Shawn Mendes Says He’s Still ‘Figuring Out’ His Sexuality: ‘It Feels Really Scary’

“Sexuality is such a beautifully complex thing, and it’s so hard to just put into boxes,” the singer told fans during his Colorado show on Monday, Oct. 28

Shawn Mendes. Photo:Mike Coppola/Getty

Shawn Mendes is speaking candidly about his sexuality.

On Monday, Oct. 28, the “Mercy” singer, 26, spoke to fans in between songs as he performed his For Friends and Family Tour date at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado.

Mendes has been performing his upcoming song “The Mountain” during his recent concerts, a song that has the singer weighing in on conversations about his sexuality in its lyrics.

“Some days, I have a change of heart / You can say what you need to say,” he sings, in video footage shared on TikTok. “You can say I’m too young / You can say I’m too old / You can say I like girls or boys / Whatever fits your mold.”

The Canadian musician elaborated on the conversation during Colorado show.

“Since I was really young, there’s been this thing about my sexuality, and people have been talking about it for so long,” he told the crowd, per a clip shared by a fan on TikTok. “I think it’s kind of silly, because I think sexuality is such a beautifully complex thing, and it’s so hard to just put into boxes.”

Shawn Mendes.MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty

Shawn Mendes Feels Like a Better Version of Himself Now. He Credits Therapy — and Taking Himself ‘Less Seriously’

“It always felt like such an intrusion on something very personal to me, something that I was figuring out in myself, something that I had yet to discover, and still have yet to discover,” the singer added, insisting he’s “speaking freely now” so he can be “closer to everyone.”

Mendes continued: “The real truth about my life and my sexuality is that, man, I’m just figuring it out like everyone. I don’t really know sometimes, and I know other times. And it feels really scary because we live in a society that has a lot to say about that.”

“I’m trying to be really brave and just allow myself to be a human and feel things. And that’s all I really want to say about that for now,” the star — who has been performing new music from his forthcoming self-titled LP, out Nov. 15 — went on.

Shawn Mendes.Wagner Meier/Getty

Shawn Mendes Explains Why Canceling His 2022 Tour Was Both the ‘Hardest’ and ‘Greatest Decision of My Life’

Elsewhere in Monday’s show, Mendes also spoke about his dating life, insisting he wants to take the “pressure” off finding “The One.”

“When you’re single, there’s this pressure of looking for ‘The One,’ who’s ‘The One?’… Damn that’s a lot of pressure to put on someone when you first start dating,” he told fans, per another TikTok video.

“For me, I’ve just been trying to take that pressure off of whoever, and just allow myself to experience the love that is happening in that moment, wherever and however that’s happening. Man, we all need a little bit of cuddling, a little bit of hugging,” he added, before singing his song “In Between.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Shawn Mendes at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.Udo Salters/Patrick McMullan via Getty

Mendes — who has dated Camila Cabello on and off for years and has been publicly linked to Sabrina Carpenter in the past — previously discussed rumors about his sexuality while speaking to Dax Shepard on his Armchair Expert podcast in 2020.

“It was so, so frustrating for me because there were some people in my life that I was very, very close to, who were gay and in the closet,” Mendes told Shepard at the time.

He continued, “And I felt like this real anger for those people. It’s such a tricky thing. You want to say, ‘I’m not gay, but it’d be fine if I was gay — but also there’s nothing wrong with being gay, but I’m not.’ You don’t really know how to respond to the situation.”