Los Angeles, Jan 18 (IANS): Singer Selena Gomez, 21, says she was tired of feeling "defeated" and of doing "things for other people" before she turned 20 and when she was dating Justin Bieber. But it was when she split from him that she found the right focus in her professional life.

Gomez and Bieber split in January 2013. She says it motivated her to re-evaluate and come back with pop hit "Come & Get It".

Contactmusic.com reports that Gomez told Seventeen magazine: "I questioned the way I looked, acted, sang, and wrote. I started becoming very stale with my music and I realised that I was doing things for other people.

"Then I turned 20, went through a really bad breakup, and realised I needed to pick up everything."

She says she had the urge to make "Come & Get It" "amazing".

"I wanted it all to be me. I was tired of feeling defeated. All this time, I was so p****d trying to figure out why I felt like such an underdog, and I finally realised I just wasn't ready. I'm glad it's taken me this long to get where I am because now I am ready for it," she added.

Earlier this month, Gomez also reunited with Bieber, 19.