Shawn Mendes
Connor Brashier*Shawn Mendes mends his broken heart following his high-profile breakup with Camila Cabello on his new song “It’ll Be Okay,” which was released Wednesday (Dec. 1).
He first teased the single via Instagram on Tuesday with a 12-second snippet of him singing, “Are we gonna make it?/ Is this gonna hurt?” over swelling, organ-like synths. He continues singing about patching up the wounds of a lost love in the chorus: “If you tell me you’re leaving, I’ll make it easy/ It’ll be okay/ If we can’t stop the bleeding/ We don’t have to fix it/ We don’t have to stay/ I will love you either way/ Ooh-ooh, it’ll be oh, be okay/ Ooh-ooh.”
“It’ll Be Okay” arrives just two weeks after Mendes and Cabello announced their breakup after the all-star couple had been dating for more than two years. The pop stars, who hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 together with “Señorita” in 2019, released a joint statement addressing their split, promising fans that they “started our relationship as best friends and will continue to be best friends.”
The song also marks Mendes’ first solo music release since his fourth studio album Wonder, which he released almost exactly a year ago on Dec. 4, 2020, and topped the Billboard 200. He’ll be taking Wonder all around the world during his 2022 tour, which kicks off its European leg in spring before heading Stateside next summer with openers Dermot Kennedy and Tate McRae.
Listen to “It’ll Be Okay” below.
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
