It was beneath a Colorado star-spackled night sky at Red Rocks Amphitheatre that Shawn Mendes, on October 28, 2024, gave the world intimate insight into a voyage of self-discovery that remains ongoing. The opening act for Taylor Swift and budding 26-year-old artist took to the stage to perform off his new album, Shawn, touching on the rumors of his sexuality that have been speculated for years. Candid and heartfelt, the moment hit home in some ways with fans and media alike.
Mendes was as forthright about the complications of his sexuality: “The real truth about my life and my sexuality is, man, I’m just figuring it out like everyone. I don’t really know sometimes and I know other times.” The vulnerability did burrow in a change of career directions for Mendes, who has lived his life in the public eye since his teens, often dealing with relentless rumors and deeply personal questions about himself.
In the concert, Mendes performed an unreleased song, “The Mountain,” in which he says, in a very subtle way, how he has learned to handle people’s judgment of him and to accept himself. He sang, “You can say I like girls or boys, whatever fits your mold,” a lyric that really sets him free from branding society. As Mendes reflected on the relentless speculation he was under, he said these experiences were “a very personal intrusion”-he was, after all, still working out an identity. “It’s a beautifully complex thing, hard to put into boxes,” he said. “I hope that anyone would feel invited to learn more and feel comfortable in an exploration process, self-discovery.
The response was huge, as fans showed appreciation for the act of bravery and candor from his camp. On all social media platforms, so many came forward to commend Mendes for his guts to talk about sensitive subjects. Supporters cheered for his message all over, that it is essential to love one’s journey, not being constrained by people’s expectations.
Mendes talked about the difficulty of being put in a place of needing to “prove” within a culture that so often demands one have very particular questions about identity. “It feels really scary,” he said, “because we live in a society that has a lot to say about that.
I’m trying to be really brave and just let myself be human and feel things.” Mendes has been the subject of public intrigue for a number of years, dating high-profile personalities in Camila Cabello and Sabrina Carpenter, and at one point, he admitted this external pressure swayed his actions and decisions.
He has spoken publicly about these pressures before, such as in a 2018 Rolling Stone interview, where he said he had felt pressure to “prove” he was straight in public. “There’s still a piece of me that thinks that,” he said, “And I hate that side of me.” Now, on “The Mountain,” Mendes can rewrite that story in his favor, spinning the scrutiny he finds himself under into art and self-expression. This has made him pretty candid about this issue, and his openness has had a ripple effect in kicking off the media coverage, as well as individual conversations about identity, acceptance, and self-discovery. The lyrics of “The Mountain” just speak so well to his journey and resilience: “Some days, I have a change of heart / You can say what you need to say / You can say I’m too young / You can say I’m too old / You can say I like girls or boys / Whatever fits your mold.”
