Beyoncé Run-in with Selena Really Did Happen Like in ‘Selena: The Series’

The second and final season of Selena: The Series premiered May 4 and one aspect people are fixating on is the interaction between Selena and a young Beyoncé. About 10 minutes into episode six we see Selena (Christian Serratos) shopping at an outdoor mall in Texas with her mom and sister, Suzette. There’s a young girl who sees her and is starstruck and can’t seem to find any words to say to her. The girl’s mom asks her why and she says it’s Selena and the mom, Tina Knowles, then says, “Beyoncé Knowles, you better learn not to be afraid of people if you ever want to be famous too.” “You’re a singer, too. Tell her,” Tina encourages but all she can do is say hi when Selena waves as she passes by. This may have felt like a random interaction for the series to include as if to show one Texan Queen in music meeting a future Texan Queen in music but Beyoncé confirmed it’s true.

While obviously the word for word interaction may not have played out exactly like that, Beyoncé did meet Selena when she was young. While promoting Spanish-language EP Irreemplazable in 2007 she told MTV Tr3s that she met the Queen of Tejano music at a mall in Houston.

“I did actually meet Selena in The Galleria Mall in Houston but I didn’t say much to [her] because I wasn’t a celebrity,” she recounted. “I just saw her and said hello and kept it moving.”

“This story is about inspiration, and inspiring young people to follow their dreams, whatever those dreams are,” Serratos also told Entertainment Tonight about the scene. “I just thought that was such a cool moment [to include.] And I did the same thing everyone else did. Like, ‘Did that really happen?’” Well, we now know it did!

Beyoncé told MTV that she grew up listening to Selena’s music and even though she didn’t understand, it helped her in the studio with her pronunciation when singing in Spanish. It’s interesting to hear how even before she crossed over into English language music Selena’s music was reaching people who didn’t even speak Spanish. While it’s heartbreaking to think what could’ve been – a Selena/Beyonce duet would’ve been amazing – it’s beautiful to see the impact Selena’s music had on one of today’s biggest stars.

“I think she is a legend and I admire her. And she was so talented, so I’m very happy that even though she didn’t know who I was, I’m still so excited that I got that opportunity,” Bey said in the interview.

Seasons 1 and 2 of Selena: The Series are available to stream now on Netflix and you can watch HipLatina’s interview with Christian Serratos on Instagram.