Everything We Know About Shawn Mendes’ Third Album
Will the third time be the charm for Shawn Mendes, who's gearing up to release Studio Album No. 3 later this year? So far, we've got some convincing evidence.
Mendes, who's had fans on their toes since uploading a teaser of his forthcoming collection with a shirtless Instagram photo, has so far released two songs from his forthcoming LP: "In My Blood" and "Lost in Japan." While the former has a rockier Kings of Leon vibe, the latter could be straight from Justin Timberlake's early-aughts catalog, and the pairing is proof that Mendes is ready to take risks on his follow-up to 2016's Illuminate.
But are you ready for his new sound? Need more convincing that the album will be worth your investment? Glad you stopped by.
Take a look below at everything we know about Shawn Mendes' third studio album, and hang tight for an exact release date, which he'll likely announce soon.
Lead single "In My Blood" was inspired by anxiety:
Mendes told Beats 1's Zane Lowe that "The only way we're going to step up...and get better...is if it's more honest. Like, how raw can we get?"
He intentionally sought out the sound of Kings of Leon:
Mendes added to Lowe that he's a big fan of the group (he's performed a cover of "Use Somebody" in a previous concert), and was incredibly inspired by watching them one night by side stage. "I was like, I want to make a Kings of Leon record – I want to go more rock," he said.
The album might include this lyric:
The LP's artwork seems to have been inspired by nature:
Mendes added to The Zach Sang show that he wrote a lot of the album in Malibu.
Fans can't get enough of a teaser called "What If I Told You a Story":
Mendes later added to The Zach Sang Show that he "accidentally" leaked his music, and that when he sat down to post the song bit in a private group chat, he mistakenly put it on his Instagram story. It was only up for 45 seconds, he said, but fans got their hands on it.
A collaboration with Niall Horan seems likely:
Mendes told Entertainment Tonight he and the former One Direction member have become close over the years, and have toyed with the idea of working together for a long time.
"It will be true one day," he said. "We're really good friends and we hang out all the time, and we are always like, 'We should write a song,' and then we're planning on writing a song -- and then we just end up hanging out!"
Mendes added that collaborations have to manifest organically.
"It's just a vibe," he told The Zach Sang Show. "You meet an artist...and it's not really about writing music, it's just about 'One day we got together and wrote this song.'"
Camila Cabello helped him perfect a line of Spanish for the album:
Cabello told The Zach Sang Show in January: "I think he was working on his album and he said he needed help because he was going to sing a line in Spanish and so I voice memoed him the correct pronunciation."
Mendes laster told The Zach Sang Show that he sends "all of his music" to Camila ahead of time to get her thoughts.
He looked to reliable collaborators to craft the LP:
Ryan Tedder, Teddy Geiger, Scott Harris, and Geoffrey Warburton all contributed to SM3. "Last year [at the EMAs], I got to meet Ryan Tedder for the first time...and actually was just in the studio with him like a week ago and wrote some awesome songs," Mendes told MTV News in 2017.
Oh, and John Mayer helped Mendes work out a new track, too:
The guys have been friends for years, Mendes told Valentine in the Morning.
He's scrapping the idea of a singular sound:
"I didn't put any walls up for my genre," Mendes added to Valentine, noting the stark difference between first two singles "In My Blood" and "Lost in Japan." "I just made music."
He said you can also expect a song that carries a '50s rock vibe and more mainstream pop.
"Lost in Japan" is the song he's most proud of:
He told The Zach Sang Show that the song's guitar, especially, signaled a breakthrough in his musicianship (though he credits much of the instrumentation to a writer named Nate). Mendes added that he was listening to a ton of "Old JT" before writing it, which is why the track might give you a truly Timberlake vibe.