me. I know, as an abuse survivor,
it's women like her and people like her that give me the strength
to put myself and my opinions out there
and to hopefully effect change, positive change, into the world.
- (FBE) Well, it's been more than 20 years now since her death.
And there have been many tributes to her,
including the movie with Jennifer Lopez.
She also had a big tribute concert for her in 2005 on Univision
that ended up being the most-viewed Spanish-language
television special in the history of American television.
- I believe it.
I just got chills when you said that though.
Oh my gosh!
- I remember watching that. It was a giant concert
where a lot of people just sang tribute songs to her.
And it was cool to see how her parents felt so proud that,
because of their daughter's music, they created this entire show.
- (FBE) What do you think it was about Selena
that has caused her to remain relevant
for well over 20 years now?
- Man, I feel like it's like any other American legend of music.
She just left us wanting more.
We're gonna say, "Man, what if?"
- Just the person that she was and just how great her music is.
As a celebrity, when they give back to the community,
it means a lot, because it shows that they care
and they pay attention to their fans.
- Because of our political climate, things are heating up.
And it's really starting to get a little scary for people like me
and our parents.
Now more than ever, it's important for us
who come from different backgrounds to really acknowledge
our culture and our ethnicities and who we are.
And I think she is becoming a symbol for that.
- (FBE) Finally, as time continues to pass,
how do you hope future generations will look back on Selena?
- Oh, I hope they remember her as
a pioneer of Latin music.
- It could be a hundred years from now,
and I'm pretty sure she'll still be--
her music will still be popular.
- A lot of big celebrities now.
Like, I know Jennifer Lopez has credited her before
for, you know, paving the way.
And I don't think that's something that people ever forget.
- They'll look back at her as a talent that was lost too early
but as someone who was trying to really truly be a good person,
was an inspiration for young girls, um,
and was an artist,
just an all-around artist and good human being.
- Muchas gracias por ver este episodio de Adults React.
Nos vemos hasta la proxima.
- ¿Gustas lo que vistes? Danos un like.
- Adiós. Te quiero mucho.
- Hey, guys. Kyle here, a producer at FBE.
Thank you for watching this tribute to the legacy of Selena.
What is your favorite Selena song? Let us know in the comments.