This past Wednesday singer Shawn Mendes surprised his fans with the release of the rock-inspired new single “In My Blood” from his third album. And for another surprise, Mendes dropped another single called “Lost in Japan” on midnight the very next day.
“In My Blood,” a kind of power anthem, sounds a little different than some of Mendes’ older songs. A little rocky in its sound and very revealing in its lyrics, the song is about how Mendes sometimes feels insecure but perseveres through dark days.
“Sometimes I feel like giving up/ But I just can’t/ It isn’t in my blood,” Mendes sings to open the song. It starts a little slow, but builds to a climax when the drums come in on the chorus, which is simply “It isn’t in my blood/ It isn’t in my blood.”
The song details some anxious moments, like laying on a bathroom floor feeling overwhelmed, and depicts the singer scrolling through a phone in an unsuccessful attempt to calm his anxiety. But “In My Blood” also explains how Mendes overcomes his anxiety, stating that he won’t give into it because he knows that he is stronger.
In a video on iHeartRadio’s YouTube channel, Mendes reacts to fans hearing his new song for the first time. He also explains why he released “In My Blood” as the first song.
“It’s conceptually the song that’s closest to my heart and it’s the most vulnerable, and I just really wanted to release something that really meant something to me as my first song,” Mendes said of the release of “In My Blood.”
His other new song, the more traditional pop “Lost in Japan,” is an upbeat, flirty song about a guy who wants to travel to where his crush is. Mendes himself describes it as more of “Justin Timberlake vibe” in a video posted to Music Choice’s YouTube on Saturday.
“It’s about a dream I had getting lost in a country, and I think it will be the first song that maybe gets played in a club if I’m lucky,” Mendes said.
The song’s tone is definitely more club-friendly and more danceable than the more serious “In My Blood.” In “Lost in Japan,” Mendes sings “Do you got plans tonight?/ I’m a couple hundred miles from Japan, and I/ I was thinking I could fly to your hotel tonight.” Clearly, the song is a cheery, hopeful pop song. The singer wants to see his crush because he “can’t get [her] off [his] mind.”
On Twitter last Wednesday, before either of his singles even dropped, Mendes released a statement thanking fans for their patience with his new music.
“Just wanted to write this note before the song comes out tonight & say how excited I am for you all to hear it. I know I’ve been pretty quiet during this album process & I just wanted to thank you with all of my heart for being there and supporting me the entire time,” the grateful artist wrote.
Although fans have these two new songs to obsess over, there is more speculation as to when Mendes’ full third album will come out. Right now, the only clue fans have is an unsatisfying “coming soon,” as promised by a recent billboard in Times Square.
While fans will have to wait for the release of the third album, James Corden announced on Twitter on Friday that Mendes will be coming to “The Late Late Show” on Wednesday this week for the first live televised performance of “In My Blood.”
Stephanie Santillo is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at stephanie.santillo@uconn.edu.