Shawn Mendes had to “relearn” his love for making music after coming “from Top 40 pop”.
The ‘Why Why Why’ hitmaker – who described the single as the “origin” of his upcoming stripped-back album ‘Shawn’ – revealed how the singalong song was something that formed “completely in the moment”.
Speaking to John Mayer for Interview magazine, he said: “It came completely in the moment. That song was the origin of the album.
“I come from Top 40 pop music, which is like Auto-Tune, hyper-compressed, hyper-in-the-box, and I had to relearn how to enjoy myself in a room with four people with a guitar in my hand.
“I know this sounds silly, but have you ever heard harmony with two other humans in the room with you singing?”
John agreed with him, describing it as “the kind of thing that makes you want to keep singing it over and over again, just to feel it”.
He added: “There are so many moments on this album that I can picture you standing behind the console just losing your mind, listening back going, ‘Oh my god, that’s mine.’ “
The 46-year-old musician reflected on the way the 26-year-old singer created a tune is could resonate even with non-artists.
He explained: “It’s the kind of song that, if you weren’t even an artist and you and your friends just wrote that, you would get together—”
Shawn interjected: “And sing it every time. That song was a gift from the cosmos.”
Meanwhile, the ‘Stitches’ star reflected on the way he has focused on making something he enjoys rather than what he thinks fans should like.
He said: “Well, if I’m a representation of the general society that is digesting music, then I just did a good job at making something that I would listen to instead of what I think people should listen to.”