Shawn Mendes Reveals He Almost Became A Father In New Song
Wait, did he really just say that?!
If the title of Shawn Mendes’ fifth album wasn’t proof enough that he’d be getting more personal than ever, its lead single just sealed the deal. On the singer’s 26th birthday on Aug. 8, he dropped the first two songs from his upcoming album Shawn, and one new lyric has the internet buzzing. During the bridge of “Why Why Why,” Mendes revealed that he almost became a father.
“I thought I was about to be a father / Shook me to the core, I’m still a kid / Sometimes I still cry out for my mother / Why, why, why? Why, why, why?” Mendes belts out in his new single’s chorus.
The lyrics don’t reveal any other details about the situation. Mendes’ most public and longest-lasting romance was his relationship with Camila Cabello. The couple dated from 2019 to 2021, and have sparked reconciliation rumors a few times since the breakup. The pair never spoke about the possibility of expanding their family when they were together, so Mendes’ revelation that he “was about to be a father” came as a bombshell to fans.
That’s not the only deeply personal lyric in “Why Why Why.” The bulk of the folksy pop song is about Mendes’ struggle with anxiety, with one verse describing how he felt when he canceled his 2022 Wonder tour to focus on his mental health:
“I stepped off the stage with nothin’ left / All the lights were f*ckin’ with my head / But here I am, singin’ songs again / Why, why, why? Ease my mind,” Mendes laments.
Mendes spoke about the process of recording the new song in an interview with Apple Music. “There kind of became this joke while we were making the album that was like, if I started to experience some pretty heavy anxiety in the studio, everyone was sure that a great song was going to be coming after it because there was some sort of healing crisis, some sort of breakthrough that was supposed to happen,” Mendes said. “There was something anthemic about those words, ‘Why, why, why.’ It almost felt like a cry. It felt like… I don’t know. It just felt powerful and beautiful.”
