Shawn Mendes is a Canadian singer-songwriter who first rose to fame by posting six-second videos on the Vine app.
He is known for such hits as: Stitches, There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back, and now "breaks" all the charts with a joint track with Camila Cabello Senorita.
By posting a series of his cover songs on various sites (beginning with the now defunct Vine app in 2012), Mendes received a special subscription that made him popular on social media.
His talent, good looks, and good fan base quickly came together.
In 2014, his debut single Life of the Party hit the Billboard 100, making the 15-year-old Mendes the youngest artist to have a debut song in the top 25.
Although he has been called "the next Justin Bieber" - both handsome, successful and Canadian - his acoustic and catchy songs are more in line with the musical style of his idol Ed Sheeran. Mendes quickly moved on to writing his own songs.
Loyal fans (mostly teenage girls) have supported his platinum-selling hits as well as arena-sized world tours both as Taylor Swift's opening show and as a headliner.
The Early Years and School of Shawn Mendes
Sean Peter Raul Mendez was born on August 8, 1998 in Toronto (Canada) to Karen and Manuel Mendez.
He and his younger sister Alia grew up in Pickering, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto, where he attended Pine Ridge High School.
Among his extra-curricular activities, he played sports such as football and hockey, as well as taking acting classes.
Despite dropping out of school to go on tour, he continued to do his homework through online courses and was able to complete his class in June 2016.
SELF-Taught MUSICIAN
Social networks helped the guy not only become famous, but also learn how to play the guitar, and all thanks to YouTube video hosting.
“I learned to play the guitar on my own too. I just typed in “Guitar Playing for Beginners,” he told The Telegraph.
“I learned the right chords and slowly began to understand how things should be. I soon became obsessed with it. Every day I played and thought I wasn't good enough yet. You have to try harder, so I started playing for hours.”
His obsession with watching YouTube videos has led him to post and himself on social media. He was determined to pursue it and also began taking vocal lessons.
WHAT'S ALL THE BEGINNING?
Vine is a video sharing service (6,5 seconds long) that was launched in June 2012. In August, 14-year-old Mendes decided to showcase his talents by posting a video of himself performing Bieber's As Long as You Love Me (acoustic version).
When he checked his account the next day, he saw that he had 10 likes.
Now Mendes is a model of how to become a superstar in the era of social networks. With the help of Vine, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram, you can create a massive boom yourself. Another advantage of such a promotion is that you can always be in touch, communicate with “fans”, ask something, etc.
Mendes' cover versions caught the attention of his current manager, Andrew Gertler, who convinced the singer and his father to come to New York and sign with Island Records. He was surprised by the drive Mendes showed from the start, noting that he was always wise beyond his years.
"He's grown a lot over the past year," Gertler told Billboard in September 2017.
“His musical ability has further developed. His vocal abilities, his guitar playing... I've seen him go from an acoustic guitar guy to an amazing frontman with a band, and to me, a modern-day version of a rock star!"
The song Stitches hit the top 10
In 2014, Mendes released his debut album with Island Records, The Shawn Mendes EP, which peaked at number 5 on the music charts with sales exceeding 100.
In 2015, he released his feature debut Handwritten, which went to No. 1 in both the US and Canada. The single Stitches got even better, reaching No. 1 on the European music charts and hitting the top 10 in North America. In addition, his song Believe was featured in the Disney Channel musical Descendants.
Mendes and Camila Cabello I Know What You Did Last Summer
During the world tour World Tour (1989) with Taylor Swift, Mendes began collaborating with Fifth Harmony's Camila Cabello on the track "I Know What You Did Last Summer", which entered the Top 10 in the US and Canada. The track "Treat You Better" was also released shortly after and also reached the top XNUMX.
Illuminate album and world tour
In September 2016, the artist released his second album Illuminate. Describing his second project, the aspiring singer found it to be reminiscent of the styles of Ed Sheeran and John Mayer. But he wanted it that way, they were his old idols, so he copied almost everything from them. His efforts were a huge success as it topped the charts and went platinum in the US and Canada.
Just two months later, Mendes hosted a Live concert at Madison Square Garden, followed by a world tour in 2017. After releasing another top 10 hit, There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back, he signed with MTV Unplugged.
Shawn Mendes now
After releasing the singles In My Blood and Lost in Japan at the end of March 2018, Mendes released his self-titled third album in May. The highly anticipated studio project debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and went on to win a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album.
In May 2019, Mendes released the single If I Can't Have You, which he says was originally written for Dua Lipa before he decided to record it himself. In June he released an intense video for Señorita, another duet with Cabello. The track topped the iTunes Top 100 Global charts for the second week in a row.
Little known facts about Shawn Mendes
- Sean's father is Portuguese and his mother is English. He and his younger sister live with their parents in Toronto, Canada.
- Before becoming a celebrity, Mendes was just a Vine user, but with a significant following.
- In 2015, Shawn Mendes released his first full-length album, Handwritten, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The album sold 106 copies in its first week, and the third single, Stitches, became No. 1 in the UK.
- He was named one of the 25 Most Influential Teens in 2014 and 2015. Sean also made the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2016.
- In early 2016, the singer signed a contract with Wilhelmina models.
- In April 2017, Mendes released There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back during his Illuminate World Tour for his Illuminate Deluxe Edition.
- Although Sean is not officially married, there are rumors that he has romantic ties with quite a few young and famous artists.
- Sean has two tattoos, one is on his right forearm (officially shown to the public) and the other is on the top of his right arm.