Shawn is the upcoming fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes, scheduled to be released on October 18, 2024, through Island Records. It will mark his first full-length release since his 2020 album Wonder and his mental health break following the cancellation of the Wonder: The World Tour in 2022. Shawn was written and co-produced by Mendes along with a group of collaborators including Scott Harris, Mike Sabath, Nate Mercereau, and Eddie Benjamin.
Shawn has been preceded by the release of three singles. The lead single "Why Why Why" and "Isn't That Enough" were released on August 8, 2024, while the third single "Nobody Knows" was premiered in the first televised performance from the album at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards. To promote the album, Mendes embarked on an intimate concert tour in the United States.
Background and conception
In order to focus on his mental health, Shawn Mendes cancelled his fifth concert tour, Wonder: The World Tour, in 2022. The tour, which contained seven officialized shows, supported his fourth studio album, Wonder, released on December 4, 2020.[1] Mendes later would explain that he "had absolutely no idea who [he] was", and could not "step into a studio without falling into complete panic".[2] In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he opened up about this topic: "It has become clear that I need to take the time I've never taken personally, to ground myself and come back stronger".[3] Following his one-year break, Mendes returned to the studio to record "What the Hell Are We Dying For?", a song about climate crisis.[4]
In March 2024, Mendes teased a snippet of a then-unreleased song titled "Nobody Knows" via social media, with a video of a guitar solo without vocals.[5] Two months after, the singer confirmed that his next album was "coming soon".[6] He returned to the stage as a special guest at an Ed Sheeran concert, where they performed together "Lego House" and an acoustic rendition of "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back".[7]Shawn was announced on July 31, 2024, through Mendes' official social media accounts, along with its release date and the confirmation of the first two singles, "Why Why Why" and "Isn't That Enough".[8] In a statement while announcing the album, Mendes dubbed it as his "most musically intimate and lyrically honest work to date", and praised his family and closest friends for helping him throughout its conception.[9]
Shawn is scheduled to be released on October 18, 2024, via Island Records.[14] It will be issued via streaming, digital download, cassette, CD, and two vinyl LP variants. Pre-orders began on July 31, 2024, the day the album was officially announced.[15] On the same date, the track listing was also unveiled.[14] The singer also shared a trailer for the album featuring "Isn't That Enough", in which he can be seen at a campfire surrounded by friends playing guitar and singing the song.[16] Two singles were released in August: the lead "Why Why Why" and "Isn't That Enough".[17][18]
To promote Shawn, Mendes embarked on an intimate concert tour of theatre shows throughout the places he recorded the album.[19] Billed as "for friends and family only", its selected venues hold between 2,000 and 3,000 attendees.[20] The concerts started in Woodstock, New York at the Bearsville Theater on August 8, 2024, coinciding with the date of his birthday and the release of the first singles from the album, and will conclude in Seattle on October 24, 2024.[21] The set list of the shows contains the songs off Shawn "from top to bottom".[22] Mendes performed "Nobody Knows" at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, which was released as the album's third single on September 12, 2024.[23]