Shawn Mendes explains why he starts 'In Wonder' with that shower scene
Ahead of the world premiere Shawn Mendes: In Wonder, the Canadian singer joined etalk's Tyrone Edwards for a Q&A on Zoom to talk about the film and what made him want to give viewers this access to his life. The film opens rather intimately with a steamy shower scene followed by Mendes walking out and wrapping himself with a towel. The singer explained why he decided to include that clip and start the whole film that way. "It was a pretty crazy move to start the film with me in the shower. There was something really vulnerable about that moment because that was the day after the São Paulo got cancelled, and I was in an extremely reflective mood," Shawn said.
Throughout the doc, Shawn struggles with his decision to cancel his Nov. 30 show in São Paulo, Brazil, after dealing with a vocal strain, and he is shown typing notes into his phone instead of speaking.
The "Wonder" singer said that he made a deal with director Grant Singer when they started working on the film together and told him never to turn the camera off "even if I'm pissed at you and yelling at you to turn it off and saying you're fired." He said that he was in a lot of emotional pain that day of the shower scene, and Grant knew it was a special moment to capture.
There's also a ton of Shawmila content, showing the behind-the-scenes of their very public relationship. Shawn and Camila share a sweet moment ahead of their 2019 VMA performance during a soundcheck in his doc. "You know I love you, right?" Camila tells a nervous Shawn while he's sitting on the edge of the stage with his guitar.
During the Q&A, Shawn spoke about that specific moment, saying, "There's this one scene that always reminds me of how lucky I am to have her because we're at the VMAs and I was sitting there, and I was really nervous. I get nervous for any award show... I get really nervous because I care." He said that he was breathing and playing the guitar, and Camila came over and said exactly what he needed to hear. "When she says that, it's like everything's going to be fine. It's always something that brings me back to earth," the 22-year-old singer added.
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Shawn told Tyrone that, to the general public, his relationship with Camila is just "a song and a video and two famous names," but his fans know that he's been writing songs about her for years. "We've been best friends for years since we were 16 years old. I really feel like that comes across in the documentary," he said.
Fans may have already seen the clip of In Wonder where Shawn says that every song he's ever written is about Camila. “My song comes on the radio or something, and I’m like, ‘Everything’s about you. They’re all… They have always been about you,’" Mendes says. “She goes, ‘What do you mean?’” he explains, before adding, “They’re all about you. Like every song I’ve ever wrote.” Shawn says that he doesn't think he can make a song that does his feelings for his girlfriend justice. He compared it to trying to take a picture of the moon and the stars, saying, "It's not supposed to be captured. It's just for us."
The "Stitches" singer also told Tyrone that he's extremely proud of the "vulnerability" of the film. "It's what makes it special," he added.
Shawn Mendes: In Wonder is streaming now on Netflix.
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