Wonder

Album: Wonder (2020)
Charted: 20 18
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Songfacts®:

  • "Wonder" is a contemplative track where Shawn Mendes reflects on his life and contemporary society. He asks a series of rhetorical questions, and in doing so bares his psyche to the listening public.
  • Mendes starts off the song by imagining a world where people take a middle ground in situations rather than refusing to tolerate a view that isn't their own.

    I wonder, wouldn't it be nice
    To live inside a world that isn't black and white?


    He wonders what his pals think about their relationship now he's a successful pop star.

    I wonder what it's like to be my friends
    Hope that they don't think I forget about them


    During the loved-up chorus, Mendes ponders his feelings for his girlfriend, Camila Cabello.

    Right before I close my eyes
    The only thing that's on my mind
    Been dreaming that you feel it, too
    I wonder what it's like to be loved by you, yeah


    Speaking to Radio.com's Julia about the song, Mendes said: "I feel like 'Wonder' is in a lot of ways me just reflecting on my life, and life in general… I've never really done that before… probably because I didn't have the mental capacity and clarity to even be able to reflect, and also probably because I was really scared of what people would think if I started to reflect in my music."
  • During the second verse, Mendes comments on toxic masculinity.

    I wonder, when I cry into my hands
    I'm conditioned to feel like it makes me less of a man


    The lines are inspired by Mendes' relationship with Camila Cabello. He explained to Radio.com, "I thought that I was a pretty open, emotional, guy until I started being in a relationship with someone that I really, truly love and, realizing that 'oh no, I really have this big ego, and I don't want to show her that I'm hurting and I don't want to show her that that offended me, and like I want to be the man, and I want to be strong in this relationship.'"
  • Musically, the song features a widescreen, anthemic sound. Shawn Mendes wrote and produced the song with:

    His go-to writing partner Scott Harris. Their collaborations include the Juno single of the year "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back," "Treat You Better," and "In My Blood."

    Soul and R&B singer-songwriter Nathaniel Mercereau, who previously contributed to the writing of Mendes' "Lost In Japan" and "If I Can't Have You."

    English singer-songwriter Thomas "Kid Harpoon" Hull, who has also collaborated with Florence + the Machine ("Shake It Out" and "Never Let Me Go") and Harry Styles ("Adore You," "Watermelon Sugar").
  • Directed by Matty Peacock (Selena Gomez's "Boyfriend"), the special effects-filled video finds Mendes standing on top a speeding train, running through a forest and emoting by the sea cliff edge as he is drenched by the rain.
  • Shawn Mendes wrote the song on a seaside cliff in Carmel, California, while pondering big questions:

    I wonder, if I'm being real
    Do I speak my truth or do I filter to how I feel?


    The lyrics were born of serious introspection. "It takes work and time to figure out your truth," Mendes told Apple Music. "But in these moments of stillness and clarity, I was like, 'Oh, this is what it means to be close to yourself.'"
  • Wonder debuted at the summit of the Billboard 200 giving Mendes his fourth #1. At 22 years, four months and two weeks, he became the youngest male artist to top the chart with four full-length studio albums.

Comments: 1

  • Slena from Chicagoi have crush on your music but i do'nt have any of your merch
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