After sitting down to play, Shawn Mendes opened up about the struggle of being “perfect” when making music.
“Over the last year, I spent a lot of time singing like this,” Mendes, 25, captioned the black and white Instagram video he posted on Tuesday, January 2. The video saw the “Stitches” musician singing along to the trance-like music coming from the instrument. In the video, Mendes, sporting a scruffy face and tousled hair, said that in “moments of extreme anxiety or fear, if I sat down with my harmonium and allowed myself with full trust to sing whatever came out, it would often ease the pain.”
“It felt so difficult at first to let myself sing without needing perfection, but after a while, I actually started to fall in love with the dance between the ‘right’ and the ‘wrong’ notes,” he continued. “I realized there were only moments of bliss and euphoria from the ‘right’ notes BECAUSE of the ‘wrong’ notes. The only reason I can sing in key is because I’ve learned to listen.”
During this improvisational moment, Mendes sang, “You were right there for me … to help me out.” He added that the biggest takeaway from 2023 was that he’s “been to accept and welcome the lows of life… not to constantly need to change or fix something in order to feel high again, because I know if I really slow down and listen when I’m low, there’s always something to hear.”
Mendes has been open about his struggles with maintaining his mental health. In July 2022, he first postponed a string of dates of his Wonder tour to deal with the “toll of the road” after “the pressures [had] caught up to me.” Mendes said that though he was excited to get back on the road after being sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic, he had reached “a breaking point” from being away from friends and family. He postponed the shows to “take some time to heal and take care of myself.”
However, he ultimately canceled the rest of the tour. Mendes said he was “excited to finally get back to playing live after a long break due to the pandemic, but the reality is I was not at all ready for how difficult touring would be after this time away.” Mendes said he needed to “put my health as my first priority,” and that’s why he had to cancel the tour.
“This doesn’t mean I won’t be making new music,” he clarified. “And I can’t wait to see you on tour in the future.” Mendes said he would “back as soon as I’ve taken the right time to heal” while thanking those supporting him on this journey.
In February 2023, He spoke with WSJ. Magazine about how the decision was the right one. “I think the last year and a half has been the most eye-opening and growing and beautiful and just healing process of my life,” he said.
Mendes’s most recent album was 2020’s Wonder, which includes “Monster,” his collaboration with fellow Canadian Justin Bieber. In April 2023, Mendes reunited with his ex Camilla Cabello at Coachella. The reunion was brief; Cabello, 26, ended things in June.
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