After hints on social media this week, Shawn Mendes has released a new song titled “In My Blood.” It’s the lead single off his forthcoming third album, which hasn’t received a release date or title yet.
Mendes sticks to his signature acoustic sound, but “In My Blood” is a mature track filled with lines of anxiety and emotional pain. The 19-year-old singer exposes this vulnerable side right away in the first verse:
Laying on the bathroom floor, feeling nothing
I’m overwhelmed and insecure, give me something
I could take to ease my mind slowly
Just have a drink and you’ll feel better
Just take her home and you’ll feel better
Keep telling me that it gets better
Does it ever?
Throughout the rest of the song Mendes seemingly describes symptoms of a panic attack. His lyrics includes references how he “can’t breathe,” is “feeling anxious,” and how he sometimes feels “like giving up.”
This is not his first time addressing mental health issues. Back in 2014, Mendes started a #NotesFromShawn social media campaign encouraging fans to leave positive notes for friends and loved ones. In 2015, after relaunching the campaign, he noted on his Instagram that many of his fans and friends struggle with depression.
Shortly before the song’s midnight release, Mendes revealed that that he was dropping a new song in a note on Twitter, describing it as the “closest song to my heart that I’ve ever written”:
“In My Blood” is produced by Mendes and his frequent collaborator Teddy Geiger, who also worked on his breakout hit “Stitches,” among other tracks.
It’s also Mendes' first single since releasing “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back" back in April 2017. It was the only new track to appear on the re-release of his 2016 sophomore album Illuminate.
“In My Blood” is already the No. 1 song here on Genius, and you can check out all the lyrics here.
