Shawn Mendes is three months away from turning 25 and is currently experiencing a quarter-life crisis. The three-time Grammy Award-winner has been living life on the down-low since the release of his 2020 album, Wonder. In 2022, Mendes pulled out of his World Tour in support of the project to prioritize his mental health. During the short hiatus, Mendes told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, that he’s been figuring out his purpose—personally and musically.
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“I think I am approaching 25, still feeling quite confused about a lot of things in my life. And I think that was expressing that feeling of frustration about what is happening, this feeling of swinging the pendulum back and forth,” Mendes explained to the outlet. “I think I still am in a very confused place, but I know that there are some people in my life who I deeply love, and I know that music is something I deeply love, and I know that this planet is something I deeply love.”
Mendes continued, “All of those three things are something worth fighting for and worth dying for.”
His mindset is displayed in his latest single, “WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DYING FOR?” The track arrived on Friday, June 9, just days after wildfires spread rapidly across Canada. The smoke flooded over state borders, causing millions to take shelter on the east coast. Mendes promoted the track as a tribute to the individuals affected by the natural disaster, but his personal life deeply inspired the emotion-driven lyrics.
The vocalist recorded the song in a make-shift studio in upstate New York, alongside longtime collaborators Mike Sabath, Scott Harris, and Eddie Benjamin. The release was a surprise, as Mendes has hesitated to step back into the studio to make new music.
“Mendes also shed light on how his uncertainty has extended to the recording studio. “I feel like over the last year and a bit, I’ve just been really struggling in the studio to find my voice and to find myself musically and to even have the courage just to be in the room with writers or step into the booth and sing,” he shared. “And I was upstate New York and just on the back end of feeling a lot of things about relationships, about my career, about the environment. And I was in the studio, and this moment of just deep frustration came over me, and I finally started to feel this inspiration come.”
Mendes revealed that he hasn’t felt that creative rush for quite some time, a feeling he’s been longing for.
“In that moment, it felt like it was the first time I felt that in a year and a half in the studio,” the beloved artist noted.
Mendes turned the track around in a timely manner. When the crooner announced the single, it wasn’t even done. He admitted that he worked until 6 a.m. to finalize the track. Although the writing and recording session was impromptu, he’s feeling more proud than ever before.
“I feel aware of the fact that I did it on a whim, and I’m proud of it. But most of all, honestly, if I’m being real, I’m just happy that I broke through that horrible wall of writer’s block, and I’m creating again,” shared Mendes. “I’m just happy about that. And I’m just going to keep going, keep making some songs because I really think that there’s something in here.”
Mendes did not confirm whether he’s working on an EP or full-length album next. He does not have any live appearances scheduled for the rest of 2023.
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Shawn Mendes
