Selena Gomez marked emotional American Music Awards performance as end of Bieber era

Selena Gomez's emotional performance at last year's (14) American Music Awards marked the end of her romance with Justin Bieber, according to the singer.

The pop stars had been dating on-and-off for three years, but split officially in 2014. Gomez penned the song The Heart Wants What It Wants about her relationship with the Baby hitmaker, and sang it live for the first time at the annual music prizegiving last November (14).

The performance clearly left her emotional, and in a new interview with Elle magazine, Gomez admits she used the moment to put her high-profile relationship with Bieber behind her and finally move on.

She recalls, "Everybody was talking about the same thing: my relationship. I was so exhausted. I said, 'I want this performance to be the last time I have to talk about this. And acknowledge this feeling.

"I was kind of devastated. I was like, 'This is all I have right now. This is gonna be it. And all I want is to move on'. It was a huge weight lifted off me. That's why, from this point on, I know I can prove myself, you know. I haven't scratched the surface yet."

Gomez also made it a point to show her respect for her ex, saying, "Genuinely... I'll forever support him and love him... We grew up together."

While the singer admits finding a steady boyfriend is not her main focus at the moment, she has been on a few dates, and asked if there's a possibility she will ever get back together with Bieber, she coyly responded, "I don't know!"