With his self-titled third studio album, Shawn Mendes finds the truth in all the noise.
A version of this story appears in the June 1 issue of Entertainment Weekly.
I feel like Im going through a huge transition and everything is just crazy and exciting.
Credit: Brian Ziff
Mendes recognizes that imprinting this moment with a self-titled release (you only get one!)
Mendes awakening, arriving early, is no less valid.
He recognizes just how fast and furious the rites of passage can come in a pop career.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
His third album is his attempt at capturing that evolution in its tracks.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You say you feel like youre going through a big transition in your life.
What do you feel like youre transitioning between?SHAWN MENDES:A lot of things.
Between being a kid to being an adult.
Transitioning from somebody who wasnt very confident in themselves musically to somebody who considers themselves a musician.
And a lot of different things creatively, becoming so much more confident in what I do.
I dont know, I just feel… different.
I feel like Im going through a change in a good way.
Shawnlast yearwouldnt believe it.
I mean that with all of my heart.
I mean, technically… last year, I couldnt sing falsetto.
I figured out how to the day I wrote Where Were You In the Morning.
You never discover you sing falsetto again; you just do, once.
You never discover you’ve got the option to say a certain thing again; you just do.
These songs are stamps of moments when I discovered what I was capable of.
But then I was like, Well, thats what makes it great write it down!
Just take a hit!
Because thats what music is about.
John Mayer is among your collaborators on this record.
Lucky enough, our timing worked out that we were able to do it.
And all three of them pushed me to be sincere.
Because Im not really sure right now of what you want.
Like, that st is just like, conversation.
Thats my favorite throw in of music.
Did writing any of these songs help you break through in other parts of your life?
You give it 75 percent energy.
Because if I would write a song and I wasnt honest, I felt like the song sucked!
Thats what it needs to be.
Thats what my life needs to be.
Its not only about music.
How would you feel if anyone ever read that journal?Oh, man.
Its pretty clear in there how I feel about things.
Im not giving it to anybody any time soon.
Did any of those emotions of that night make their way into this music?The whole album.
I made the whole album with her.
I cant express how happy that made me.
And its something I really love to say: its a very new thing, right?
People would just understand.
Its so powerful to have somebody youre so close to go through something like that.
Its just fg beautiful, man.
I really wish you could have seen it.
This is a strange observation, but a lot of your lyrics actually dont include pronouns.
Is that a direct result of that?Yeah, its true.
Everything is up for your perspective.
Let it be you.
It really just doesnt matter to me at all nowadays.
I love how open everybody is and how open everything is.
It just makes life more fun.
Let me ask about a few specific songs.
And that sounds so dumb and cheesy coming from me.
Its about getting nervous, and I think thats a cool [juxtaposition].
Im really proud of that one.
Another subject Im obsessed with is whoever youre calling out in Queen for repeatedly introducing themselves to you.
What inspired you to write that song?
Is this your Bad Blood?
[Laughs] Honestly, its a vague concept going out to everybody thats like that.
Its not about somebody in particular.
I just hate people who think theyre better than other people.
Theres no reason to.
It just bugs me, man.
Its not about being 19.
Thats what its about.
Its about keeping that youth within us, because thats what makes humans awesome.
It was a crazy rumor.
That would have been cool to be.
But Iwillbe doing some acting in the future.
Finally, youre headlining your fourth tour next year.
Ive accepted that lately and Ive been having more fun singing on stage than ever.
It makes me so excited to go on tour because I know that it cant be perfect.
Thats not what life is.
And I wish I could have told myself earlier.
I would have saved myself from so many nights of being angry at myself.
But thats what growing up is.
