1.
Selena was only 9 when she formed "Selena y Los Dinos" with her siblings.
2.
She never took singing lessons.
3.
Before being signed by EMI Latin, Selena y Los Dinos sold 80,000 copies of her albums in Texas alone.
4.
Selena won Best Female Vocalist at the Tejano Music Awards for nine consecutive years.
5.
She was often referred to as the "Mexican Madonna."
6.
Selena designed all her stage outfits.
7.
She had the best collection of bustiers.
8.
In 1992, she secretly married her guitarist, Chris Perez.
9.
In that same year, her career got a big boost with the song "Como La Flor."
10.
In 1993, Selena opened her own clothing boutique equipped with an in-house beauty salon.
11.
Her album Selena Live! won Best Mexican-American Album at the 36th Grammy Awards.
12.
Twelve days after the win, she released Amor Prohibido, which became the best-selling Latin album of all time.
13.
Her signature song "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" was originally not on the album.
14.
Amor Prohibido was nominated for Best Mexican-American Album at the 37th Grammy Awards.
15.
Even with all her success and stardom, she never forgot her roots.
16.
In addition to her singing chops, she had some pretty great dance moves.
17.
She knew how to work those hips.
18.
And she twirled like a pro.
19.
Selena was a fun and carefree person.
20.
She ate junk food with no regrets.
21.
At the peak of her career, she visited schools to talk to students about the importance of education.
22.
She was a great role model and encouraged her fans to follow their dreams.
23.
She was a genuine performer and loved the audience.
24.
She never refused to sign an autograph.
25.
She read her fan letters with gratitude.
26.
And she even sang for airplane passengers on a flight once.
27.
Selena also loved to play jokes.
28.
And she didn't mind being goofy.
29.
After her unfortunate passing on March 31, 1995, she got her own Texan holiday known as "Selena Day."
30.
Her Dreaming of You album debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, making her the first Hispanic singer to accomplish this feat.
31.
Overall, she has had 14 top-10 singles on the Top Latin Songs chart.
32.
And seven No. 1 hits.
33.
She is the only female artist to have five albums in the U.S. Billboard 200 at the same time.
34.
Selena has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide.
35.
Which qualified her as Billboard's Best-Selling Latin Artist of the Decade ('90s).
36.
In 1995, she was inducted to the Latin Music Hall of Fame.
37.
Two years later, Jennifer Lopez starred in a biopic film about the late singer's life.
38.
In 1998, the Quintanilla family opened the Selena Museum in Corpus Christi, Texas.
39.
She also received a star at the South Texas Music Hall of Fame.
40.
Selena was a beautiful person, inside and out.
41.
And she remains an idol, years after her death.
42.
Here's to a wonderful artist and a beautiful soul.
