Co-editor in chief
Shawn Mendes’s self-titled third album was released on May 25, marking his third #1 album on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. Now 19, this young musician has guaranteed himself a promising future in the industry.
The album marks a clear change of his musical direction, but traces of his previous two albums are still evident, making it a smooth transition. Mendes’ album consists of 14 original songs, two of which are collaborations with other artists such as Khalid and Julia Michaels. In an interview with British GQ magazine, Mendes stated that “I really just let myself create music that I thought was good and I didn’t think about genre,” which proved to be the absolute truth as the album contains a lovely mix of pop, rock, and R&B. Every song is different from the last and are an exciting experience to listen to as Mendes’s always seems to have a trick up his sleeve.
The songs are well-written while being heartfelt and meaningful. “In My Blood” tackles issues of mental health and struggles with anxiety while “Youth” serves as an anthem to teenagers dealing with the effects of current events like school shootings. Mendes keeps a good balance between melancholy and up-beat songs--each one powerfully conveying their message and producing a profound emotional impact; an effect not many artists can have on their audience.
However, Mendes’ writing collaborations with artists like Ed Sheeran, Julia Michaels, and Ryan Tedder, seem to morph the songs so that they lack Mendes’ signature style, and, as the New York Times puts it, “like tofu, he adopts the flavor of the songwriters he’s collaborating with,” and that the songs “systematically obscure Mr. Mendes’s talents.”
Additionally, many of the songs, while catchy and well-performed, seem utterly unoriginal. “Particular Taste” containing hints of Robin Thicke and Prince while “Because I Had You” evokes Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself,” and “Nervous” resembles Selena Gomez’s “Bad Liar,” which also happened to be written by Julia Michaels.
Even so, Shawn does not hesitate to make the album his own and make creative and daring choices throughout the album, incorporating falsetto singing and clever word plays like his juxtaposition of insecure lyrics and a confident tone in his song, “Nervous.” There are some winners on the album; all of the pre-released singles were great, but notably his songs “Why,” “Mutual” and “Queen.”
Overall, the album was a highly enjoyable listen that was refreshing and unique compared to other pop artists. Even though his writing collaborations masked his signature style in many of the songs, Mendes made a truthful and high-quality album. Shawn Mendes’ incredible writing and vocal talents should not be underestimated--this album is definitely worth a listen.
