Selena Gomez and benny blanco Burn With Love While Eating Spicy Wings | Hot Ones

Why? Why do people do this? Hey, what's going on, everybody? For First We Feast, I'm Sean Evans, and you're watching Hot Ones. It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings. And today we're joined by Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez. They have a brand new collaborative album on the way. It's called I Said I Love You First, and it's due out March 21st. Check out the single Scared of Loving You and Call Me When You Break Up featuring Gracie Abrams. But in the meantime, it's an early dinner with the wings of death. Selena, Benny, welcome to the show. Thank you. I'm so excited. There's like a perfume of like scotch bonnets in my nose. What's your mindset like going into this? Do you feel on the same wavelength that he's competitive? I'm probably going to win. I'm I'm a shell of a human already. I'm scared. Is it crazy to use a fork? It is a little crazy to use a fork, but I'm not going to stop you. It's crazy. No one would ever do that. I feel like, whoa, we just go in. They just go in. Delicious. I need ranch. Oh, yeah, there's ranch right here. You ask and you shall receive. Babe, don't worry. Thanks, son. You want a little ranch? So I'm curious what it's like to make a pop record with someone who you have a deep relationship with. Did that kind of unique collaboration add any layers to the music that took you by surprise? I mean, for me personally, for sure, I was able to tell him things that I don't think I would in another relationship. Because he was also to me, like the conductor of of this record. And I don't know, I felt like I could tell him things that maybe I was feeling insecure about that. I wouldn't feel like I could open up to any other producer that way, let alone like a partner. That was a good answer. No, it was like when you work with people, like sometimes you butt heads. And I feel like every time one of us had like a discrepancy on something, the other one was like, OK, yeah, that's that's chill. And we also got to make it like in our house, in our bedroom. Like it, it just felt low stakes. Oh, my God, that was good. Oh, this one's got like a nice little like late life. Yeah, it's like a like it's like just a little kiss goodnight. Yeah, I don't mind. Little Thai green chili kiss. So Selena, I want to take a wing to unpack that fateful day in 2019 when we did Hot Ones on The Tonight Show and you were blindsided by Da Bomb Beyond Insanity. What do you remember? Like sort of a play by play? I remember not liking you after that. I remember being very upset. I'm just kidding. No, it was actually it was hysterical because I I didn't know what to expect and I love to do a challenge. So I was like, maybe it'll be like TV hot. So it'll be fine. And when when it happened and my face started to melt and I was using this to scrape it off my tongue, thinking that would work. I was just really all I remember is being in a lot of pain. That's why I was nervous to come back. She was very nervous, like leading up to it. She was like when we were on the way, she's like, I don't even want to talk about it. I was like, are you like nervous? Are you like excited? She was like, I'm like, I'm going to do this. I now I know what it is. I just think when you're about to do an interview, sometimes when you're sweating, I just look back. Yeah. And you just trust Jimmy, right? To do like a viral segment. And then here comes the Hot Ones guy with Da Bomb Beyond Insanity. Wait, you went only Da Bomb? Well, on the talk show, it's not this like 10 wing workup. It's just a straight vertical range. You just just full jump off of an airplane. It was like the third wing that we did. Don't remind me. Yeah. Let's just move forward on this one. What's this? So up next is a pickled garlic sriracha. Oh, interesting. Oh, I like this one. I could do 12 of these. Just like on the game day. I don't even watch on the game day. I don't on the game day, Benny. Yeah, on the game day, I could totally. Yeah, just like a game day type of guy. Now I just eat wings. I like this one. You like that one? Yeah, I actually do. Do you have a food hot take for 2025 or a dining trend that's driving you nuts? You don't have to have the pan be automatically as hot as it can be. I don't understand. When people start cooking, like the pan is always like full blast, like you can cook it slower. It's like, OK. And like people are always touching it too much. Like if they're like cooking a steak, cooking chicken, cooking fish, they're like every three seconds they're like moving it, touching. Just like let it be. Do you know what I thought you were going to say? What? That's when you're always doing something dangerous with a knife. I always try to hug you in the most. Oh yeah, she always, whenever it's the most dangerous thing in the kitchen, I'll be like frying like a like like an entire lobster. And she like comes up and like tickles me. Like it's like whatever, whatever. No, it's like whatever is the like I don't mean to. I just happen to pick those. Yeah, every time. Yeah. I don't know why I like to smell them before I try it. It has the kick after. Yeah, like I remember when I did this. I'm at four and feeling this. Oh yeah. This one. How far are we? We're at number four. Oh wow, out of a lot, huh? Okay. Cool, yeah. All right. Benny, can you unpack what you mean when you say that pop songs are like a DJ set crammed into three minutes? That's fun. If you went into a ******* club and like from the second you went to the club, it was just like. And there was never any break. Like you'd have like a heart attack. But if there's like, you know, there's that second where like everyone's like, the annoying people with the little gloves are going like this and it's like. And there's like shit, people are hanging and like drugs are hitting. Where are you at? I don't know. You know what I'm talking about. I feel you. You know what I'm talking about. Things are happening, drugs are hitting. And then all of a sudden, they bring you up to the drop again. It's like, that's where you want a song to be. You want it to have dynamics. Apparently that's what a pop song is. Gospel, mic drop. What's something that artists and producers obsess over in the studio that the general music listening public either doesn't notice or doesn't care about? We talked about this last night. You know, we'll work for so long on like the sound of like a snare drum. And I remember I called my mom. I said, hey mom, have you ever noticed like different snare drums in different songs? And the first thing she said to me is what's a snare drum? And I was like, you know, it's like the thing that happens, she said, I thought all of them were the same. And I said, what about the kick? And she said, what's the kick? Like my mom looks at music as it's like one whole blob. Like to her, it's just like, there's music and then there's the acapella and there's nothing else. It's just those two elements. And meanwhile, there's like 75 elements within that. And I think though, if you start to take those away, it like makes a song less exciting. People can feel it. They may not be able to describe it, but they can feel it. This does not sound sweet. I take it back. This is a little sweet. Got kind of a... I like this one. Somersault vibe to it. Yeah. I like when you start going like this. We'll get used to it. It's getting hot. Do you want a little napkin? Oh yeah, okay, perfect. Just making sure. I see that. What's at the center of the Venn diagram of your musical taste? And then I'm curious on the other sides, if there are genres that you reserve for alone time. No, I play him everything, even if it annoys him. I love, when I'm alone, maybe sometimes I get a little emo. Or in the car, for some reason in the car, I can get really emo. I feel like our intersection is like Patsy Cline and like Ella Fitzgerald. Yeah, that's fair. And then she did get me into, I honestly didn't know, before we started dating, obviously I was aware of Taylor Swift's music, but I wasn't a true Swifty until I was, no, I didn't know. And now I'm like, I'll be like, put that song on. How's that one go again? And we're in the car and I'm like, wow, I'm just singing Taylor Swift songs from 10 years ago and I'm like, feel free. They're timeless, what can I say? Well, Selena, you know where else you've been a very positive influence? He's a much more manageable talk show guest now than he used to be. I like that, I like that. It's noticeable. Yeah, total transformation. He said I'm growing up. What's this one called? This is Volcano. Oh, great. Yeah. Love the name. You asked. I am. I'm not sure if I like the thing that it's doing. It just like keeps expanding deeper in my throat. That's kind of the trajectory that we're on going forward. Oh, so now it's like about to be like really bad. But you know what? We are six down. We're into the back half. Let's celebrate the progress. You once said that if you try to write a hit that it never works out. I'm curious, what's the most surprised you've been by a record success? To be honest, I haven't had like really any number ones. So I don't really think I've ever cared until Lose You To Love Me. I thought the song was gonna be hopefully relatable and beautiful and honest, but I did not expect it to do what it did. And it was much bigger than me. Had nothing to do with what it actually meant. It ended up being a song for people that felt the way that I felt and maybe turned it into another version of a song that suited them. It was really powerful to me. And I think that's something I'll always remember. And I believe that was my first number one. So I was very happy. Oh, her answer is so good. Okay, I'm here for it. Okay, this is crazy hot. Now it has kind of like a freshness. Yeah. Like vegetably kind of vibe up front. No, I like this one. And then there's some action later. I'm feeling it. I'm feeling that. Do you feel the action? It's like so far back. How did I even know my throat went that far back? Like I feel it's so down. I'm just, I also, I like, I don't really like the flavor. So the combination of the spice and the flavor, I'm really confused. She's confused. Selena, is there an old man tendency you've picked up secondhand, spending so much time with Martin Short and Steve Martin? I don't know. I sit there and read the news with them every day. We talk about... Don't they eat the same thing every day? And they eat the same thing every day. And now I eat the same thing every day. It's Da Bomb hot sauce. So it's either a tuna sandwich with Dijon mustard or sushi. And now all I eat is a chicken salad sandwich. And for some reason, I'm excited to get my meal next to theirs. I feel like my lingo is pretty, you know, I'll say- Old soul-ish? Yes, a little bit. Sometimes I'll say yes, no. And I remember it was whilst I was, it's like, who am I, what am I talking about? But that's just, that's Steve and Marty. I don't know. They're the best. All right. I'm trying to keep my cool. I blacked out about two minutes ago. I'm just staring this thing in the face right now. Right, and we're in this black curtain void. This is Da Bomb Beyond Insanity. Oh, cool. I'm giving you a warning this time, Selena. Don't smell it, don't smell it. I know, I shouldn't. Okay. And now what do we do? Do we dip it? Do we- No, I just sniffed it and this is so bad. Oh, good grief. What do I do? What should I do? Just bite it? Just rip it. I was gonna say, what do you mean, what do you do? All right. Holy shit. I don't even- This is what you did last time? Yeah. I'm not even here anymore. Wow, it's getting worse. Yeah, and it kind of will. Does it ever? No shit. Yeah, but the good news is we're on the other side of it. All right? The rest of the show, it's downhill from here. I know, I know. Oh, wow. I know. And on this wing, what we want to do is dust off an old Hot Ones classic. So this right here is a bucket of questions. It could be, it's multi-purpose. Oh my God, hold on. So if you guys take that. So here's how this works, is if you reach in there, you pull out a question and it's a question that you'll ask to Benny and then you'll pass the bucket and then Benny, you'll pull a question. Ask it Selena. I hate you so much. I know, I know, I get it, I get it. I understand too. It's like- I mentioned my socks are not including the ones we've made together as your all-time favorite. My brain is just going, it just keeps going. Will you answer the damn question? Will you answer it? Good for you. Wow. It's like, it doesn't go away, huh? No. I have to stand up. Yeah, go ahead. Take a lap, take a lap. Why? Why do people do this? If you could kill Sean, how would you do it? What? No, it says, what would you say my most underrated song is? You don't even know my song. What just came out of your nose? What was that? It was my mouth. Do you want some ice cream? Do you want ice cream? Ice cream helps. You're good? God, I'm such a little baby. Did you have any of the Pepsi? I had Pepsi before I came up. I don't know. I don't know what song you would have done. I'm sorry, babe. I just get no answer? All right, cool. Yeah, don't worry. All your songs are amazing. Betty, pull another one. You can pull another one. Oh, just ask her another question? Yeah. I also don't think I care about anything. If you, if I were, it's crazy. You like lose motor skills. If I were a wild animal, what kind of animal would I be? Monkey or koala bear. It's honestly the two I was thinking. I swear to God. If you're ready, we can move on. Please. Okay, so this is the Sicilian scorpion. What? Is this one hotter? Not as bad as the last one. The key that I realized is you don't let it touch your lips. Oh, ****, I touched my lip a little bit. You're the team. Do you guys each have a favorite cookbook? Shut up. I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding. Do we have a favorite cookbook? You know what, I'm gonna stop being this way because everyone's gonna go, she's being so dramatic. You can already read the comments, okay? Fine, I'm cool. What? No, you're doing amazing. We live in a cruel world, Benny. What, you mean you're just cool? My favorite cookbooks are like, I really like the Alice Waters stuff. So it's like the art of, oh, we never breathe in. Like the art of simple cooking. And then I also like Joe Badia's pizza book. And I don't wanna say any more stuff. I don't wanna. Oh, Matty Matheson, Matty Matheson. He has the best books ever. And Jake Cole and everyone, okay. Do we eat the next one? It is that time. What are you doing? You add more. What are you doing? What are you doing, though? My hands are like shaking. Can't wait. Okay, okay. This is the last dab. And we just do like one more? Incredible. Just one tap. Incredible. I'm going for the dab. All right, Benny, Selena, you guys have conquered the wings of death. Oh, wow. Having made it through the gauntlet, do you think this experience will have a positive impact on the relationship or cause strife? Like, do you think couples should go through the hot ones gauntlet together? Oh, I think it would be so fun to do with your partner. Can I do one more dab? You might hate them after, but. No, no, no. Honestly, I feel like having her by my, I feel like I would have crumbled without her. Like, she's- Hey, you did crumble. What, no, what? What do you mean? I just took a longer bite. A double bite. Okay, you're showing off. Nevermind. Couples don't play this game. I don't know. I like it. What didn't you know? You didn't know any of my songs? Yeah, she didn't even know any of my songs. We let bygones be bygones in this game. Long leash. You guys taking on the wings of death, living to tell the tale. Selena, now for a second time. And now there's nothing left to do, but roll out the red carpet for you. This camera, this camera, this camera, this camera, or this camera. There's a lot of cameras today. Let the people know what you have going on in your life. We have an album coming out. Although I said I love you first because I was the one that said I love you first. And I hope you like it. I love you, babe. I definitely won't, I can't. What? No, I don't even want one. Yes, you do. And I hope you guys like it, and if you don't, that's okay too. And I don't think I'll come back to this show ever. But I'd love to see you anytime. Good job. It's going to be awesome. This episode is going to be a classic. Like, it will not be in vain. When you see what we do with it, you'll be like, I'm glad we did it. I trust you. I think it'll be great. Hot Ones fans, this is Sean Evans checking in to let you know that it's a new year, a new season, a new lineup of hot sauces. And that means the season 26 Hot Ones 10 pack is now available. Visit heatness.com, heatness.com, that's heatness.com to get your hands on the season 26 Hot Ones 10 pack. Big spice, big flavor, but you don't have to take my word for it. Take on the challenge yourself. Heatness.com to get your hands on the Hot Ones 10 pack.