PREVIEW

Shawn Mendes shares alcoholism and drug addiction fears. The 26-year-old Canadian pop star has been in the spotlight since releasing his debut single, Life of the Party, aged just 15. In 2022, he abruptly cancelled a world tour just days into his planned run, revealing he needed to take time away from the spotlight for the sake of his mental health. Opening up to the New York Times in a new interview, the star said he realised he was at risk of entering a downward spiral towards drink and drugs that has ruined the lives of many stars before him. On cancelling his tour, he said: ”I felt super, super lost. The shows I could get through and find beauty in them. But when I would step offstage, I just didn't recognize myself. I was a shell - like talking to a wall.” Explaining that he found himself drinking and smoking ahead of shows and again once he was off stage, he realised he had to drastically change his life to avoid disaster. ”I was like, 'I'm not going to rewrite the same story that's been written a thousand times by musicians and artists'. Where they can't cope and they'd start taking more drugs, more alcohol, until it's too much. I'm not doing that. I'm just going hard left.” Acknowledging that his tour cancellation upset some fans, the Stitches singer added: ”(It was) a huge lesson for me in becoming an adult, which is that you don't get to live this life without hurting people.” Mendes's new album, titled Shawn, is due for release on 15 November.
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