"Mercy" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter
Shawn Mendes. It was co-written by Mendes with
Ilsey Juber,
Danny Parker and
Teddy Geiger, with the latter handling the song's production with
Jake Gosling.
It was released on August 18, 2016, through
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
as the third promotional single, and later as the second single on October 18, 2016, from his second studio album, ''
Illuminate'' (2016).
Composition
"Mercy" is written in the key of
E minor with a
common time tempo of 144 to 152
beats per minute. Mendes's vocals span from B
2 to A
4 in the song.
Music video
On September 21, 2016, a music video directed by Jay Martin was released. It features Mendes singing, switching between him drowning in a locked car in the ocean and him performing the song with instruments in a warehouse shot at TriBro Studios.
Cover versions
In October 2016, Muslim Nasheed artist
Siedd released a cover version of 'Mercy' on YouTube. The song which has over 1 million views on YouTube features a modern style a capella arrangement with rewritten lyrics to reflect his Islamic faith.
Chart performance
In the United States, the song peaked at number 15 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was the second single from ''Illuminate'' to reach the top 20. It also peaked at number 13 in Australia, number 15 in the UK and number 23 in Canada.
Live performances
Mendes performed the song for the first time on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...
'' on September 22, 2016, backed by mallet drums, electric guitar, bass and piano. The singer later performed the song on ''
Today'' on September 23, ''
The Late Late Show with James Corden
''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28am ...
'' on September 28, ''
The X Factor UK
''The X Factor'' is a British reality television music competition, created by Simon Cowell. Premiering on 4 September 2004, it was produced by Fremantle's Thames and Cowell's production company Syco Entertainment for ITV, as well as simulcas ...
'' on October 23, and ''
The X Factor Australia
''The X Factor'' is an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent. The first season of the show premiered on Network Ten on 6 February 2005. Ten dropped ''The X Factor'' after ...
'' on October 31 as well as ''Saturday Night Live'' on December 3. Mendes performed the song live at the
Juno Awards of 2017; this version was subsequently released as a digital download.
On May 27, 2018, Mendes and singer
James Bay
James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...
performed the song together at
BBC Music's
Biggest Weekend
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by the BBC's radio station. It is held once a year, in a ...
.
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{authority control
2016 songs
2016 singles
Shawn Mendes songs
Island Records singles
Universal Music Group singles
Rock ballads
Torch songs
Songs written by Ilsey Juber
Songs written by Teddy Geiger
Songs written by Danny Parker (songwriter)
Songs written by Shawn Mendes