Shawn Mendes Drops His Fourth Studio Album Wonder, Says Releasing It ‘Feels Like Freedom’
Shawn Mendes fans, rejoice!
The 22-year-old singer is celebrating the release of his fourth studio album, Wonder, which he says “feels like freedom.”
Composed of 14 tracks — including songs such as “Teach Me How to Love,” “Always Been You,” “Look Up at the Stars” and “Can’t Imagine” — the newly released LP also features his previously released single, “Wonder,” and his collaboration, “Monster,” with fellow Canadian pop crooner Justin Bieber.
Detailing to Entertainment Tonight ahead of the album’s release what creating the project was like, Mendes told the outlet that Wonder is “my favorite art that I’ve ever made in my life.”
“I know I really feel like I created an album that feels like freedom,” he said. “I felt very free just making it. I felt like this is music that I love to listen to, this is music I want to hear, this is music I want to make and it’s gorgeous for that reason.”
Earlier in September, Mendes revealed that he would be releasing Wonder when he announced the title and release dates of both the lead single and album on social media. In October, Mendes dropped the title track alongside the release of the interlude “Intro,” which serves as the first track on the album.
Wonder follows Mendes’ previously released albums: 2015’s Handwritten, 2016’s Illuminate and his 2018 self-titled album, Shawn Mendes.
And while the “In My Blood” crooner told ET that he is happy with how Wonder turned out, he also revealed that the creative process for the album wasn’t always smooth sailing, especially in the beginning when he dealt with “anxiety and fear.”
“The album is like a reflection of my life at the moment, or, rather, over the last six to seven months,” Mendes told the outlet. “I had a big moment of anxiety and fear, and I felt like I wasn’t able to make music at the top of the year. And I think that was all coming from a place of fear, of people not liking the music I made, or fear of maybe not being able to make music better than I made in the past … and it was kind of choking me as a songwriter.”
The singer went on to say that he gave himself a month “to kind of think about, figure out what was at the bottom of that,” Mendes continued, “And I just went in with the thing of like, hey, this is it. I showed up, I’m here to make music, I’m here to make art, and if it happens in the best way, it does, and if it doesn’t happen, then it doesn’t.”
He added: “And ironically when I freed myself from that expectation, I think I started making my favorite art that I’ve ever made in my life.”
‘
ching, behind-the-scenes look into the pop star’s life as he travels the world on his last tour, heads home to be with his family and performs on stage with his girlfriend, Camila Cabello.
During a Q&A with Mendes and the documentary’s director Grant Singer on Thursday, the singer opened up about realizing aspects about himself he hadn’t noticed while watching the feature.
“I really am seeing how much pressure I put on myself,” he explained, referring to a scene in the film after he’s forced to cancel a show in São Paulo. “In hindsight, I’m like, ‘Dude, you got to give yourself a break, you really put so much pressure on yourself.’ It was kind of beautiful because I was able to have this real love and respect for myself that I think I only got because of the film.”
Wonder is available wherever you stream music.
