Friday, November 15, Canadian artist Shawn Mendes released his fifth studio album entitled “Shawn.” After a long mental health break in 2022, Mendes returns with a deeply emotional album, striking fans around the globe. “Shawn” details the ups and downs he faced within the past two years after canceling his “Wonder” world tour. Mendes’ soul-searching pop-rock album includes 12 songs and a charming cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”
Mendes first rose to fame in 2013 from his popular Vines and online presence, ultimately catching the attention of American talent manager, Andrew Gertler. Now, under the same management with nearly 50 million monthly listeners and five albums, Mendes released “Shawn” at only 26 years old.
As the first hint at his upcoming album, Mendes released his single “Isn’t That Enough” August 9, which included a melodic tone, displaying a simple lifestyle he deems as enough for him. With its harmonic-laden background, Mendes reveals the start of the acoustic foundation for the remainder of his album.
The first track of the album, “Who I Am,” opens with a soft, guitar-strummed beat, encompassing his heartfelt sorrow which leaves fans to believe Mendes wrote this song in response to his time away after canceling his 2022 tour for a mental health break. With lyrics such as “and it broke my heart when I canceled tour… ’cause I don’t really know who I am right now,” showed the internal battles Mendes faced. Similarly, his second track and single, “Why Why Why,” released August 9, revealed how fearful he grew after finding out he would become a father — although he never actually came to reach parenthood.
“In his other song, ‘Who I Am,’ he sings more about how he doesn’t know who he is as a person and that he has a lot going on. In the song he sings, ‘And it broke my heart when I canceled [the] tour, had my soul and my head going back and forth,’ which tells that he was dealing with a lot and he had to do what was best for him. Throughout his entire album he mentions he’s trying to find himself as a person and his journey to accomplish that,” junior Karen Lopez said.
Switching towards a heartbreaking tune, “Heart of Gold” focuses on Mendes’ journey with grief. The artist dedicated this song to a childhood friend who passed away from a drug overdose, unveiling the surreal emotions he experienced from losing a loved one too soon. Mendes repeated the phrase, “Heart of Gold,” to help connect people listening to the song with their own grief, in hopes they would handle it openly. Mendes wished to not only write a song about grieving the life of a loved one but also to celebrate the impact of their heart on the world. Shortly before the song’s official release, Mendes devoted “Heart of Gold” to late singer-songwriter Liam Payne during a live show October 18 in New York City.
“The Mountain” focuses on his personal development and the uncertainty he felt toward his sexuality. At a performance in October, Mendes told fans that sexuality seemed beautifully complex and that he still needed to figure himself out. This folky tune adds warmth to the album while still showcasing deep emotion.
“I love hearing Shawn’s voice and how he adds in the guitar to his music. The album gives off folk vibes and just brings a sense of peace to me. ‘That’s The Dream’ is my favorite because it’s catchy and it just brought me to another state of mind, which goes for most of the songs on the album. But I also love how the lyrics on this song were written,” Lopez said.
Throughout the rest of “Shawn” — in tracks like “Heavy” and “Rollin’ Right Along” — Mendes references several life events including break-ups, hardships and other mental health struggles such as fear and anxiety to create a relatable album for his audience. His album strings together familiar topics in society — showcasing his maturing persona in comparison to past albums such as “Handwritten,” which he released at 16 years old. “Shawn” continues to spark emotion in the everyday listener with its perfect mix of heart-wrenching and upbeat melodies.
The Chant’s score: A+
