Shawn Mendes has revealed why he decided to get candid about a past pregnancy scare in his new song, “Why Why Why.”
Mendes, 26, spoke about the song and the scare in a new profile published by The New York Times on Thursday.
The singer revealed that a collaborator suggested he include the experience in his lyrics for the tune. After first balking at the suggestion, he took the note.
“Then I was like, ‘Why am I doing this?’” he said. “I wanted to break down any walls that were remaining, between me and people listening.”
In the song, Mendes sings, “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.”
The pregnancy scare “taught me a lot as a man,” Mendes told The Times.
The Grammy-nominated singer didn’t disclose who his partner was in either the song or during his conversation. However, in the interview, he started talking about his ex Camila Cabello, 27, “almost unprompted” after discussing the pregnancy scare.
The star said it “bugs me” whenever the public thinks he and Cabello are “against each other in a weird way.”
Mendes still speaks to Cabello about music and generally important things that happen in his life. “But honestly, if something was to happen in my family and if something was to happen to me, she’d probably be the first person I call, to this day,” he said.
“Our relationship is teaching me what love means, in a big way.”
Mendes and Cabello dated for over two years until their breakup in 2021. They briefly reunited in 2023 before splitting up again in June of that year. Mendes is rumored to have dated Sabrina Carpenter but denied their relationship was ever romantic.
The “Mercy” singer has recently been open about his private life. On Monday, he spoke about his sexuality during a performance at Red Rocks in Colorado.
“Man, I’m just figuring it out like everyone,” he said while introducing another new song of his, “The Mountain.”
“I don’t really know sometimes and I know other times. And it feels really scary, because we live in a society that has a lot to say about that.”
Mendes’ frankness was greeted with cheers from the crowd.
“Some days, I have a change of heart / You can say what you need to say,” he sings in “The Mountain.” “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.”
Speaking to the Colorado crowd, Mendes added, “I’m trying to be really brave and just allow myself to be a human and feel things. And that’s all I really want to say about that for now.”