Selena Gomez returned to her roots for her head-turning role in Emilia Perez.

While the actress and singer, 32, grew up speaking Spanish with her family in Texas she opened up to NPR’s Fresh Air about losing her fluency after moving to California to pursue an entertainment career.

“I got my first job at 7, and most of my jobs from that point on were in English,” she said. “And I just lost (my Spanish). It’s kind of like that for a lot of people, especially Mexican Americans.”

Gomez plays the wife of a cartel leader in Netflix’s critically acclaimed filmand the star says she took language lessons for almost six months in preparation.

“I wish I just knew a lot more than I do. But I think that’s why I try to honor my culture as much as possible – from releasing an album in Spanish to wanting to continue with this film,” says Gomez , which has received an Oscar. buzz. “And I don’t think it will be the last thing I do in Spanish.”

While she is seen huge success as a pop star throughout his career, sung in Emilia Perez was an “emotional” experience that also rekindled Gomez’s passion for music.

“It was one of the most emotional songs that I got to record during the filming process of this movie. And I remember just singing it and thinking to myself: This could have been my song,” she said of “Mi Camino .”

“And this could have been a song on an album that I would release personally because it’s so well said and it feels very true to who I am, where I am,” she continued.

Last month, Gomez said The Hollywood Reporter she auditioned for the film with the character’s biggest scene: a musical number, “Bienvenida,” in which she vents her frustrations with the titular Emilia Pérez (played by Spanish star Karla Sofia Gascón).

“I did it once, and (director Jacques Audiard) was like, ‘Go crazy.’ And I totally went for it. I was standing on furniture, and I was blacking out, but I was just singing at the top of my lungs and dancing like a mad woman — I guess a drunk crazy woman — and it was a very crazy experience,” Gomez said.