Shawn Mendes Returns to the Stage at Ed Sheeran Concert

Shawn Mendes made a triumphant return to the stage on Saturday night (June 17) during an Ed Sheeran concert in Toronto.

Mendes, who had not been on stage in more than a year, appeared at Sheeran’s Mathematics North American Tour date at the Rogers Centre. It was a hometown performance for Mendes, who grew up in Canada. The pair performed two songs together – Sheeran’s “Lego House” and Mendes’  “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back,” according to Rolling Stone.

Ahead of their performance, Sheeran shared that it was Mendes who initially reached out about attending his Toronto concert.

“This man has not been on stage in over a year and he’s come out today just for you guys,” Sheeran said mid-set. “I said to him, we were messaging, and he said, ‘Can I come to the show?’ I was like, ‘You can’t just come to the show. You gotta come up and sing a song.’ He said, ‘Can we sing ‘Lego House?’ I said, ‘We’ll only sing ‘Lego House’ if we can sing one of yours.’”

The pair then performed “Lego House” and “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” together. The collaboration marked the first time Mendes took the stage in more than a year. In 2022, Mendes pulled out of his Wonder World Tour to prioritize his mental health. During the hiatus, Mendes told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, that he’s been figuring out his purpose—personally and musically. 

“I think I am approaching 25, still feeling quite confused about a lot of things in my life. And I think that was expressing that feeling of frustration about what is happening, this feeling of swinging the pendulum back and forth,” Mendes explained to the outlet. “I think I still am in a very confused place, but I know that there are some people in my life who I deeply love, and I know that music is something I deeply love, and I know that this planet is something I deeply love.” 

Mendes continued, “All of those three things are something worth fighting for and worth dying for.” 

Watch snippets from Mendes’ appearance with Sheeran below.

Ed’s speech about Shawn! 🥺❤️ “This man has not been on stage in over a year and he’s come out today just for you guys!” pic.twitter.com/hpHqXB2uk7

— Shawn Mendes Updates (@MendesNotified) June 18, 2023

EVERYTHING about shawn mendes singing his own song with his idol in the arena where he played his first headline stadium show in his home town is ICONIC https://t.co/SdndFtNdDQ

— kim☀️ (@heavyshawn_) June 18, 2023

ICYMI, #ShawnMendes joined #EdSheeran to perform hits Lego House and There’s Nothing Holding Me Back in #Toronto! 🤩 #MathematicsTour @edsheeran x @ShawnMendes pic.twitter.com/4AvZeMh9qp

— MuchMusic (@Much) June 18, 2023

(Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Shawn Mendes)