Share

Shawn Mendes talks about almost sending his new hit song to Dua Lipa: 'I've got to go all the way with this'

Cape Town - Shawn Mendes FaceTimed Zane Lowe from SNL rehearsals to talk about his new track, If I Can’t Have You, on Best of the Week on Beats 1 on Apple Music.

In the interview Shawn called the track a "confident pop record," and said he wanted a "feel good song" following the heaviness of his single In My Blood.

The video and single was released last week and features a svelte looking Shawn in black and white. 

He says he initially thought the song would sound great as a Dua Lipa song, was inspired by The 1975’s last album and guitar sound, and reveals he has written 45 songs in the past six months.

SEE A CLIP FROM THE INTERVIEW HERE:


About the sound of his new song Shawn said:

"It’s a confident pop record and it's clearly that for me. I’m going through this phase right now where I’m testing out all the styles I can possibly be doing. Pop is what's in my blood no pun intended.

"In the last 6 months I wrote about 45 songs and they’re all over the place and different vibes. This is the one consistently every time I played, for myself and for friends and family, was giving people that smile."

Shawn originally thought his new single would be perfect for Dua Lipa, he explained to Zane: "I wrote this song actually a really long time ago in my condo with Scott Harris. We wrote a ton of songs. I was back in the studio with Teddy Geiger and Nate and I was playing it on piano, and I was like oh my god this would be really cool for Dua Lipa. It was on guitar and I turned it to piano, it was right after One Kiss came out.

"In the voice note - I'm speaking like I'm going to send (it) to Dua. I’m like, 'Okay Dua I have this song I have just a chorus we can finish it if you want,' and I’m singing it on the piano and I’m like, 'Ok cool, I'm going to send it to her'. A couple weeks later I’m in the studio with Scott playing it again and I go, dude this is really serious I don’t know if I can ask Dua to sing it - though that would’ve been incredible - I said, 'I think I've got to go all the way with this.'"

After the FaceTime chat with Zane, the hunky Canadian singer went to perform on SNL

SEE THOSE EFFORTLESSLY BRILLIANT PERFORMANCES HERE:



We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE