Shawn Mendes Mixes Contemplation and Awe on New Song ‘Wonder’

Shawn Mendes has released a new single, “Wonder,” the title-track from his upcoming album, out December 4th via Island Records.

“Wonder” is a big, beating-heart anthem that starts with a soft pulse and builds to several cathartic peaks, packed with sky-high synths and pounding drums. Mendes’ lyrics are contemplative, kind, and a bit existential, repeatedly striving toward the chorus, “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.”

“Wonder” arrives with a music video, directed by Matty Peacock, that complements the song’s momentous feel. It boasts shots of Mendes on the top of a train, ducking his head just as it speeds under a tunnel; later he dances with a small troupe in a forest, then sprints through the trees until he screeches to a halt at the edge of a cliff, just as a giant wave crashes against it.

Mendes appeared on SiriusXM’s The Morning Mash-Up Friday, October 2nd, to talk about “Wonder,” saying: “I was able to sit there with myself in a journal and kind of just get deep and think about what it is that I really did want to say. And how do I actually feel? And you can’t really always do that in a few hours in the studio. Sometimes you got to give it days and weeks. And I feel like, ‘Wonder’ really is that to me? And it’s funny, like I noticed that musically, what I want to listen to often is like, I want to just like put Bon Iver on and light some candles.”

Wonder marks Mendes’ fourth album and follows his 2018 self-titled effort. The musician announced the record earlier this week, also sharing the album’s short “Intro” track.