Songfacts®:

• This was released as the first official single by Selena Gomez, from her debut solo album, following the three discs she released as the frontwoman of Selena Gomez & the Scene. The song was written by Ester Dean, while production duties were handled by the Norwegian duo, StarGate.
• The song was released a few months after Gomez's split from her former boyfriend Justin Bieber. Fans immediately began speculating that with such lyrics as, "This love ain't finished yet," the tune was a message to her ex that she wanted to get back together. However, the singer denied this was the case. She told Los Angeles DJ Ryan Seacrest, "It's not really about a specific person... It exudes confidence and strength and that is something I'm willing to share with the world... I want to represent something good and be a good example."
• Selena Gomez first performed the song at the MTV Movie Awards on April 14, 2013. She received a backlash for wearing a bindi during her Bollywood-themed performance. The singer addressed the controversy during an interview with Elvis Duran on the Z100 morning show. "I think the song has that Hindu, tribal feel and I wanted to translate that," Selena explained. "I've been learning about my chakra and bindis and the culture... It's beautiful."
• The Bollywood-inspired video was directed by Anthony Mandler (Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble"). The raunchy clip finds Gomez confronting the four elements and making it almost impossible for someone to deny her request to "come and get it." "When I got the concept from Anthony, the director, it was perfect, because he did an earth, fire, wind water feel, and it was very, as he called it, 'earthy,'" Gomez told MTV News. "And I loved that, because I feel that's what the track represents, and I like that we applied it."
  Gomez added that shooting the clip wasn't as easy as she had hoped, especially the fire scene. "It was hard because each setup, there were parts I absolutely loved about it, but when we did that fire thing, you would think I'd be hot, but I was freezing," she revealed. "I was so cold, I was shaking as I was doing my dance moves."
• Gomez discussed this song during an hour-long livestream. "It was a totally different vibe for me - the tribalness," she said. "I got to learn about that culture."
• Stars Dance topped the Billboard 200 chart. It was Gomez's first #1 album - the #3 ranking of When the Sun Goes Down had been her previous best.
• Gomez had just turned 21 when Stars Dance ascended to the peak position. She was the youngest solo female artist to get a # 1 album since Taylor Swift did so with Speak Now in November 2010.
• Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2016 about this hit, Selena Gonez did not mince her words. "I love Stargate more than anything, but it's very difficult for me to perform live," she admitted. "It's not my song. To me, it sounds like a Rihanna reject."