Shawn Mendes is preparing to release his new album in the coming weeks and he has been performing songs from it, like the Mountain, at concerts in recent months
Singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes brushes off critics and commentary on his life in a new song, including seemingly over long-running speculation about his sexuality.
Shawn – who in a previous interview called rumours he might be gay ‘ignorant’ – has been performing songs from his self-titled next album at gigs in recent months. The setlist has included track the Mountain, which he has described as one of his “favourites” from Shawn, set to be released next month.
He’s previously shared with fans that the track was written about a period where he was aware of commentary on his life and the lyrics address people having a lot to say about him. Discussing the song at a concert, he told the audience: “I usually never get annoyed by this stuff but there was just a lot … I felt like I was reading articles all the time about me.”
Some fans have shared footage on social media of Shawn, 26, performing the song and at one point he sings: “You can say what you need to say. You can say I’m too young, say I’m too old, you can say I like girls or boys, whatever fits your mould. You can say I’m a dreamer, you can say I’m too far gone, but I’ve never been better so call it what you want.”
Shawn’s personal life has long attracted attention and he has previously addressed speculation over his sexuality in particular, including having stated that it “shouldn’t make a difference” whether he identifies as gay or not. The musician once described the speculation as “ignorant and insensitive” in an interview with the Guardian back in 2020.
As reported by US Weekly, he said on Snapchat in 2016: “I don’t usually do this and bring up problems, but I was on YouTube just watching some of my interviews, and I was going down the comments and noticed a lot of people were saying that I gave them a ‘gay vibe.’ First of all, I’m not gay. Second of all, it shouldn’t make a difference if I was or if I wasn’t. The focus should be on the music and not my sexuality.”
It was later reported by Rolling Stone magazine that Shawn had “had enough” when he did the video. He told the outlet: “I thought, ‘You f***ing guys are so lucky I’m not actually gay and terrified of coming out’. That’s something that kills people.” He went on to question: “Who cares if I’m gay?”
Shawn’s life away from music has long attracted attention, including over his high-profile relationship with Camila Cabello. He’s also thought to have once dated Sabrina Carpenter and this year there’s been speculation that he’s the subject of songs on her album Short n’ Sweet, released in August.
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