Who’s Shawn?
A 17-year-old Canadian from Toronto, but no ordinary cute boy this. The pop singer is one of the first stars to be born on Vine, the short-form video sharing platform that Twitter launched in June 2012. Shawn Mendes became a sensation for the six-second videos he posted on Vine in 2013; these included hundreds of micro-covers of songs by the likes of Ed Sheeran, Beyonce and Sam Smith. The Life Of The Party hitmaker has since released an EP and a solo album. And yes, he writes his own songs.
6 seconds is what it takes?!
Yes, and so Shawn symbolises a social media transition that can’t be ignored. Earlier, it was about posting videos on YouTube, an exercise that made Justin Bieber famous. Shawn took it to a new platform and also brought down the duration of the video from five minutes to six seconds. That’s no mean feat, according to the Stitches singer. “People could say: ‘Well, it doesn’t take much talent to put a six-second video up. I would argue that it does, because you only have six seconds to impress somebody. And if you can do that in six seconds, then you’ve done a good job,” Shawn told The New York Times in April 2015. “When I put that first Vine out, I was just doing it for fun; there was no wanting to become an artiste. But then when I realised the potential it had, I thought Vine was the perfect platform because no one else was doing it. I would have been one of the only ones, or one of the first,” he added.
Before his meteoric rise, the youngster was part of Magcon, a tour of teenage social media stars. He was then contacted by artiste manager Andrew Gertler. After signing on to Island Records, he released The Shawn Mendes EP in July 2014. It reached the #1 spot on iTunes in 37 minutes! The following year came his debut album, Handwritten, and it opened at #1 on the Billboard chart, beating the Furious 7 soundtrack.
Safe & sound with Tay
When Taylor Swift announced her ‘1989’ world tour in November 2014 (which kicked off in Japan in May 2015), she mentioned two support acts for the North American leg — Vance Joy and Shawn Mendes. That was the start of a great friendship between Shawn and Swift. Soon after, Shawn, whose favourite Tay number is Wildest Dream, told FOX411, a radio station which keeps a ear on celebrity news: “She’s the best person in the world, so I am very excited.”
And going by his birthday celebrations last August, Tay really likes him. The Bad Blood singer made 70,000 people at her Seattle, Washington, gig sing Happy Birthday for Shawn. “It was beyond the best feeling I could ever imagine. I don’t know who else gets to say they’ve had that many people sing them happy birthday all at once, it’s so special,” Shawn later said.
Also, we must thank Taylor for the song I Know What You Did Last Summer. Shawn wrote it with Camila Cabello backstage during the pop princess’s ‘1989’ tour.
But he ‘really’ hasn’t made out with...
Camila Cabello, the Fifth Harmony singer. Debates have raged in school and college canteens for months about whether he is dating the 19-year-old or she is just his BFF, ever since pictures of them (see right) trickled online.
The matter was more or less settled when Camila and Shawn appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden in November 2015, where she said: “No. We really haven’t made out. Never. He calls me a kid. He has never leaned in.”
And a month later, she did have a lot to say about their friendship to Teen Vogue: “He knows what it means to be a friend. You don’t meet a lot of people like him, especially in the music industry. When I’m anxious or sad or feel overwhelmed, he makes me feel better. He’s not just a friend when it’s easy or convenient, but he’s there when it’s hard, too.... In the music industry, there’s often a lot of egos and people aren’t always very supportive, but we cheer each other on and we push each other to be better. We’re really there for each other.”
Well, one thing’s for sure. They do make a super duo behind the microphone, which their November 2015 duet I Know What You Did Last Summer proves. Though it hit only #20 on the US Billboard Hot 100, there is chemistry in the lyrics: ‘I know when she looks me in the eyes/ They don’t seem as bright/ No more, no more, I know/ But she loved me at one time/ Would I promise her that night/ Cross my heart and hope to die.’
Justin vs Shawn
Two Canadians, both lookers and teen heart-throbs. But Shawn has a long way to go to catch up with Justin Bieber. Then what’s the hitch? In August 2013, Shawn uploaded a clip of him singing an acoustic version of Bieber’s As Long As You Love Me. The next morning it had 10,000 likes. But Bieber, being Bieber, took a dig at the fellow Canadian during an interview with New York’s 95.5 PLJ radio station. When comparisons were drawn between the two singers, Bieber simply said: “Who’s Shawn Mendes?” When a quick bio was delivered, the 22-year-old added: “No, I don’t know him, but I will check him out, for sure.” Ouch, it has all the touches of the feud Mariah Carey started with Jennifer Lopez in the early 2000s!
3 Shawn tracks we love
Shawn debuted three beautiful songs during his Radio City Music Hall concert this March. Here’s why we love ’em...
Ruin
It has the acoustic-pop feel of his debut album, Handwritten (2015) but this one is blues-ier, and it’s a sure sing-along.
Lyrical high: And I’m not tryina ruin your happiness, baby/ But darling don’t you know that I’m the only one/ Do I ever cross your mind?
Three Empty Words
Did we just hear version 2.0 of John Mayer? Going somewhat folk, this can become the top break-up song in the coming months.
Lyrical high: We don’t know which road we’re at/ And we don’t even care enough to fight/ We’re going through the motion/ ’cos we can’t fix what’s broken/ I know it’s gonna hurt/ But darling I’ll go first/ ’cos I won’t keep on saying those/ Three empty words.
Like This
With only a piano to back him up, Shawn flexes his vocals and comes away making listeners cry. There is honesty in his timbre.
Lyrical high: I guess I’m going down/ And I love it how she’s honest/ You don’t find that nowadays/ She’s not even drop dead gorgeous/ But she kills me anyway/ And I can’t try to stop it/ All I like.
SHOW YOU SHAWN
You wish him on: August 8
Candles on his cake: 17
Grew up in: Pickering, Ontario, where he attended Pine Ridge Secondary School
The boy plays: Ice hockey and soccer; enjoys longboarding
Family: His mother Karen is a real estate agent, his father Manuel is a businessman. His 11-year-old sister, Aaliyah, is also on Vine (Princess Aaliyah) with 257,100 followers.
Guitar lessons: Shawn is self-taught and among the early tunes he played on the guitar is Hey, Soul Sister by Train
He wanted to be: A firefighter as a child
Favourite word: Surreal
Favourite TV shows: Lost and The 100
Celebrity crush: Sophia Bush (Chicago P.D. actress)
A song he wished he had written: Ed Sheeran’s Tenerife Sea
Favourite cover song: Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey
A message from Shirley Setia, the ‘Indo-Kiwi’ girl with 216,700 subscribers on her YouTube channel:
There’s a lot to learn from Shawn Mendes and also Tori Kelly. The fact that they posted covers of songs but then also released their original songs on the go, really helped!
OMG! Shawn Mendes is so darn cute and his voice has this unique tone that just lingers for so long. Stitches is my favourite song but apart from that, Aftertaste, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Something Big are playing on loop on my playlist. And given a chance I would really like to date him! Hail Shawn Mendes!
— Aantarika Samanta, Asutosh College
Around August 2015, YouTube kept suggesting Shawn Mendes’s Stitches and I thought of watching it. That was the first time I actually heard a proper Shawn Mendes song. Stitches was really catchy and I decided to go through his Vevo channel to check out some of his other hits. His vocals are really good and it’s evident from the song Life Of The Party (acoustic). Also being a fresh voice, he got to collaborate with cool artistes like Hailee Steinfeld and recently with Camila Cabello in I Know What You Did Last Summer , which was an instant hit worldwide. He seems to be a down-to-earth guy. I’m surely looking forward to his second album and it would be interesting to see him perform in India and a concert in Calcutta would be amazing.
— Sausha Mukherjee, Shri Shikshayatan College
I love Shawn Mendes because.... Tell t2@abp.in
