Selena Gomez couldn’t hold back her emotions during her performance of “The Heart Wants What It Wants” at the American Music Awards on Sunday night, breaking down in tears before the song was over.

The 22-year old singer–and on-again/off again girlfriend of Justin Bieber–wowed the crowd in a long, peachy gown that showed off a lot of leg as she shared her very personal song with the audience. According to HollywoodLife.com, Selena had a feeling she was going to get emotional before the show even started, due to the nature of the song and the fact that the awards show holds history for her and Bieber.

“This weekend is going to be a big test, if she can hold out and not see him. They have a lot of history with this show, a lot of memories. The AMAs have brought them back together before so her friends are wondering if it will happen again,” a source told the site.

The song, off her new album For You, reportedly has Bieber’s approval; Gomez told Ryan Seacrest recently that he’d heard it and loved it, despite the heartbreaking subject matter. But for Gomez, the music is about more than just the two of them.

“He thought it was beautiful. I think it was really hard. I think he was a little jealous of the video guy at first. Honestly, music is an expression, and if you will be that voice for these girls, there are some people that feel this. This is universal,” she said.