Shawn Mendes Survived the Dark Side of Pop
“Music can really be a medicine,” he writes in a long post on social media. For Shawn Mendes it certainly was: “Two years ago I felt like I had absolutely no idea who I was. A year ago I couldn’t walk into a studio without panicking. To be here now with twelve beautiful songs ready to be released feels like a gift.”, says the 25-year-old Canadian whose popularity exploded in 2013, when he was just 15, thanks to videos shared on Vine, before finding himself catapulted to the top of the charts worldwide with hits like “Treat You Better”, “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back”, the duet with Camila Cabello on “Señorita” and the one with Justin Bieber on “Monster”.
.A steady rise, which seemed unstoppable. Until two years ago. The period was more or less this. Mendes surprised everyone with a shocking announcement shared on his official social channels: “I started this tour with the best intentions, I was happy to return to playing live after the long break due to the pandemic. But the truth is that I am not ready to face the difficulties that come with life on the road, after all this time. After talking to my co-workers and working with a group of mental health professionals, I realized that I need to take the time I never took, to come back stronger.”. Twenty-four months have passed since then, during which Shawn Mendes has made his voice heard as little as possible, disappearing from the recording industry. But without ever putting his guitar away in a case.
It was by strumming those strings that the voice of “Mercy” gave vent to his inner torments, to that malaise that seemed to want to drag him into the abyss, waiting for the right moment to be ready to return to the scene. That moment has arrived. Two years after the stop, Shawn Mendes announced the release of a new album, simply titled “Shawn”. It will be his first album in four years, after 2020’s “Wonder,” and will arrive next October 18th. Anticipated not by one single, but by two. “Why why why” And “Isn’t that enough” will both be available on all digital platforms from August 9, but to ease the wait, the Canadian pop star has already shared a video with a preview of “Isn’t That Enough” in the background.
“Shawn”, as the title itself suggests, It will be Mendes’ most personal and autobiographical albumwho drew inspiration for the songs from his travels and experiences over the twenty-four months since the cancellation of his 2022 tour. The album was made between Costa Rica, Rhinebeck’s Clubhouse Studio in New York, Bear Creek Studio in Washington State, Nashville’s Darkhorse Recordings and New York’s Electric Lady, written and co-produced by Shawn Mendes alongside long-time collaborators Scott Harris, Mike Sabath, Nate Mercereau and Eddie Benjamin. “Life can be brutal, but having a small group of people you deeply trust walking with you through it makes it so much better. I have no idea how I would have gotten through the last two years, let alone made an album without you,” he thanked them in the social media post with which he broke his silence.
