Shawn Mendes released a new single, "Heart of Gold," on Friday (November 1).
The emotional song is about a childhood friend who passed away from a drug overdose.
"Grief is a really, really difficult thing to deal with and a huge part of what has helped me has been celebrating that person. I would just like to dedicate this song to anyone out there who has lost someone - some who has passed or someone who's alive - whichever way. This is for them," Shawn said about the new track.
"Honestly, it's been a while since I thought of you / In the end, we didn't talk much / I didn't know what you were going through / I'm sorry that I wasn't there," Mendes sings. And then, in the chorus, he sings, "You had a heart of gold, yeah / You had a heart of gold / You left too soon, it was out of your control."
Mendes recently dedicated the song to late One Direction member Liam Payne during a live show in NYC on Oct. 18. Mendes said, "This one's for you tonight, Liam, from all of us."
Midway through the song, he told fans, "We heard the news about Liam. It felt like… It felt completely devastating. I got to meet him a couple times, and he was a beautiful soul and his eyes gleamed — it was beauty, shining into his eyes."
"I just want to take a second to send so much love to him wherever he is up there… Liam, we love you! And the world is crying for you, brother," he added.
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