Shawn Mendes

Shawn Mendes is a Canadian singer-songwriter born on August 8, 1998, in Toronto, Ontario, and raised in Pickering. He first attracted a large audience in 2013 by posting short cover performances on Vine, the now-defunct video-sharing service. His six-second clips, including covers of songs by Justin Bieber, helped him build a following before he had released an official single. In 2014, he signed with Island Records and released “Life of the Party,” which entered the Billboard Hot 100. At 15, Mendes became one of the youngest artists to debut in the chart’s top 25. His debut album, Handwritten, arrived in 2015 and opened at number one on the Billboard 200. Its best-known single, “Stitches,” became an international hit, reaching the top 10 in the United States and number one in the United Kingdom. The album also included “Something Big” and “A Little Too Much.” Mendes followed it with Illuminate in 2016, another Billboard 200 number-one album. The record featured “Treat You Better,” “Mercy,” and “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back,” songs that strengthened his position on pop radio and international charts. In 2018, Mendes released his self-titled third studio album. It debuted at number one in the United States, making him, at the time, one of the youngest artists to have three number-one albums on the Billboard 200. The album included “In My Blood,” a song written during a period when he was experiencing anxiety, as well as “Lost in Japan” and “Nervous.” “In My Blood” received a Grammy Award nomination for Song of the Year. That same era included a high-profile collaboration with Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello: “Señorita,” released in 2019. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the American Music Award for Collaboration of the Year. Mendes’s fourth studio album, Wonder, was released in December 2020 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Its title track preceded the album, while “Monster,” featuring Justin Bieber, connected two artists whose careers had both been shaped by online audiences. In 2022, Mendes canceled the remaining dates of his Wonder: The World Tour, explaining that he needed time to prioritize his mental health. He returned to releasing music with “What the Hell Are We Dying For?” in 2023 and “Why Why Why” in 2024. Across his career, Mendes has been recognized for combining guitar-led pop songwriting with candid material about relationships, uncertainty, and emotional well-being.