Beyoncé said she met Selena Quintanilla at The Galleria mall in Houston, where she was growing up and hearing Selena’s music on Texas radio. She recalled that she only said hello and kept moving. Beyoncé also said listening to Selena helped her pronunciation in the studio, even when she did not understand every lyric.
Where did Beyoncé meet Selena?
Beyoncé recalled meeting Selena at The Galleria mall in Houston, Texas. In an interview later recounted by People en Español, she said: “I did actually meet Selena in The Galleria mall in Houston, but I didn’t say much to Selena because I wasn’t a celebrity and I just saw her and said, ‘Hello’ and kept it moving.”
That is Beyoncé’s account of a brief encounter, not evidence of a longer conversation. The report places it in the 1990s but does not give an exact year. The Houston Chronicle noted that the later television scene portrays Beyoncé as about 12; that describes the dramatization, not a verified date for the real meeting.
What did Beyoncé say about Selena’s influence?
Beyoncé connected Selena’s music to her childhood in Texas. She recalled hearing Selena on the radio and listening to her album. “Even though I didn’t know exactly what she was singing,” Beyoncé said, listening helped her “in the studio with my pronunciation.” The observation speaks to the influence of hearing music across languages; it does not mean Beyoncé claimed to understand every lyric.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
#1 Best Overall
People en Español also recalled a 2007 interview in which Beyoncé said, “I listened to Selena all the time,” and, “She’s close to me because of where I’m from.” In the earlier interview it cites, Beyoncé called Selena “a legend” and said she admired her talent. These are Beyoncé’s reported reflections, rather than comments made by Selena.
How the meeting became a television scene
Selena: The Series later dramatized the mall encounter. People en Español identifies the scene as part of season two, episode six, “Lo más bello.” The Houston Chronicle also discussed the series depiction in its May 4, 2021 coverage. The distinction matters: the show gives the moment a scripted visual setting, while the underlying account of the encounter comes from Beyoncé’s recollection.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why Selena’s influence reached beyond Tejano music
Selena’s career helps explain why her music resonated with Beyoncé and other artists. The Recording Academy artist profile says Selena was born in Lake Jackson, Texas, on April 16, 1971, and died in Corpus Christi on March 31, 1995. It records that her 1994 Grammy for Live! marked the first time a female Tejano artist won Best Mexican-American Album, and identifies Dreaming of You as her posthumous English-language crossover album.
A 2015 Recording Academy legacy feature reports that nearly 67,000 people attended Selena’s Houston Astrodome concert on February 26, 1995. It also reports that Dreaming of You sold 175,000 copies in the United States on its release day and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Those figures, as reported in that feature, show the scale of her reach at the time.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Rank #3
In a 2020 Recording Academy feature, GRAMMY-winning guitarist and producer Adrian Quesada described Selena’s impact as continuing partly because “representation is very important for communities and cultures that haven’t always had an icon that transcends boundaries to look up to.” Recording Academy contributor Linda Wilvang put it simply: “Selena made Tejano music cool!” These are attributed views on Selena’s wider legacy, not statements by Beyoncé.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
