AceShowbiz - Shawn Mendes is embracing his truth and becoming more open about his sexuality. At a recent concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Mendes spoke candidly to the audience about his journey of self-discovery and debuted a new song, "The Mountain", which addresses the rumors that have surrounded him for years.

"I was really young when I started. I was 15 years old," said Mendes. "The truth is that I didn't get to do a lot of 15-year-old things and discover parts of myself that you do at 15."

"Since I was really young, there's this thing about my sexuality, and people have been talking about it so long," he continued. "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."

Mendes expressed that the constant speculation about his sexuality felt like an intrusion on something very personal. "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 it," he said.

To address the rumors, Mendes penned the song "The Mountain", which he performed for the first time at the concert. The lyrics touch on the pressure he has faced to conform to societal expectations:

"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."

"Writing the song felt really important to me because it felt like a moment where I could address it in a way that felt close to my heart," said Mendes. "And I guess I'm just speaking freely now, because I just want to be able to be closer to everyone and just kind of be in my truth."

Mendes also spoke about the challenges he has faced in discussing his sexuality, particularly the pressure to be seen with women to prove his interest in them. "I'm not gay and I'm like, 'What does that mean?' " he explained in a 2020 interview. "I had these problems with the way my voice sounded. I'm like, 'How do I sit?' I'm always first to cross my legs and sit with a position of this feminine style and I really suffered with that s**t."

Despite the discomfort and frustration he has experienced, Mendes is committed to being authentic and embracing his own journey of self-discovery. "The real truth about my life and my sexuality is that, man, I'm just figuring it out like everyone," he said. "And 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. And I'm trying to be really brave and just allow myself to be a human and feel things."