Hey, señorita! Shawn Mendes revealed that his relationship with Camila Cabello inspired much of his upcoming fourth studio album, Wonder.
“You’re getting lotssss of love songs for Camila,” the “In My Blood” singer, 22, teased in a YouTube comment to a fan on Thursday, October 1, before premiering the music video for Wonder’s title track.
The next morning, Mendes said he has not seen Cabello, 23, “in, like, a month and two weeks” as she has been filming Cinderella in the U.K. (She plays the title character in James Corden’s reimagining of the fairy-tale, which is slated to hit theaters in February 2021.)
“Not that I’m counting,” the Grammy nominee said with a laugh on SiriusXM’s The Morning Mash Up on Friday, October 2. “She’s back really soon. And I think it’s really interesting because when your girlfriend is an insanely talented, real musician who writes her own music, it’s scary to write an album around her. And she was with me when I was in the studio doing it.”
Mendes went on to call the “Havana” singer “a champion for this album,” noting that she pushed him to “keep going” throughout the recording process.
“She would do this thing, like, once a month, ‘Hey, just a reminder, this concept you’re on is incredible. It’s going to make people feel something really special. Don’t stop, don’t stop, don’t stop,’” he said. “It was this force of energy that I think was really helpful to keep me on a real cohesive [path].”
The Canada native also appeared on SiriusXM’s The Pulse on Friday, where he revealed that Cabello was “one of the first people” to hear Wonder.
“I don’t know if she’s credited all over the album, but she should be because there was nobody during that time that was giving me more advice and encouragement to just stick to the way I felt about the music that I wanted to make,” he said.
Mendes, who has been dating his “I Know What You Did Last Summer” collaborator since June 2019, announced earlier this week that Wonder is set to be released on Friday, December 4.
“It’s a world and a journey and a dream and an album I’ve been wanting to make for a really long time,” he tweeted on Wednesday, September 30. “I absolutely love it. Thank you for being by my side for so many years. I love you all so much.”
The former Fifth Harmony later took to Instagram to call the album “a gorgeous gift to the world,” adding, “My love, I’m so proud of the person you are and I’m so excited for people to see and hear your heart.”
