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A Shawn Mendes x 'Illuminate' appreciation post.

23rd September 2016 by Rose Riddell

In celebration of the young stud/IRL angel that is Shawn Mendes releasing his sophomore album ‘Illuminate’ (GO BUY IT RIGHT NOW!!!!!), we’ve decided to compile our very favourite things about him.

If you're not already familiar with Shawn, then here's a brief history:

Initially attracting a following after posting short covers on his Vine account in 2013, Shawn released his debut single ‘Life Of The Party’ in 2014, before his debut album ‘Handwritten’ was released in 2015 - which consequently went to number one on the Billboard chart following its release.

From opening on Taylor Swift’s 1989 World Tour in North America last year, to selling out his very own Madison Square Garden show just last month, Shawn’s sophomore album ‘Illuminate’ is set to take him to new heights - with lead single ‘Treat You Better’ already climbing the charts around the world.

Now without ado, here are five (yup, it was hard to narrow it down to just five) things that we currently appreciate about Shawn Mendes…

#1. The kid can sing live. There’s no question about it. We recently caught a two-hour train from New York City to New Jersey to see his live show, and can attest to that very fact (read our review of the show here). But in case you’re still questioning his talents, check out some live snippets of his show below:

#2. He loves animals (both real, and stuffed), as evidenced from the selection of photos below - get ready to say, “Awwww…”

#3. He loves his fans even more than he loves animals, if that’s even possible. Looking on social media, I’ve not seen one bad story about a fan meeting Shawn, only videos of him meeting them in all types of situations.

His sold-out show at Madison Square Garden even had a pop-up ice-cream stand, 'cuz if your faves don't buy you ice cream, are they even your faves?

He regularly DM’s updates accounts and fan accounts thanking them for their support, and even talked about the hashtag #ConfidentForShawn trending multiple times - a hashtag in which people share post about how Shawn makes them feel confident. SO CUTE.

#4. His music video for ‘Treat You Better’, the lead song from his new album has an incredibly powerful message behind it - the video tells the story of Shawn having feelings for a woman in an abusive relationship. The end of the video even has information on the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Firstly, watch the video below:

Buzzfeed also released a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the video, which further explores the meaning. Shawn said: “This girl is in an abusive relationship with this guy and you kind of see her struggle with, ‘Do I love him?’ [and] what she goes through, kind of rebelling a bit.” Watch the behind-the-scenes video below:

#5. As well as being a hugely successful musician, Shawn has dabbled in acting - ‘cuz he’s a total triple-threat, right?! He starred in The CW’s show ‘The 100’, in the premiere of their third season - and get this, he got the stint after the following Twitter conversation:

I wish I could get jobs just by tweeting people. But there’s Shawn for you. Now watch his acting greatness in full below:

Shawn’s new album ‘Illuminate’ is out now - click here to purchase.

Watch the ‘Treat You Better’ music video below…