Shawn Mendes wants to "explore a little bit" with his new album.

Shawn Mendes

Shawn Mendes

The 'There's Nothing Holding Me Back' is in the midst of his 'Illuminate' world tour in support of his sophomore LP of the same name but he is already working on tracks for his third offering and has revealed he has been inspired by "some old school rockers" and Michael Jackson.

He said: "I've been listening to some old school rockers; I've listened to a lot of Michael Jackson, and just [am] trying to explore a little bit. I think the album is gonna be not just one particular thing - it's gonna be a kind of exploration of music."

And the 18-year-old star has a number of celebrity friends including Taylor Swift, who he says offered him advice that he has taken through his performing life.

He told The Sun's Bizarre Life Podcast: "She told me to never be afraid to get on stage in front of people who want to be there.

"Because they want to have fun and they're not there to judge you. Every single time before I get on stage now, I really, really think about that."

Meanwhile, Shawn recently revealed he plans to write "a lot" of his next album "on the road".

He shared: "We're trying to plan everything so that there's time to make music, too. I'll be writing and recording a lot on the road. I want to make sure I have a good amount of time to create the next album."

And he also teased he could release new material in the coming months because he doesn't see any value in holding his music back.

He explained: "I think if you're creating music and you love the song, holding it back is just doing it an injustice.

"Sometimes when the song is right for that time period it's just kinda bad to let it wait and then when you do release it eight months down the road, it's not the same."

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