Shawn Mendes

Album review by Gabrielle Groves

In Shawn Mendes’ fifth studio album and his second self-titled album, Shawn, the singer aims to find himself as he deals with the challenges of anxiety while being under an overwhelming spotlight. Over the years, the Toronto native has had numerous original hit songs, such as ‘Stitches’ and ‘Senorita,’ since getting his start singing covers on Vine and YouTube in 2013. Mendes has achieved so much in the music industry at such a young age, which would push anyone to their breaking point. Fortunately, he has found positive ways to cope and is using his platform to advocate for the next generation and mental health.

Describing Shawn as “like medicine” for himself, Mendes started working on the album after he made the decision to cancel his Wonder: The World Tour in 2022 when his anxiety became too much for him. With 11 new tracks and a moving cover of ‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen, Mendes connects with nature in this album to quiet his intrusive thoughts. He even worked on the album in more secluded places such as Rhinebeck, NY, Nosara, Costa Rica, and Clearview, WA to get away from the distractions of Los Angeles.

While Mendes pours his heart into this stripped-down, mellow record, some of the most telling songs are ‘Who I Am,’ ‘The Mountain,’ and ‘Why Why Why.’ In ‘Who I Am,’ he directly references the Wonder tour and how he didn’t want to disappoint fans by canceling the tour. He  had to follow through with it as he was “losin’ myself tryna make you [his fans and those closest to him] proud.” In ‘The Mountain,’ Mendes discusses the multiple rumors he’s heard about himself in the last 10 years, such as people labeling his sexuality for him or claiming he’s in a cult. Perhaps the most revealing lyric for fans came from the single ‘Why Why Why.’ He sings, “Thought I was about to be a father // Shook me to my core, I’m still a kid” referencing how he feels he’s too young to have a child.

Mendes also reflects on other losses in his life in ‘Heart of Gold.’ As a child, he was best friends with a boy named Deijomi whom he eventually drifted away from. Just a couple of weeks shy of his 20th birthday, Deijomi died of a drug overdose in 2018. This news broke Mendes, who was then inspired to make the song a few years later and dedicate it to Deijomi. He also appeared at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and played a touching rendition of the song five days prior to the album’s release.

To give back to his fans, Mendes announced eight shows in the U.S., Europe, and Canada where he played the whole album at each date. The first of these shows was in Woodstock, NY, on August 8th, which was filmed and then broadcast online on November 17th as Shawn Mendes: For Friends & Family Only, A Live Concert Film. In 2025, Mendes is set to headline Lollapalooza in India, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, and Festival Estereo Picnic in Colombia.