Shawn Mendes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shawn Mendes

Mendes in December 2014

Background information

Birth name Shawn Peter Raul Mendes

Born August 8, 1998 (age 18)

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Origin Pickering, Ontario, Canada

Pop
Genres
acoustic

folk pop[1]

Occupation(s) Singer

songwriter

Instruments Vocals

guitar

piano

keyboards

Years active 2013present

Labels Island
 Website shawnmendesofficial.com

Shawn Peter Raul Mendes (/mndz/, European Portuguese: [md]; born August 8, 1998) is a
Canadian singer-songwriter. He attracted a following in 2013, when he began posting song covers
on the video sharing application Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist
managers Andrew Gertler and Island Records A&R Ziggy Chareton, which led to him signing a deal
with the record label. Mendes went on to release an EP and his debut studio album Handwritten,
whose single "Stitches" reached the top 10 in the US and Canada, and number one in the UK. His
sophomore album, Illuminate (2016), was preceded by the single "Treat You Better". Both albums
debuted atop the US Billboard 200.

Contents
[hide]

1Early life

2Career

o 2.1201315: Handwritten

o 2.22016: Illuminate

3Artistry

4Philanthropy

5Awards and nominations

6Discography

7Tours

8References

9External links

Early life
Mendes was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Karen, a real estate agent, and Manuel Mendes, a
businessman, selling bar and restaurant supplies in Toronto. His father is Portuguese (from
the Algarve),[2] while his mother is English. He has a younger sister Aaliyah.[3] Mendes was raised
in Pickering, Ontario, where he attended Pine Ridge Secondary School.[4]

Career
201315: Handwritten
Main article: Handwritten (Shawn Mendes album)
Mendes opening the 1989 World Tour

Mendes first started posting cover videos on the popular social video app Vine in 2013 and gained
millions of views and followers in a few months, becoming well known for his six-second snippets of
renditions of many popular songs.[5] By August 2014, he was the third most-followed musician on
Vine.[6] Artist manager Andrew Gertler discovered Mendes online in January 2014, bringing him
to Island Records where he eventually signed and released his first single "Life of the Party" in June
2014.[7] He became the youngest 15-year-old artist to debut in the top 25 with a debut song on the
US Billboard Hot 100, making it to number 24 for the week ending July 12, 2014.[8] Prior to his
signing, Mendes toured as a member of the MagCon Tour [9] alongside other young Viners with a
large following on social media.[10] Mendes was also on a nationwide tour with Austin Mahoneas an
opening act, releasing his debut major label EP in July.[11] The EP debuted and peaked at number five
on Billboard 200, selling 48,000 copies in its first week.[12] He won a Teen Choice award in 2014 for
Webstar in Music.[13] On September 5, 2014, "Oh Cecilia (Breaking My Heart)" featuring Mendes was
released as the fifth single from The Vamps' debut album, Meet the Vamps.[14]
On April 14, 2015, Mendes released his full-length album Handwritten, which debuted at number one
on the Billboard 200 chart with 119,000equivalent album units, selling 106,000 copies in its first
week.[15] However, it suffered a 89% traditional sales decrease in its second week. [16] The third single
from the album, "Stitches", peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming his first
top 10 single in the US,[17] and reached the top position on the Mainstream Top 40 chart.[18] The song
later reached number one in the UK.[19] Mendes recorded a song called "Believe" for Disney Channel
Original Movie Descendants.[20] Also in 2015, Mendes opened for Taylor Swift during 1989 World
Tour dates for North America.[21] In late 2015 Mendes and Camila Cabello, who was at the time a
member of the group Fifth Harmony, released their collaborative single "I Know What You Did Last
Summer". The song was included on Mendes' Handwritten Revisited reissue.[22] He appeared on The
CW's The 100 third season premiere on January 21, 2016.[23] He later announced his second world
tour as a headliner, which will visit North America and Europe, starting in March 2016. [24] Mendes
signed with modeling agency Wilhelmina Models in early 2016.[25] Mendes was listed among Time's
The 25 Most Influential Teens in 2014[26] and 2015.[27] He also made his first appearance on
aForbes list with their annual "30 Under 30", for 2016.[28]
2016: Illuminate
Main article: Illuminate (Shawn Mendes album)
Mendes released "Treat You Better", the lead single from his second studio album Illuminate, in June
2016.[29] The single reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album debuted at number
one on the US Billboard 200 with 145,000 equivalent album units, including 121,000 in pure album
sales.[30] The album foray into "a soft classic-rock groove" in his new direction. [31] "Mercy" released as
the second single on August 18, 2016.[32] Mendes released the live album Live at Madison Square
Garden in December 2016.[33]

Artistry
Mendes has cited John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, Justin Timberlake, and Bruno Mars as his musical
influences.[34][35] For Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone Mendes incorporates "catchy acoustic folk-pop
tunes" in his catalogue,[1] while for Joe Coscarelli of The New York Times, "his soft, sometimes
soulful pop-rock plays primarily to tweens and teenagers, but has also found traction on adult
contemporary radio stations."[36] For Coscarelli, "Illuminate represents the careful evolution of his
digestible sound and subject matter, with much of the organic instrumentation and good-guy
earnestness of Handwritten intact". Mendes stated:
Im releasing a song about sex at 18, which is appropriate. I wouldnt have done it if I were 16 or 17.
Ill release a song about drinking at 21, you know what I mean?[36]

Philanthropy
In 2014 Mendes and DoSomething.org launched their campaign called "Notes from Shawn". The
campaign was inspired by the lyrics to his first single, "Life of the Party", and addressed low self-
esteem, depression and awareness of self-harm.[37] They relaunched their campaign for the second
year in a row in 2015.[38] He has also worked with Pencils of Promise, raising $25,000 to build a
school in Ghana.[39]

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Shawn Mendes
Mendes has received several awards and nominations, including an iHeartRadio Music Award,
two MTV Europe Music Awards, three Much Music Video Awards, and the Allan Slaight Honour
from Canada's Walk of Fame.[40] In 2015, Mendes was the recipient of the Breakout Award at
the SOCAN Awards in Toronto.[41]

Discography
Main article: Shawn Mendes discography

Handwritten (2015)

Illuminate (2016)

Tours
Headlining

ShawnsFirstHeadlines[42] (201415)

Shawn Mendes World Tour (2016)

Illuminate World Tour (2017)

Co-headlining

Jingle Ball Tour 2014 (with various artists)[43] (2014)

 Jingle Ball Tour 2015 (with various artists) (2015)
Opening act

Live on Tour (Austin Mahone) (North America)[44] (2014)

The 1989 World Tour (Taylor Swift) (North America)[21] (2015)