First Published: January 22, 2014 3:52 PM EST Credit: Getty Images
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- 
Caption Selena Gomez performs onstage during KISS 108s Jingle Ball 2013, at TD Garden on December 14, 2013 in BostonSelena Gomez has been a star for years, but the 21-year-old says she just started stepping into her strength recently.
“This year is when I really started feeling powerful,” she told Seventeen magazine’s March issue. “I had always been the underdog secretly. I was on Disney when it was Miley [Cyrus], the Jonas Brothers, and Demi [Lovato]. I questioned the way I looked, acted, sang, and wrote.”
The “Slow Down” singer said her public breakup (presumably from Justin Bieber) helped her find her power.
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“Then I turned 20, went through a really bad breakup, and realized I needed to have ‘Come & Get It’ be amazing. I wanted it all to be me,” she said. “I’m glad it’s taken me this long to get where I am because now I am ready for it.”
Selena also revealed she has turned to fellow pop star Katy Perry for advice on dating – especially when it comes to finding men who are strong enough to be OK with dating a powerful, busy, influential woman.
“I actually talked to Katy Perry about guys who are intimidated by strong girls. I haven’t found someone yet who could understand my lifestyle, support it, love me through it, and not be threatened by it. It’s hard,” she told the mag. “I do think I might scare some guys, because I’m like, ‘I want to change the world! I have dreams! What do you want to do?’ But I only know how to be me.”
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