<P> Gomez was given a recurring role on the popular Disney Channel series Hannah Montana in 2007, portraying pop star Mikayla . During this time, Gomez filmed pilot episodes for two potential Disney Channel series; the first, titled Arwin!, a spin - off of the Suite Life series, while the second was a spin - off of the series Lizzie McGuire . She later auditioned for a role in the Disney series Wizards of Waverly Place, ultimately winning the lead role of Alex Russo . Upon receiving the role, Gomez and her mother moved to Hollywood; Lovato and her family also moved to Hollywood, hoping to achieve similar success to Gomez . Wizards of Waverly Place saw Gomez portraying a teenage girl in a family of wizards who own a restaurant in New York . The series quickly became a hit for the network, propelling Gomez to more mainstream success . The series received numerous nominations and awards . Gomez recorded the theme song for the series, titled "Everything is Not What It Seems ." Gomez later appeared in the music video for the song "Burnin' Up", which the Jonas Brothers had recorded and released, and later, she also appeared in an episode of the reality series Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream . </P> <P> While working on the second season of Wizards of Waverly Place, Gomez appeared on the Disney Channel special Studio DC: Almost Live alongside various other Disney stars . She contributed a cover of the song "Cruella de Vil" to the compilation album DisneyMania 6, and later recorded the original song "Fly to Your Heart" for the soundtrack of the animated film Tinker Bell . She had a leading role, as an aspiring dancer, in the musical film Another Cinderella Story that same year . The film was released to generally positive reviews, and won the 2010 Writers Guild of America Award for Children's script - long form or special . Gomez recorded three songs for the soundtrack, and released one of them, "Tell Me Something I Don't Know", as a promotional single . Later that year, Gomez had the supporting role of Helga in the animated film Horton Hears a Who! The film was a commercial success, and went on to gross nearly $300 million worldwide . At 16 years of age, Gomez was signed to a recording contract with the Hollywood Records label, which had already signed both Cyrus and Lovato . Gomez formed her own production company in 2008, which she called July Moon Productions . She partnered with XYZ Films for the project, giving Gomez the opportunity to option articles, hire writers and create talent packages to shop to studios . Gomez was slated to release two films under the company . The first, titled What Boys Want, with Gomez as a girl who could hear the thoughts of men . She later announced a film adaptation of the novel Thirteen Reasons Why, in which she was to play a young girl who commits suicide; ultimately, neither film was released, though Gomez would later executive produce a television adaptation of Thirteen Reasons Why . </P> <P> Gomez continued to have mainstream success throughout the following year, appearing as Alex Russo in a crossover episode of the Disney series The Suite Life on Deck . She later made a guest appearance on the Disney series Sonny With a Chance, starring Lovato . She appeared in a remix of the Forever the Sickest Kids's single "Whoa Oh! (Me vs. Everyone)", released as a single in April of that year . Gomez, along with Lovato, starred in the Disney Channel film Princess Protection Program, which aired in June 2009 . The film was a critical success, and had a total of 8.5 million viewers during its premiere . For the film, Gomez and Lovato recorded the song "One and the Same", which was later released as a promotional single . She later provided the voice of Princess Selenia in the animated film Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard . On August 28, 2009, Gomez starred in Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, a television film based on the series . The film premiered to an audience of 11.4 million viewers becoming cable's No. 1 scripted telecast of 2009 and Disney Channel's second most - viewed film premiere after High School Musical 2 . The film won the series its second consecutive Emmy for "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards . </P> <P> Hoping to achieve a successful crossover into music, Gomez formed the pop - rock band Selena Gomez & the Scene through her record deal with Hollywood Records . The name of the band is an "ironic jab" at the people who called Gomez a "wannabe scene ." The group released their debut studio album in August 2009, which debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States, with first - week sales of 66,000 copies . The album received a mixed reception, some critics praised the album for its "fun" nature, while others criticized Gomez for her vocal performance . The lead single failed to have commercial success, however the second single was successful . With heavy promotion through Disney and performances, the song had success on radio and with sales . In 2010, Gomez starred as one of the two female leads in Ramona and Beezus, a film adaption of the children's novel series by Beverly Cleary . The film premiered on July 23, 2010, and it was met with generally positive reviews . Selena Gomez & the Scene released their second studio album A Year Without Rain that same year, which debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number 4 with sales of a little over 66,000 . The album received mixed to positive reviews where some noticed that Gomez's vocals contained the Auto - Tune effect . The record's two singles both achieved moderate success . Having previously announced plans to launch a fashion line, Gomez launched Dream Out Loud in 2010 . The collection consisted of, and featured, bohemian dresses, floral tops, jeans, skirts, jackets, scarves and hats, all of which were made from recycled or eco-friendly materials . Gomez stated, "With my line, I really want to give the customer options on how they can put their own looks together (...) I want the pieces that can be easy to dress up or down, and the fabrics being eco-friendly and organic is super important (...) Also, the tags will all have some of my inspirational quotes on them . I'm just looking to send a good message ." To design the actual items, Gomez teamed up with designers Tony Melillo and Sandra Campos, both of whom had previously worked with big - name fashion houses . Melillo and Campos teamed with New York - based Adjmi Apparel to manufacture the brand, which was formed by Adjmi CH Brands LLC, the holding company for the brand . </P>

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