It’s been a long time since Shawn Mendes felt this close to his audience. Standing in the bleachers at Forest Hills Stadium, surrounded by a sea of 12,000 fans chanting the words to “Stitches”, the 27-year-old pop icon seems to have rediscovered something he once feared he’d lost — connection. The latest stop on Mendes’s On the Road Again Tour 2025 felt less like a concert and more like a communal awakening — a decade’s worth of emotion spilling back into one night under the New York lights.

A Return That Feels Personal — and Painfully Earned

When Shawn Mendes canceled his Wonder Tour after only seven shows in 2022, citing mental health struggles, many feared it might mark the end of an era. He later admitted, “I wasn’t ready for how hard it would be to return.” The pop landscape had shifted dramatically post-pandemic — and so had he. But now, in 2025, Mendes stands onstage more grounded than ever. The On the Road Again Tour, limited to only 20 dates, isn’t designed for spectacle. It’s designed for reconnection.

From the moment he walks onstage — no pyrotechnics, just a mic, an acoustic guitar, and a quiet smile — the energy is different. Opening with “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back”, “Wonder”, and “Treat You Better”, Mendes sends Forest Hills into a euphoric frenzy. The stadium roars, and yet, there’s a calm intimacy to his delivery. “There it is… there you are,” he tells the audience as they echo his lyrics back to him — a simple phrase that feels like a homecoming.

The Setlist: A Decade of Emotion in One Night

If his For Friends and Family Only Tour in 2023 was a quiet reintroduction, On the Road Again is his full reemergence. Mendes leans heavily on the hits that defined his ascent — “Mercy,” “In My Blood,” “Lost in Japan” — but also breathes new life into overlooked gems from Shawn (2024), including “Isn’t That Enough” and “Heavy.”

Even the lesser-known “Why Why Why” transforms into a live revelation, a reminder that Mendes’s songwriting strength lies not only in his chart-toppers but in his ability to make pain sound poetic. During “Heart of Gold” — written about the death of a childhood friend — the camera screens magnify every flicker of emotion on his face. The veins in his neck, the tears he doesn’t wipe away. For a pop star once seen as too polished, these cracks in his armor are mesmerizing.

Fans Who Never Left

When Mendes begins “Never Be Alone,” an anthem from his 2015 debut Handwritten, the nostalgia is overwhelming. Footage from his teenage years flashes on the big screens: a bright-eyed 17-year-old singing to his bedroom wall. As he sings, “When you miss me, close your eyes,” fans hold up their phones like candles. Some are visibly crying. Many of these faces, Mendes notes, are ones he’s seen before.

“We’ve been doing this for 10 years now,” he says, scanning the crowd. “And I still see some of you from the first shows.”

That statement lands heavy. Pop music is built on fleeting moments — artists come and go. But for Mendes, whose career has survived the algorithmic chaos of TikTok pop, the loyalty in that crowd means everything. It’s proof that stepping away didn’t make people forget him — it made them miss him more.

The Shadow of Burnout in Modern Pop

Mendes’s performance feels even more poignant against the backdrop of recent events in pop music. Just last week, rising singer Lola Young collapsed mid-set on this same stage during the All Things Go Festival. She later canceled her remaining shows, writing, “I really hope you’ll give me a second chance once I’ve had time to work on myself.”

It’s a sentiment that echoes Mendes’s own past — and the industry’s unspoken truth: even superstars are not invincible. Artists like Chappell Roan and Justin Bieber have voiced similar struggles. Bieber’s Purpose World Tour ended abruptly in 2017 after over 150 shows, and his Justice Tour was cut short again in 2022. “I want my mind, heart, and soul to be sustainable,” Bieber said — words Mendes has publicly aligned himself with.

On “Monster,” their 2020 duet, Mendes revisits that fragile balance between fame and self-destruction. He sings, “Spill my words and tear me down until there’s nothing left.” When he takes on Bieber’s verse — “I was fifteen when the world put me on a pedestal” — the parallel becomes impossible to ignore.

Reclaiming Stardom on His Own Terms

What’s striking about Shawn Mendes 2025 isn’t just his return to form — it’s his refusal to play by the old rules. The tour name, On the Road Again, nods to resilience but also to reclamation. Mendes isn’t chasing stadium dominance; he’s chasing sustainability, emotional and artistic.

Whereas One Direction’s On the Road Again Tour spanned 77 shows in nine months back in 2015 (and cost Zayn Malik his place in the band), Mendes’s version is restrained — only 20 dates, each one curated for connection. It’s a statement: quality over quantity, humanity over exhaustion.

As Eddie Benjamin, his current tour opener and former Bieber collaborator, told Rolling Stone, “Watching Shawn now feels like seeing what pop stardom can look like when you actually take care of yourself.”

Visuals That Mirror Emotion

The concert visuals are equally deliberate. The stage’s horizontal LED screens don’t distract; they amplify. Every tremor of Mendes’s voice, every moment he leans into the microphone, every glance toward the crowd is magnified — not as a spectacle, but as intimacy on display.

At one point, the cameras focus on a young woman in the front row. She’s sobbing uncontrollably — and Mendes hasn’t even stepped onto the stage yet. That image lingers on the screen for several seconds, a silent testament to how deep the connection between Mendes and his fans runs.

Even the confetti explosion during “In My Blood” — the night’s closing number — feels symbolic rather than flashy. As thousands of paper shards fall, fans scoop them up and toss them into the air again, turning the final chorus into a swirling snowstorm of shared emotion.

The Message Beneath the Music

Halfway through the set, Mendes pauses to reflect. “The old problems still come back no matter how old you get,” he says, voice soft but steady. “There’s this cycle — happiness, joy, pain, sadness. It’s all part of it.”

It’s not a dramatic monologue, but it lands like one. For an artist once known for boy-next-door optimism, Mendes’s willingness to embrace emotional complexity is refreshing. This is the same man who, two years ago, admitted he “didn’t know who I was without the applause.” Now, he’s learned that silence can be just as powerful.

What the Future Holds

After years of rest, therapy, and rediscovery, Mendes’s reentry into the pop landscape comes at a pivotal time. Many of his peers — Zayn Malik, Justin Bieber, even Harry Styles — are redefining what it means to be a modern male pop star. Vulnerability is no longer weakness; it’s the new charisma.

Next year, Mendes is rumored to release a deluxe edition of Shawn featuring previously unreleased acoustic cuts from his retreat years. Industry insiders suggest a potential Las Vegas mini-residency could follow, similar to Malik’s 2025 Desert Soul showcase. But for now, Mendes seems in no rush. He’s learned the beauty of slowing down.

Why This Tour Matters

To understand why On the Road Again feels so monumental, you have to remember who Mendes was when the world last saw him: a pop perfectionist on the verge of collapse. What fans witnessed in New York was something else — a rebirth.

There’s a rawness to the way he sings now. The smiles aren’t rehearsed. The laughter between verses isn’t staged. And when he tells the crowd, “Sometimes I feel like giving up… but I just can’t. It isn’t in my blood,” you believe him. Not because it’s a lyric — because it’s a confession.

In an era where authenticity is often staged for clicks, Mendes’s humility stands out as almost radical. He’s not trying to prove he’s better than before. He’s just showing that he survived — and that’s more inspiring than any high note.

Final Moment: The Confetti Falls, But the Connection Stays

As the final notes of “In My Blood” echo into the night, Mendes steps off the stage and into the crowd once more, his guitar slung over his shoulder. Fans reach out — not just to touch him, but to hold onto the moment a little longer.

The confetti catches in their hair. The lights fade. And for a few seconds, no one moves. It feels suspended — like time itself has stopped to let them breathe together.

When the house lights finally rise, the collective energy is undeniable. Forest Hills isn’t just on top — it’s reborn, right alongside Shawn Mendes.