Musician Shawn Mendes has released his fifth studio record Shawn, his second eponymous album. In it, he details how his life has been after cancelling his tour to focus on himself and his mental health, finally taking a well-deserved break.
T R A C K L I S T
1. Who I Am
2. Why Why Why
3. That's the Dream
4. Nobody Knows
5. Isn't That Enough
6. Heart of Gold
7. Heavy
8. That'll Be The Day
9. In Between
10. The Mountain
11. Rollin' Right Along
12. Hallelujah
Mendes was just a young kid from Ontario, Canada who decided to download the Vine app and film himself playing the guitar and singing. Eleven years and several chart-topping hits later, he's one of the biggest names of pop music, garnering massive amounts of success and international fame. With songs like "Stitches", "Treat You Better", and "Señorita" under his belt, Mendes has made a huge and everlasting impact on not just the music industry, but the world.
Who I Am
Shawn begins with an acoustic introduction, the song "Who I Am". Mendes realizes he needs to take a break from performing to mentally recover from the pressures of working so much, such as making music and going on tour. He brings up how he had to cancel the remainder of the dates of his tour Wonder: The World Tour in July 2022 after seven shows in order to focus on his mental health. Based on how upset he was when he had to cancel a show due to losing his voice in his documentary Shawn Mendes: In Wonder, its obvious how terrible Mendes feels about having to have done that, but knows he needs to take a much needed break.
Why Why Why
"Why Why Why", while an upbeat folk song with echoing harmonization and sweet guitar chords, is full of regret. Mendes does not understand why he made certain decisions in his life, such as turning someone down and performing and making music even though he was tired and needed a break. This is all taking a toll on him, mentally and physically, and that he feels like everything is going in a circle and he keeps having to reexperience these distressful situations. Him singing "Why" three times in a row can be interpreted as a call out for help, as well as him unable to understand what's going on in his life.
That's the Dream
This song occurs during Mendes either taking a pause on his relationship with a partner or after the relationship has ended. Mendes does not want to be apart from this person, feeling loneliness as he looks back on the relationship during its better moments. He still wants to be with this person, but at the same time realizes its not in the cards for their relationship to continue, but also is discouraged by this. He explains that he misses this person over another acoustic beat with a slower tempo, paired with guitar, making this an indie-pop song with more folk influence.
Nobody Knows
Mendes wants to know where the love two people in a relationship once had goes when they break up. A relationship could have many great qualities, but there could be something blocking it from continuing, which causes the relationship to end. What happens to all of those great qualities that keeping the relationship afloat until that point? That is what Mendes wonders about on "Nobody Knows". He is joined by another singer as he belts out the chorus in this slowed down track with prominent drums that have changing rhythms and are unique, alongside notable guitar riffs.
Isn't That Enough
In contrast to the overwhelming success of Mendes's music career, an outstanding achievement itself, there are the little things in life that he has grown an appreciation for. Instead of focusing on a bigger picture, he pays attention to what is going on around him in his personal life, as well as in nature. He views these occurrences in a new perspective, and asks "Isn't that enough?", realizing that a Hollywood lifestyle may no longer suit him, and perhaps a quiet and peaceful life could take its place and it would make more sense to live like that and not experience the consequences of fame anymore.
Heart of Gold
Another beautiful track on this album is not complete without reverberated country guitar riffs. "Heart of Gold" is dedicated to Dejomi, who Mendes was friends with during his early teenage years. Dejomi suffered from drug addiction and passed away when Mendes was young, which heavily affected Mendes, including not being able to go to his funeral because he was touring at the time. Before this, Dejomi and Mendes grew apart due to Mendes becoming busy with his music career, and Mendes was unable to express his pain in learning his friend died until he began making this song.
Heavy
"Heavy" is a mix of power pop and folk as Mendes belts out that he needs support and does not want to feel alone anymore. He has felt isolated while on tour, experiencing the same night over and over again, and was unable to open up because he felt as though he was not ready yet. This lead to him rejecting it and trying to push down his feelings so he could continue working, but eventually he realized this is an unhealthy way to cope with his emotions. Now, he wants to find and have stability in his life by turning to people he knows he can count on for guidance.
That'll Be The Day
"The Day" that is mentioned on the title of this track is when Mendes will no longer have feelings for a past partner, which is also the day he dies. He believes he will take the feelings he still has for this person with him to his grave, because that is how strongly he feels about his former relationship. Mendes even says that he can move on, but mentally he will not actually be able to, and he believes that as long as he is still alive, there is still a chance for the love of the past relationship to be reignited. Leading up to the song's outro is a guitar-plucking solo, not before Mendes once again provides incredible harmonies on this album.
In Between
Mendes references the previous track "Isn't That Enough" in "In Between" in regards to not wanting to have a long-term relationship and eventually settle down, and instead wants to slowly ease into a relationship. He does not want a short-term romance, but also needs time and space without immediately diving into marriage and other life-changing decisions. Mendes is aware the person he is with does not share the same perspective on this relationship, feeling as though there can only be one outcome, breaking up or always staying together, but he tries to convince the person he is with to appreciate the time they spend together no matter the outcome.
The Mountain
Mendes puts down all gossip, speculations, and any form of discouragement charged in his direction in "The Mountain". One of the cons of being famous is the amount of hatred and negativity you have to face on a day-to-day basis, and Mendes is no stranger to that, even at the start of his career when he was just a kid. After reconnecting with nature, Mendes declares how meaningless celebrity culture is, especially when there is so much beauty in life, and how he does not let people making assumptions about the kind of person he is affect him.
Rollin' Right Along
Mendes realizes he has to let go of his past in order to live in the present and move on into the future. He says that when he was younger, he felt as though he was trying to grow up too fast, most likely due to the pressures of being in the music industry at a young age. Now, however, he knows he can't turn back time and change the past so he just has to keep going forward. This also applies to his former relationships. Mendes's love life has been a topic that has been featured on tracks on this album, and this includes trying to let go of those he once had relationships with.
Hallelujah
The final track of Shawn is a stunning and angelic cover of "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen. This is a beautiful outro for an amazing album. Fitting with the other eleven tracks, soft guitar chords are played throughout the song, and Mendes's incredible vocals pair perfectly with them. Also in the song are strings and an organ, and harmonies that bounce off imaginary church walls and intertwine in the center of the cathedral to create a delightful and extraordinary musical masterpiece. It takes a lot of skill to cover "Hallelujah", but Mendes is able to do it effortlessly.
After a hiatus, it can be hard for musicians to find their musical footing again, but Shawn Mendes has clearly done it with ease. This is an incredible album, showcasing his talented singing and songwriting skills. Mental health is very important to talk about and I'm very glad he was able to make a record out of his experiences and open up about what he has been going through. I really enjoy the direction he is going in music-wise; he is able to encapsulate a wonderful combination of pop, country, folk, and alternative, as well as the other writers and producers that helped make Shawn.
Written By Ashley Adams
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