‘It is a painful thing to tell a dark story’: Selena Gomez and Stacy Abrams team up on newly released music documentary

Selena Gomez and Stacey Abrams are locking arms again, this time as co-producers of a music documentary Louder: The Soundtrack of Change.

Described as “a celebration of music and rallying cry,” the two will immerse audiences in a star-studded journey through the history of music as activism as told through the lens of some of music’s boldest, most iconic women.

Louder: The Soundtrack of Change cuts across genres and generations. Melissa Etheridge, H.E.R., Chaka Khan, Rhiannon Giddens, Mickey Gutyon and many others lend their raw perspective to drive home music’s potential as a vehicle for change. Etheridge details the importance of her impromptu decision to come out as a lesbian during a 1993 inaugural ball while H.E.R. outlines the immense grief processed via her 2020 ballad “I Can’t Breathe”.

Gender identity. Racial injustice. Outdated societal norms. As Abrams so poignantly proclaims in the opening line of the trailer, “It is a painful thing to tell a dark story.”

STREAM: Louder: The Soundtrack of Change, exclusively on Max

Louder pays homage to 90s hip-hop legends Queen Latifah and Salt-N-Pepa, and reflects on the pure rage of the Riot GRRL punk movement with a powerful Kathleen Hanna interview whose iconic “Rebel Girl” was listed 0n Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time in 2021.

If you’re interested in checking out Louder: The Soundtrack of Change, here’s everything you need to know about where and when to watch. offers first-hand accounts, wide-ranging interviews, and stunning archival footage that you won’t want to miss.

Where to watch Louder: The Soundtrack of Change

Louder: The Soundtrack of Change is available to watch exclusively on Max beginning Oct. 17, 2024. In addition to Gomez and Abrams co-headlining as producers, the documentary is directed by award-winning filmmaker Kristi Jacobson who won an Emmy for the HBO’s 2018 Solitary.

As producers, both Gomez and Abrams will bring unique dynamics to the documentary. While the billionaire actress-turned-singer and outspoken Democratic politician from Georgia may not immediately seem like the most natural tag team, the two have a history of joining forces, particularly in election cycles.

In 2022, Gomez endorsed Abrams in a second bid to win the Georgia gubernatorial election in one of the nation’s most closely-watched governor races. And back in 2020, Gomez handed Abrams the keys to her Instagram account — and 181 million followers — to spread awareness for both Black Lives Matter and the power of voting as part of the #ShareTheMicNow campaign.

Abrams, who previously served in Georgia’s House of Representatives, was the Democratic nominee in the state’s gubernatorial election in both 2018 and 2022. She has since gone on to pen several fiction and nonfiction books, eight of which she wrote under the pen name Selena Montgomery before 2021.