From six-second snippets on Vine in 2013 to sold-out audiences with screaming girls in 2016, Shawn Peter Raul Mendes has made his presence known on the Hollywood stage.

The young singer was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. The eighteen-year old Canadian comes from humble beginnings, his parents being a real-estate agent and businessman.  Ever since his simple childhood, the pop star made his acclaimed popularity all on his own.  At the age of 14, Mendes started singing covers of his favorite performers on a popular app and now, at 17, Mendes sings duets with his favorite artists on worldwide stages.

Island Records, who originally signed Mendes in 2014, released Mendes’s first album Handwritten on April 14,2015. This album had people all around the world dancing to his original style, a mix of Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran. Handwritten reached the top of the charts in only weeks after his release.

His newest album Illuminate was released on September 23, 2016.  This new album truly shows how far he has come. With songs like “Lights On” and “Bad Reputation”, Mendes reveals his new confidence. The lyrics are sensual, but they still have a sweet touch.  For only being eighteen, Mendes seems to have plenty of romantic experience. He brings to the table the ends and outs of a relationship and how to handle a breakup. His new lyrics have most of us blushing, and still loving his brave, pop hits. This newly found knowledge and maturity has given him a wealth of material for Illuminate, and has brought more of an audience than just adolescent girls. It seems Shawn Mendes has found the key to a woman’s hearts. 

His music is energetic and  catchy. Mendes has come a long way from opening for the Taylor Swift 1989 Tour to topping the charts all on his own. His world tour begins on November 1 in Newtown NSW, Australia.