Shawn Mendes made an emotional return to the stage in London on Tuesday, two years after scrapping a world tour to focus on his mental health. The pop star played an intimate show at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London, previewing his new album to a room full of dedicated fans. The show was punctuated by screams of "we love you, Shawn", as he talked at length about the struggles he'd faced in the last two years.
The 26-year-old recalled cancelling his 2022 tour after just seven shows, telling fans: "I got back to LA and I was like, 'I have no idea who I am and what to do with myself'." "I was not really singing, I was not really playing guitar," he added, saying he had only written "one song" in the year afterwards. That song, a hushed balled called Who I Am, will open his new album, Shawn, when it is released in October.
As heard in London, it gave a candid account of his state of mind in 2022. " I feel pressured by the people I love, " he sang over a finger-plucked guitar. " I'm losing myself trying to make you proud.
Sorry, got to do it, got to let you down. " Introducing another song, Heavy, the Canadian star talked about the intense feelings of loneliness and anxiety he'd experienced after hits like Stitches and Senorita catapulted him to worldwide fame. "The thing that was so terrifying for me was this sensation of being alone.
.. in a situation where it was all on my shoulders," he said.
"It gets heavy when it’s all on your shoulders [but] these days I’m starting.