Shawn Mendes Soulfully Debuts ‘Nobody Knows’ Through a Cloud of Smoke at 2024 VMAs

Shawn Mendes returned to the VMAs stage to perform “Nobody Knows” off his upcoming album, Shawn .

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In the smoky (literally, so there was much smoke), stripped-down set, Mendes played an acoustic guitar and potently sang an ethereal and liquored-up love song. “You’re an amateur drunk and everyone knows it/ You’re the one and I live for those moments,” he crooned. “When the bottle is open, anything can happen/ We’re flying too close to the sun.”

This marks the fifth time Mendes has performed at the VMAs , including a run of three straight years beginning in 2017 when he took the stage for a rendition of his Illuminate hit, “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back.” At the 2018 show, he performed “In My Blood,” while in 2019, he played “If I Can’t Have You,” as well as “Señorita” with his then-girlfriend Camila Cabello . Prior to tonight, Mendes’ last performed at the VMAs in 2021, playing “Summer of Love” with Tainy .

On top of all his performances, Mendes has been nominated for 13 VMAs over the course of his career, and won twice. Both wins were for 2019’s “Señorita,” in the Best Collaboration and Best Cinematography categories.

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Mendes is set to release his fifth studio album, Shawn , on Oct. 18. The album marks his first in four years, following 2020’s Wonder . The musician has so far shared two songs from the LP, “Why Why Why”  and “Isn’t That Enough.”

When he announced the album on Instagram earlier this summer, Mendes wrote, “Music really can be medicine. 2 years ago I felt like I had absolutely no idea who I was. A year ago I couldn’t step into a studio without falling into complete panic. So to be here right now with 12 beautiful finished songs feels like such a gift. Honestly thank god for my friends and family. Life can be brutal but having a small group of people you deeply trust to walk you through makes it so much better. I have no idea how I would have made it through the last couple years let alone make an album without you.”

Mendes has scheduled a handful of intimate theater concerts around the release of Shawn — including dates in Nashville, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Seattle — where he plans to play his new album in full. The gigs mark Mendes’ return to the road after deciding to cancel his world tour in support of Wonder in 2022 so he could focus on his mental health.

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