On Wednesday (June 7), wildfires spread rapidly across Canada, causing hazardous smoke to pour over state borders—forcing millions to seek shelter as skies turned orange and black. While tucked away indoors in upstate New York, Canadian Shawn Mendes quickly wrote and produced a tribute track called “What The Hell Are We Dying For” to honor the natural disaster. The hitmaker announced the song just hours before the release, alongside the cover art that features the New York City skyline engulfed in fog.
Mendes officially dropped the surprise single on Friday, June 9, as East Coast cities and Canada still suffer from poor air quality. “WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DYING FOR? OUT NOW,” wrote Mendes on social media. “Started writing this song yesterday morning with my friends in upstate New York & finished it only a few hours ago…felt important to me to share with you guys in real time,” he added.
Videos by American Songwriter
The Instagram carousel captured the impromptu writing and recording session. In one video, Mendes declared that they were working rigorously at 5:41 a.m. to push out the song in a timely manner. Mendes also took polaroids to document each moment in the process.
Mendes produced the last-minute song alongside frequent collaborator Mike Sabath and penned the controversial lyrics with Scott Harris and Eddie Benjamin.
“What The Hell Are We Dying For” serves as Mendes’ first release of 2023 and follows his critically acclaimed record, Wonder.
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Shawn Mendes
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