3.5 stars

Shawn Mendes first entered the music stage with seven second covers on vine, and became an internet sensation overnight. I’ve always heard his name, and even listened to a couple of vine covers. Despite this, I’ve never been interested enough to look up further information. Based on the vine covers, Mendes seemed to be another internet sensation with potential, that would go on to sing overproduced sugary songs.

When I first heard one of Mendes’s songs, Something Big, it was being played on the radio. It wasn’t a song that I loved, but it got my attention. The song was different than what I expected Mendes to sing, and I wanted to listen to the rest of his album to understand what type of music he really made.

Unlike the upbeat catchy songs I was expecting from him,most of Mendes’s songs are ballads filled with meaningful lyrics. His most upbeat songs still contain beautiful lyrics and all of his songs bypass the catchy beat in favor of words that make a difference.

Although Mendes tries to make every word meaningful, he doesn’t always succeed. Some of his lyrics are beautiful, and when he sings “I know I’ll make it out alive” Mendes succeeds in creating a personal connection with the audience. Other lines feel too overproduced, too sugary and sound like Mendes is trying too hard to differentiate himself from the teenage internet sensations that came before him.

Mendes has potential, a lot of potential. His music sounds like Ed Sheeran’s with a bit of Mendes’s personal style that makes it sound fresher. Sometimes the songs sound too much like Ed Sheeran’s, but Mendes usually brings it back and showcases the personal flair he has through the lyrics.

Listening to the entire album in one sitting, some of the songs blend together and they do not have many distinguishing factors that help them stand out from the rest of the album, or from songs by other artists.

With a little work, Mendes could rise to become an amazing artist. He has individuality and a fresh style of music that if developed could set him apart from the other artists today. Although, Mendes’s songs are sometimes too sugary, and too repetitive, with a little work he could create songs with meaningful lyrics that people want to listen to.