Shawn Mendes Returns With Fiery New Single ‘In My Blood’ (Listen)
After a teaser campaign that ranged from Instagram posts to a billboard in Times Square, Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes dropped a brand-new single called “In My Blood” Thursday morning, his first new music since 2016’s “Illuminate” album. The song starts off quietly but within the first minute seems to reflect a new rock influence in the 19-year-old singer, with roaring drums and a cascading pre-chorus and chorus that evoke Kings of Leon’s 2007 hit “Sex on Fire” and even a flash of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball.” (Listen to the song below.)
The song was co-produced by Mendes and Teddy Geiger and co-written by the pair with longtime collaborators Scott Harris and Geoff Warburton, and is the first track to arrive from Mendes’ third full-length, expected later this year on Island Records. He will perform the song on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” on March 28. In January he performed a duet of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” Elton John’s 1976 hit with Kiki Dee, with SZA at “I’m Still Standing,” an all-star Grammy salute to John, which airs on April 10.
Mendes rose quickly to fame in 2014 as the first “Vine star” after releasing a series of covers recorded in his bedroom onto the now-defunct Twitter platform. He’s successfully forged a more conventional career in the years since, selling an estimated 10 million albums worldwide and clocked over 4 billion YouTube views and headlining venues including New York’s Madison Square Garden and London’s O2 Arena.
“I just wanted to write this note before the song comes out tonight & say how excited I am for you all to hear it,” he wrote in an Instagram post Wednesday night. “I know I’ve been pretty quiet during this album process & just wanted to thank you with all of my heart for being there and supporting me the entire time. This song is the closest song to my heart that I’ve ever written & I hope you guys love it and all the new music coming your way. I love and appreciate you all so much!!! Thank you! Xx.”
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