Cancelling tours for mental health: How artists like Shawn Mendes are breaking stigmas

Shawn Mendes has cancelled his current world tour for his album Wonder citing mental health reasons. Fans have been pretty supportive ever since he announced a three-week-long break on social media, opening the space to discuss the pressures that touring artists might face.

“We were hopeful that I might be able to pick up with the rest of the dates after some much needed time off, but at this time I have to put my health as my first priority,”, reads Mendes’s social media announcement. 

Mendes is, of course, not the only artist to have cancelled a tour for such reasons. As of late, more and more artists have taken a much-needed sabbatical from making music and touring to prioritise their mental health. Hopefully, with such mainstream names opening up about their struggles, the conversation also opens up further. 

Nischay Parekh (of Parekh and Singh): The vocalist of the Indian dreampop duo Parekh and Singh is known for his calming and laidback style of singing but he had to cancel his 2019 Science City Tour due to his struggles with anxiety and depression. 

In a (now deleted) Instagram post, he said, “There have been extreme highs, thanks to a very supportive base of fans over the years. However, another common thread has been anxiety, stress, and recently, depression…while I know that many live performers suffer from performance anxiety, mine just seemed to evolve and grow as the years went by."

Parekh also added that logistical challenges and the pressure to make his shows “bigger” with every tour made him question his own abilities as a live performer. The road to recovery has still been reassuring since then. Starting with an online concert at home in 2021 and a slate of new releases, the duo has eventually started getting back on the road. In fact, their most recent Instagram post is an aftermovie of their July concert in Bangalore this year. 

Kanye West: Love him or hate him, pop culture cannot ignore him. And while many of Kanye West’s antics are debatable, his serious mental health concerns also cannot be denied. From getting diagnosed with bipolar disorder to calling it his “superpower”, Kanye has been on a rocky road with his mental health issues. 

In 2016, Kanye was on tour promoting his album Saint Pablo. What started off with some iconic fan-favourite concerts soon turned into a string of concerning performances with Kanye breaking out into long rants during shows. In October, he infamously walked off stage when he got to know that his then-wife Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint. Some pro-Trump statements earned him further boos in concerts. 

There were demands for him to call off the Saint Pablo tour, troubles increased for the musician when the tour’s insurer Lloyds and London pressured him to keep on touring. Finally, he was checked into a rehab facility in Los Angeles. 

The pressure from Lloyds was still so much that Kanye sued the company for a $10 million lawsuit with his court papers mentioning how the rapper had to convince them that his mental breakdowns were indeed real!

Demi Lovato: The Cool for the Summer singer had been dealing with drug addiction, alcoholism, self-mutilation, and an eating disorder since a long time. In March 2018, Lovato could finally celebrate six years of sobriety, a news they shared with fans with the song Sober. 

Unfortunately in July of the same year, Lovato relapsed and was rushed into a hospital after an overdose. This resulted in a cancellation of their 2018 fall tour. Since then, the singer has been actively vocal about their own continuing struggles with addiction and has tried to spread awareness through initiatives like The Mental Health Fund. 

The Fund was set up by Lovato in 2020 to help those suffering amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The objective was to donate to organisations that have crisis-counselling experts. Such services would be available to those in need even through text messaging. 

Justin Bieber: In 2017, the Baby star had reinvented himself with a more mature sound in his album Purpose. The promotional tour was in full swing until Bieber had to cancel the last 12 shows revealing that he was struggling with depression.

In the years to follow, Bieber has opened up more about his issues such as addiction and suicidal thoughts. Ever since his marriage with Hailey Bieber and the release of his latest album Justice, the singer seems to be in a better place. Prayer, meditation, and the support of his fans have come to good use. 

“I just would encourage people, like, ‘Hey, if you’re feeling lonely, talk about it. Say it out loud.’ There’s a freedom in that. I could have avoided a lot of pain”, Bieber says in the documentary Justin Bieber: The Next Chapter. 

Bieber also recently temporarily called off his Justice tour owing to Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, a condition that left half of his face paralyzed. However, the singer has recovered now and is ready to tour with an upcoming leg in India this year. 

Selena Gomez: It was in 2015 when Selena Gomez revealed that she was suffering from a disease called lupus. The autoimmune disease attacks the body’s healthy tissues and immune system with side-effects that might be subjective for different people. 

In Gomez’s case, the side-effects included panic attacks and depression forcing her to get checked into rehab in 2014 and eventually call off her Revival tour in 2016. 

Since then, Gomez has resumed dropping new music and going on tours but has had occasional health scares in between. As the press covered it widely in 2017, she even had to receive a kidney transplant for her ongoing treatment. As of 2021, the singer revealed that her battle with lupus is yet not over. Given that lupus isn’t fatal but continues being a lifelong disease with no direct cure, it is uncertain for how long her condition might last. 

On the other hand, her career is still prospering as she recently secured her first ever-Grammy nomination for Best Latin Pop Album (Revelación) and is a regular cast member on the popular comedy series Only Murders in the Building.