"Youth" is a song by Canadian singer

Shawn Mendes Shawn Peter Raul Mendes (; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian pop singer. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gert ...

, featuring American singer Khalid. It was written by Mendes, Khalid,

Teddy Geiger Teresa Geiger (born September 16, 1988) also known by her stage name Teddy Geiger, is an American artist, songwriter and record producer. Early life Geiger was born on September 16, 1988, to Lorilyn Rizzo-Bridges and John Theodore Geiger, I. Sh ...

Geoff Warburton Geoff Warburton is a Grammy nominated songwriter from Toronto, Ontario. In 2023, Warburton signed a joint music publishing deal with Big Machine Music and Range Media Partners Warburton was previously signed with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. ...

and Scott Harris, with production handled by

Joel Little Joel Little (born 13 February 1983) is a New Zealand record producer, musician and Grammy Award-winning songwriter.

and Mendes. The song was released by

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 ...

on May 3, 2018, as the third single from Mendes' self-titled third studio album.

Background and release

The song was first revealed when Mendes unveiled the album's track listing. On May 1, 2018, Mendes announced the single release on Twitter with a graphic of the lyric "you can't take my youth away". Khalid retweeted Mendes and added a corresponding lyric with hearts: "Pain, but I won't let it turn into hate". The lyrics were also posted on billboards across New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Washington, D.C., Toronto, London, Berlin, Stockholm, Rio, and Melbourne. The song premiered on

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

radio show, where Mendes talked about collaborating with Khalid. Mendes said that the song was inspired by the

Manchester Arena bombing On 22 May 2017, an Islamist extremist suicide bomber detonated a shrapnel-laden homemade bomb as people were leaving the Manchester Arena following a concert by American pop singer Ariana Grande. Twenty-three people were killed, including ...

in May 2017. He texted Khalid: "When we get together, we have to make a statement, we have to move, we have to write about what's going on in life and how the youth is feeling", saying that they "have the voice to do that". They got into the studio in the aftermath of the attacks. Mendes shared that, "You're always terrified going into a session knowing like, 'Okay, this is going to be a big session. I have one day. Is it gonna be a great song or not?' I remember I woke up in the morning and the whole thought of my youth trying to be taken away from me as overwhelming Not youth as in my age—youth as in my love, my happiness, my joy, my purity. It's not even about age; you could be 50 and your youth is there, it's in you. And all of these horrible things happening in the world, all of the headlines, it felt like everyday it would just be pulled more and more out of us, and I was like, 'This is what I have to write about.'" An acoustic version of the duet was released on May 24, 2018. On December 21, 2018, a

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

of the duet was released featuring Jessie Reyez.

Composition

"Youth" is a midtempo pop and R&B vocal duet about retaining youth in the wake of adversity. It opens with a slow beat, before a bassline kicks in and it escalates into a singalong chorus, which features "a steady beat and Latin-tinged acoustic guitar riffs". The song contains references to the current social and political climate.

Critical reception

Sam Prance of

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regarded the song as "one of the most uplifting and life-affirming songs of the year so far", writing that "Shawn and Khalid each other on it perfectly". Patrick Hosken of the same publication opined that Khalid's "gravelly voice pairs nicely with Mendes's own patented rasp", stating that "the message of the song is simple but effective". Mike Nied of

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deemed it "one of the 19-year-old's most ambitious tracks yet".

Music video

The song's official music video premiered on Apple Music and VEVO on 5 November 2018, and it was directed by

Anthony Mandler Anthony Mandler (born April 18, 1973) is an American film director, music video director, television commercial director and photographer. As a music video director, his most notable and frequent collaborator is Rihanna. The two have worked on s ...

Live performances

Mendes and Khalid performed "Youth" at the 2018 ''Billboard'' Music Awards on May 20, 2018, as a tribute to the victims of gun violence. The performance featured the show choir from

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSDH or MSD) is a public high school in Parkland, Florida, United States. It was established in 1990 and is part of the Broward County Public Schools district. It is named after the writer Marjory Stoneman D ...

. Mendes performed the song with

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

at the

Global Citizen Festival The Global Citizen Festival is an annual music festival started in 2012 and organized by Global Poverty Project. It was founded by Ryan Gall and Hugh Evans. Gall said he was inspired by visiting Austin City Limits and seeing the branding on the ...

in New York City on September 29, 2018.

Track listing

*Digital download # "Youth" – 3:09 *Digital download – acoustic # "Youth" – 3:09

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. *

– vocals, songwriting, production * Khalid – vocals, songwriting *

Sir Nolan Nolan Lambroza (born July 25, 1990), better known as Sir Nolan, is an American record producer and songwriter based in Encino, Los Angeles, Encino, Los Angeles, California. He has worked with notable artists such as Nick Jonas, Selena Gomez, Dem ...

– songwriting * Scott Harris – songwriting *

– songwriting *

Joel Little Joel Little (born 13 February 1983) is a New Zealand record producer, musician and Grammy Award-winning songwriter.

– production, engineering, keyboard, acoustic guitar, percussion, programming * Harry Burr – mixing assistance *

Andrew Maury Andrew Maury is an American record producer, mixing engineer, and songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York. Career Maury has worked with artists such as Lewis Del Mar, Lizzo, Ra Ra Riot, Shawn Mendes, JP Saxe, Post Malone, RAC, Jeremy Zucker, M ...

– mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External music

* {{Khalid 2010s ballads 2018 songs 2018 singles Canadian contemporary R&B songs Shawn Mendes songs Khalid (singer) songs Island Records singles Pop ballads Songs written by Khalid (singer) Songs written by Scott Harris (songwriter) Songs written by Shawn Mendes Songs written by Teddy Geiger Male vocal duets Songs written by Geoff Warburton Music videos directed by Anthony Mandler