Niall Horan gave his fans a special treat when he brought out Shawn Mendes as a surprise guest at his recent London concert.
At the Friday, March 1, stop of Horan’s The Show: Live on Tour at the OVO Arena in Wembley, Mendes, 25, came out on stage to sing a duet. The pair performed an acoustic version of Mendes’ hit single “Treat You Better.”
Both singers sat on stools and strummed their guitars as they sang the lyrics. The crowd enthusiastically held up their phones’ flashlights as they were serenaded.
After the duo finished signing, Mendes exited the stage. Horan, 30, proudly declared, “That’s my boy!” per footage shared via X.
Fans went into a frenzy on social media after clips of the duet surfaced.
“I’m crying cause Shawn Mendes is back on the stage and he sings ‘Treat You Better’ with Niall Horan,” one user wrote via X, while another shared, “The way I am screaming crying throwing up while watching all these videos of Shawn singing on stage with Niall.”
This is the first time in nearly a year since Mendes has taken the stage. He last performed in June 2023 during Ed Sheeran’s Toronto stop in his Multiplication tour.
Mendes has not been on tour himself since 2022 back during his Wonder: The World Tour. He kicked off the performances at the end of June 2022 but after several shows, he decided to postpone the tour for three weeks so he could focus on his mental health.
“After a few years off the road, I felt like I was ready to dive back in, but that decision was premature and unfortunately the toll of the road and the pressure has caught up to me and I’ve hit a breaking point,” he wrote via his Instagram Story in July 2023. “After speaking with my team and health professionals, I need to take some time to heal and take care of myself and my mental health, first and foremost. As soon as there are more updates I promise I will let you know love you guys.”
Nearly three weeks later, Mendes ultimately ended up canceling the entire tour.
“I started this tour excited to finally get back to playing live after a long break due to the pandemic, but the reality is I was not at all ready for how difficult touring would be after this time away,” the musician wrote via Instagram at the time. “After speaking more with my team and working with an incredible group of health professionals, it has become more clear that I need to take the time I’ve never taken personally, to ground myself and come back stronger.”
After taking the year to focus on his health, Mendes shared that he felt “extreme anxiety” during his creative process wanting to get his music right. However, when he trusted his instinct the fear would diminish.
“It felt so difficult at first to let myself sing without needing perfection, but after a while, I actually started to fall in love with the dance between the ‘right’ and the ‘wrong’ notes,” he said in a January video. “I realized there were only moments of bliss and euphoria from the ‘right’ notes BECAUSE of the ‘wrong’ notes. The only reason I can sing in key is because I’ve learned to listen.”
