Shawn Mendes is back in 2018 with brand new singles, hyping up his fans for his third album, named after himself: “Shawn Mendes”.

Mendes began the announcement of his new album on Twitter, giving subtle hints to his followers about his upcoming music. He teased out components of his pieces until he finally released the first two singles to the public on March 22, 2018. The singer received standing ovations from artists like Camila Caballo and Charlie Puth, congratulating him on the meaningful lyrics as well as his powerful instrumental music and vocal control.

The 19-year old Canadian worked tirelessly to bring the album to his audience as it has been two years since his last one, “Illuminate,” was released. The previous two albums mostly consisted of songs related to love and heartbroken love, but from all the tweets presented by Mendes, this one is something different. In speculation of the new album’s launch, Mendes showcases a thrilling, intense, and unique single: “In My Blood”.

The quality of the new single surpasses that of Mendes’ previous highly successful singles: “Life of the Party,” “Something Big,” “Stitches,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “Treat You Better,” “Mercy,”  and “Nothing Holding me Back” through intensity.

The new single immediately begins with Mendes repeatedly strumming soothing guitar chords while murmuring the haunting words of “help me”. He continues with lyrics “It’s like the walls are caving in / Sometimes I feel like giving up but I just can’t / It isn’t in my blood”. From the get-go, Mendes conveys a feeling of anxiety, a feeling that he normally does not express in his songs. Because of this unusual tone depiction, he elaborates on its message throughout the song.

In an interview with Billboard’s Kevan Kenney excerpted from an article written by Rebecca Schiller, Mendes explains the underlying significance of the lyrics.

“The concept of this song is about how it feels [when] you’re about to give up, and then you don’t,” Mendes says. “It’s about something that I think everybody goes through and it’s something that I think people don’t talk about often, especially in music”.

The anxiety that he felt during this critical moment in his life drove him to write this song.

In an interview at Mendes’ studio with interviewer Zayne Lowe, Lowe digs deep into the heart of “In My Blood”.

The implications of fame drastically changed the way Mendes perceives life. He elaborates on the fact that once he became a hit icon, anxiety took over in his life for the first time.

“[I]t was kind of something that hit me within the last year,” Mendes says. “[A]nd before that growing up I was a pretty calm kid.”

Alongside this, Mendes also explains how also last year he, for the first time, moved out of his parents’ house. He describes how it is so much different than living with his parents because the sense of comfort and the loving feeling is not really there when he was all alone.

A part of this song also defines a moment in Mendes’ life of change. Crazy things are going on in his life like the graduation of high school, the moving out of his parents’ house and the rising to fame. With this comes stress, and this is what Mendes is trying to emphasize in “In My Blood”.

The main concept that Mendes is trying to integrate into his new album is honesty. He believes that music with meaning brings truth and sincerity to the lyrics. It attaches itself to the audience because it is so down to earth and meaningful. The words should represent the pain and emotion, or the joy and happiness of the song.

“[I]f you’re writing something super honest and about people you care about, things you’ve been through, the last thing you want to do is to relive, you know, upsetting experiences, but that’s the music that travels and connects with people”

“In My Blood” is such a remarkable song. Mendes bases his honesty in his music through music legends like Ed Sheeran and John Mayer. He describes how the songs that those two bring impact everyone who listen because they are so meaningful.

I applaud Shawn Mendes on creating the new single, and I cannot wait for the rest of the album to be released.

“‘In My Blood’ is complete truth and then the best thing about it is it’s not all down, you know the whole reason that I wrote the song was to be at the very end. It’s not in my blood to do that.”

For more information about Shawn Mendes’ anxiety, click the link for the interview with Zayne Low. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gpOJErKmYA