Break-ups are never easy, and it doesn’t get much more complicated than when a high-profile couple splits after several years together. A few weeks ago Camila Cabello opened up about a renewed focus on herself after her split with Shawn Mendes:
“…my priorities have fluctuated and my focus has changed throughout my life… those years that we were dating, I don’t even feel like… even while I was writing this album, and even still now, I guess, my focus is really on, ‘how can I be a well-rounded person?’”
Now, thanks to a post on IG, we have Shawn Mendes’ side of the story, and it appears the split left him in shatters, “A lot of the thing that also is like resonating in the lyric for me is like, ‘Oh f–k.’ You don’t realize when you’re breaking up with someone, you like, think it’s the right thing. You don’t realize all the sh-t that comes after it.”
Mendes also previewed a song he wrote about the break-up, “When You’re Gone.” Before playing a part of the song, he explained:
“Which is like, ‘Who do I call when I’m like in a panic attack? Who do I call when I’m like f—ing, on the edge?’ and I think that’s the reality that kind of hit me, ‘Oh, I’m on my own now.’ Now I feel like I’m finally like, I’m actually on my own,” he added. “And I hate that. That’s my reality, you know?”
The 23-year-old singer previously previewed the new track during his headlining performance at South by Southwest, describing the tune as a “rollicking pop-rock track primed for radio play.”
“When You’re Gone” will officially hit airwaves on March 31. Until then, we all just have to play the preview on loop.