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ON THE MENDES
GLOBAL superstar Shawn Mendes has revealed that he’s been undergoing secret therapy sessions to combat anxiety.
The Canadian singer is one of the most influential young artists in music.
He has a huge fanbase and has backed up his standing in the industry with some epic chart performances, including his first two albums topping the Billboard charts in consecutive years.
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But in a bombshell chat in the latest edition of The Dan Wootton Interview podcast — which you can subscribe to on iTunes, Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast provider — he has admitted that all his success has been achieved while dealing with the condition.
Shawn said: “I spoke to a therapist a couple of times.
“Therapy is what works for you . . . climbing a mountain. Therapy is listening to music and running on the treadmill, therapy is going to dinner with your friends — it’s something that distracts you, that helps you heal and so it just depends on what you think therapy is.
“I made a conscious effort to be more connected to the people in my life. I found I was closing myself off from everybody, thinking that would help me battle it . . . then realising the only way I was going to battle it was completely opening up and letting people in.”
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We got on to the subject of mental health when I brought up his soul-baring lyrics from new song In My Blood, which details his inner torment of living with the condition.
Shawn sings: “Help me, it’s like the walls are caving in, sometimes I feel like giving up, no medicine is strong enough, someone help me.”
It is the first time he’s documented his struggles within his music and he hopes it will encourage others to be open about their problems.
He explains: “What I have to do now is be very honest with myself and honest about what I’m talking about.
“Make something as serious as anxiety tangible where everybody can listen to it and either connect with it or understand it.” The singer, whose mum is from Bournemouth, has been through dark times with the condition, which makes it more staggering that he’s already achieved so much — and he’s only 19.
I ask how he has coped. He says: “All pain is temporary, and the thing is with anxiety, and why it’s such a hard thing for people who don’t have it to understand, is that it is very random and it hits you at moments you don’t expect it.
“Sometimes it lasts two hours, sometimes it lasts a day and sometimes it lasts five minutes. The point of the song is that no matter how long that lasts, you can come out the other end stronger and you come out of the other end always.
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“People forget how important it is to talk to your family and to talk to your friends about what’s going on in your life, because the more you tell people how you feel, the more you understand how you feel and you have more control of your emotions.”
Shawn’s battle with anxiety has risen in tandem with his fame.
He has 30million followers on Instagram and nearly 19million on Twitter. That brings huge pressures.
He says: “If I let myself worry about all of the small things that came with that then I would go crazy, but I spend my time thinking about the really big problems and the really big issues with me.
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello duet on on single hit I Know What You Did Last Summer
“And then on the other hand, I have an incredible team around me. My people that I tour with and my friends and family, I’m so close with that and it would feel if you were in a room with me and my family and friends you would feel that nobody would know I was famous and it wouldn’t matter.”
One man who Shawn looks up to when it comes to coping with the pressures of fame is Brit star Ed Sheeran, who last year took a break from social media to cleanse his mind.
Shawn explains: “Totally. It’s huge, it’s impactful man and I never want to talk about how much stress it is being in the eye like that because the truth is that no matter what you’re doing, whether you’re a celebrity or whether you are an engineer, there is something in your life based off the perspective that you have that is just as stressful as what I go through every day. It’s a different type of stress.”
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Shawn counts the Brit singer and US singer songwriter John Mayer as his heroes. He has worked with both over the past 12 months, describing it as the “best year of my whole life”.
On Ed, he added: “He performed with me in New York. Ever since we’ve kept in touch a lot more.
“With John, we got along and I’ve known him for a few years now. He’s just really awesome with advice with what I’m doing.”
He’s clearly very well connected.
MOST READ IN SHOWBIZ
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SHAWN insists he’s very much single despite rumours he was engaged to model Hailey Baldwin, above.
The pair were snapped in Toronto in December, below, a month after I revealed they were snogging backstage at the MTV EMAs in London – and Hailey was later spotted with a new sparkler.
But the singer told me: “Hailey and I we’re just really awesome friends. Hailey does this thing where she wears this diamond ring on her marriage finger and I think it’s pretty funny.
“That was hilarious.”
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Despite his busy schedule and plans for a huge tour next year, Shawn does say dating “is possible”.
He explained: “It’s about finding somebody that you connect with and yeah, not every photo that’s taken with me and a girl, or anything I put online, means I’m dating them.
“I’m still single, yeah, I’m still looking, so don’t worry.”
Shawn won’t be short of offers.
BIZ METER: FIVE SONGS THAT CHANGED SHAWN'S LIFE
You’ll Be In My Heart, Phil Collins. I was obsessed with Tarzan as a kid, and my mum and I used to sing it. I just remember it being a very, very special song when I was a child.
Use Somebody by Kings of Leon. It really stuck out on what an anthem truly means, and what it means to write a song about something more than a relationship. It inspired my new album.
Picture by Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock. My family song. My whole family would sing it when I was a kid around the campfire. I don’t know why but it’s the one song we know all the lyrics to.
Dreaming With A Broken Heart, John Mayer. “When you’re dreaming with a broken heart, waking up is the hardest part.” A small bit of the most incredible lyric ever – I chase that when I write.
Give Me Love, Ed Sheeran. It is the reason I started playing guitar and the reason I started truly singing – and I mean that with all my heart. I absolutely adore it.
Pal's as brilliant as ever
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SHAWN has always been a big believer that a person’s sexuality should never be an issue.
And the singer’s stance was tested when his long-term writing partner and producer, Teddy Geiger, who worked on his biggest hits, transitioned into a woman last year.
Shawn, who has previously denied he is gay, said: “It’s really ‘Who cares?’ and that was the whole thing with Teddy. Teddy says, ‘Yeah, I’m transitioning and that doesn’t change a thing’, and it didn’t, it didn’t change a thing.
“Teddy is still one of my best friends, the most talented producer and songwriter I’ve ever worked with, and that will never change. And I think that’s just something our generation needs to figure out – that these things don’t change people, their personalities, who they are or their core. It’s much deeper than that and it’s truly, ‘Who cares?’.
“Learn to accept it and, like I said, it’s hard for people who haven’t truly gone through it first hand, but if everybody did there would be no questions any more.”
Amen to that.
Vic of a laugh
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VICTORIA Beckham proves she still has a hint of a sense of humour by starring in a new skit with James Corden.
The mega-serious fashionista embarked on her first acting gig since Spice World for a parody of terrible 2013 film Sharknado, though ex-basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal – who’s teamed up with Posh for a new Reebok sportswear range – took the place of flying sharks causing devastation to mankind.
Victoria Beckham hilariously shows off acting skills 21 years after Spice World in spoof James Corden clip
The clip, which featured on The Late Late Show in the US, saw Posh as you’ve never seen her before – with a beer and her hair out of place, right.
But one thing hasn’t changed – her terrible acting.
COMING TOMORROW - DAN'S LAST EVER BIZARRE COLUMN
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