I’m in love with Shawn Mendes. There, I said it. I think he’s incredibly talented, and I feel like I have to protect him.
I often joke about how I want to be his bodyguard, but I’m actually kind of serious. I know I’m smaller than he is, but he’s younger than me so it cancels out.
The 19-year-old Canadian singer and songwriter Shawn Mendes attracted a following through Vine when he was just 15, and that’s where I first found him.
He would upload six-second videos to the app, primarily covers of songs by artists such as Justin Bieber. In January 2014, talent manager Andrew Gertler discovered Mendes online, and brought him onto record label Island Records.
His first single, “Life Of The Party,” was released in June 2014. I vividly remember him holding a contest on Vine in which he asked people to sing along to his song. I’m not going to say I did it, but I’m also not going to say I didn’t. Don’t look for it.
“Life Of The Party” hit the Billboard 100 singles chart at No. 24, making the then 15-year-old Mendes the youngest artist to get their debut single into the Top 25, according to biography.com.
The year 2014 was big for Mendes. On top of getting discovered and making it into the Top 25, he also won the Teen Choice award for Web Star in music.
At the beginning of his career, Mendes toured with meet-and-greet convention Magcon alongside Vine artists and other social media influencers. Later, he went on a nationwide tour with singer-songwriter Austin Mahone, according to IMDB.
Mendes released his debut album, “Handwritten” and “Handwritten (Deluxe)” in 2015, featuring singer Camila Cabello on the popular track, “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”
“I Know What You Did Last Summer” was so popular, in fact, that it managed to reach the Top 20 in the United States, and was often played on the radio.
More popular tracks by Mendes came with the release of his sophomore album, “Illuminate” in September 2016, including “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back,” “Treat You Better” and “Mercy,” all of which got some pretty heavy radio play.
Since I can’t listen to a genuine radio here in London, I can only imagine his most recent singles, “Lost In Japan” and “In My Blood” are doing well on the radio, too.
“In My Blood” was released March 22, and just a day later, Mendes decided to release “Lost In Japan."
The song “In My Blood” makes me want to scream in the shower and pretend I'm performing a concert. Be careful, though. If you get too into it, falling is a possibility. Maybe I’ve done this. Maybe I haven’t.
“Lost In Japan” is just a bop and a half. I get some John Mayer feels from the guitar, and I can’t wait to get home and into a car where I can play this with all the windows down.
Mendes’ upcoming album doesn’t have a release date pinned down that I can find. However, he did tweet a photo of an advertisement for the album that said “coming soon,” so be on the lookout.
My playlist this week is titled "Lost with Shawn Mendes" and features John Mayer and Harry Styles along with Shawn Mendes. You can listen to it here.
