Shawn Mendes Teases The 'Awesome Songs' He Wrote With Ryan Tedder
A little before Shawn Mendes' Illuminate album dropped in September 2016, the 19-year-old singer-songwriter spent some time giving interviews and was often asked to name some dream collaborators. He mentioned a few artists, including Ed Sheeran (who he later jammed with onstage) and Bruno Mars (who I would personally like to jam with onstage).
Mendes also shouted out OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, the songwriting maestro behind some of the biggest pop hits of the 21st century, like Beyoncé's "Halo." "From a songwriter's point of view, this song could not have been done better," Mendes said at the time. "He crushed it out of the park."
And according to what Mendes recently told MTV News' Gaby Wilson at the 2017 EMA, he might have his very own "Halo" very soon, as Mendes and Tedder have teamed up in the studio.
"Last year [at the EMA], I got to meet Ryan Tedder for the first time," Mendes said, "and actually was just in the studio with him like a week ago and wrote some awesome songs."
In 2017 alone, Tedder has worked on songs for Sheeran, Hailee Steinfeld, Jessie Ware, U2, Rachel Platten and more. It seems plausible that one of the bigger tracks to feature his touch in 2018 could be Mendes' — if it ends up making the cut.
The promise of even more new Mendes music before the year is out seems tenuous, as we're only six weeks out from the end of December — "Not for a little bit," he said — but when 2018 hits, it might be wise to keep a lookout.