What is a successful interview? Watch Selena Gomez's to find out!

In today’s society, it is not uncommon for one to see a late night show or entertainment news channel host an interview with an actor or actress. Like businesses, they have to advertise what they have to offer in order to make money whether it’s a new movie, some new foundation they’re sponsoring, or even a new clothing line they’ve started. A successful interview promotes whatever the actor or actress is trying to get across and has a lasting affect on the audience. To analyze this, you can look at the context, the target audience, the purpose of the interview, and how the interviewer portrayed the actor or actress. An interview I believe to be successful is one with Selena Gomez, actress and singer, who was promoting her new album Stars Dance. She went on MSN entertainment to answer a few questions, calling it an “MSN exclusive”.

After watching the interview Matt Schichter conducted, it was easy to tell that the interview happened because Selena wanted to promote her album. Since she had finished most of her album at that point it time, it seems smart to build up anticipation for it. Miley Cyrus and Lorde were some of the few other prominent female artists that also released albums in 2013, making it a good time to release her album and have interviews. Many rappers and rock bands released popular albums in 2013 also giving her a good opportunity to sell more records, since there was not much else out there like her album at the time.

MSN Entertainment was a smart choice to have an interview with, considering entertainment is one of the most popular interests in the MSN Audience profile. Since Selena finished starring in the Disney Channel television series “Wizards of Waverly Place” only 18 months before she released her album, girls ranging from 6 to 14 years old along with their parents are probably the majority of people watching the interview. Disney Channel gears their shows towards kids ages 6 to 14 and their families. This is not necessarily the target audience in Selena’s case. By the clips shown in the beginning and several comments made by the interviewer, the target audience seems to closer to 18 and up.

I believe the main take-away of this interview is that Selena Gomez is a fun and bubbly person who has a new album out that everyone should go buy. In other words, she was there to promote her music. Another important point made is how Selena was growing up. The interviewer claimed that she used a “mature progression sonically…as opposed to being the Disney person you’ve been known to be”. Selena agreed and also expanded on his idea in the interview.

The interviewer appeared to be in support of Selena, showing a few clips of her upcoming music videos, and also portraying her as a mature and easygoing person. While she embraced her Disney channel routes, it seems Selena wanted to focus on her music and have time to “play”. A notable moment in the interview is when Matt Schichter brought out Selena’s favorite ice cream, giving the audience a look at what she is like outside of an interview. After watching this, it only reinforced my perception of Selena Gomez as a fun and outgoing person.

Overall, this interview achieved its goal. It successfully promoted Selena Gomez’s album Stars Dance, and kept the audience entertained. The interview was to the point and the interviewer did not go off track with questions about her personal life. It was solely about her music and her career, yet was still fun and attention grabbing.