Sometimes the greatest stars come from the most humble and
unexpected beginnings.
Shawn Mendes, a musician rapidly rising in popularity,
is no exception.
He started out as an ordinary Vine user – singing a few seconds worth of songs and
started accumulating quite a following, after which Mendes started posting on YouTube.
On April 14, 2015, the sixteen-year-old Canadian released
his debut album titled “Handwritten,” which was a giant step in his musical
career. Within the first week, 119,000 copies were sold, putting it at number
one on the US Billboard 200.
The songs are full of emotion – a mix of bouncy, happy tunes
and songs filled with sorrow. Though the singer may be young and inexperienced,
his songs don’t blare complete immaturity, and the sound of the album is not
near as bumpy as it may have been expected to be.
According to an article from Rolling Stone, "His debut album presents him as a
nice-guy guitar strummer…influenced by the light acoustic pop of Ed Sheeran.
And, like the British teen idol, Mendes has more rhythm than you'd expect (note
the Nelly singsong flows on "Aftertaste").
In an interview with Billboard we find that Mendes does indeed try to mold
himself after Sheeran. “‘His whole style is not fake at all,’ says Mendes.
‘That’s how I want to be.’”
Though I am not sure that there could ever be another quite
like Ed Sheeran,
his words are flattering to the star and give us a glimpse of Mendes’ musical
direction.
USA Today was accurate in saying that “In his songs,
Mendes comes across as ultra-sensitive and appealingly self-deprecating. In one
song, he sings about needing help with long division. ‘Maybe I'm just a kid in
love,’ he sings in another, setting up the punch line: ‘If this is what it's
like falling in love, then I don't ever want to grow up.’”
The artist is aware that he has some growing up to do, and
that strikes me as more appealing than young musicians trying to fake life
experience.
There is some criticism, however. According to a review from Idolator, “He’s written more ballads than upbeat
songs, and features instruments instead of electronica, as if that’s enough to
show that he’s being ‘real.’ As hard as he tries, though, this album doesn’t
have the same warm intimacy of those vines from his bedroom and bathroom
in Pickering, Ontario.”
Well, we can’t all be perfect. I honestly haven’t heard many
debut albums with as much passion and as little mistakes as this.
It’s a new sound from a fresh voice that, by the way, is the
youngest since 2010 to make top of the Billboard 200.
It’s worth a listen.
At a Glance:
Grade for album: B+
Songs in album: 16
Produced by: Island Records
Lowdown: The youngest since 2010 to take the lead in the
Billboard 200, Shawn Mendes’ album “Handwritten” is one you need to listen to.
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