Selena Gomez Surprises Colorado Volleyball Team: ‘Couldn’t Help It’

High school volleyball players in Colorado were in for quite the surprise after they asked Selena Gomez to come to their game — and she did.

Gomez, 32, took to her Instagram on Saturday, August 31, to share a poster that read, “Selena Gomez, please sing the national anthem @ one of home games: Fri 6:00 p.m.; Sat 1:00.” The message was signed with a heart from the Telluride Middle High School Volleyball team.

In the next slide of the post, Gomez walked into the gymnasium where the TMHS girls were playing volleyball. “I saw the sign so I had to come,” Gomez told the team, who erupted into cheers.

The Only Murders in the Building star was all smiles as she posed with the volleyball players and signed autographs — including on a person’s forehead. “They asked!! Couldn’t help it, it’s my first time in Telluride!” Gomez captioned the upload.

Following her appearance, the school paid tribute to Gomez for showing support. “Thanks @selenagomez for visiting TMHS and giving ❤️ to our volleyball teams!” the official Instagram account for the school wrote, alongside snaps of Gomez with the girls.

Gomez traveled to Colorado for the Telluride Film Festival, where she made an appearance at the screening of her upcoming film, Emilia Pérez. The movie, directed by Jacques Audiard, follows lawyer Rita (Zoe Saldaña) who helps cartel boss Juan Del Monte retire from the business and become a woman. After gender confirmation surgery, Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) asks Rita for help reconnecting with her wife (Gomez).

Emilia Pérez received a nine-minute standing ovation at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in May. Gomez, for her part, was seen wiping tears from her face.

Following the festival debut, where the film won Jury Prize, Best Actress and Soundtrack Award, Gomez admitted she was “very nervous” because Emilia Pérez was “unlike anything I’ve ever done before.”

“Even though I have such a small part, it’s such a big and special project that I feel so lucky that I was able to be a part of it,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in May, while recalling the audition process. “[Audiard] wanted me to perform one of the numbers and I just surrendered and completely gave myself. I was, like, ‘Well, at least I could walk away and say that I did my best.’ When he asked me to be a part of it, I was so nervous but also so excited.”

Emilia Pérez will have a limited theatrical release this fall before hitting Netflix on November 13.