Heartthrob sensation Shawn Mendes has had a great start to fame. Just a little over a year ago he released his first album, “Handwritten” which instantly brought him fame.

Before his rise to fame, Mendes was just a teenager from Canada posting videos of song covers online. From there he signed with Island Records and began his career. 

Right off the bat he was compared to Justin Bieber and some people consider him to be the ‘new Bieber,’ but his music says otherwise. 

He recently released his new album “Illuminate,” which has some very catchy songshis fans love. 

“Treat You Better” is one of the hit songs on the album. The song was released this past summer and is still being played all over the radio. The song starts off with a catchy beat and is followed by Mendes’ voice leading into the main chorus 

“I know that I can treat you better than he can,” he sings.

It’s definitely a song you can start singing along to even if you haven’t heard it before. It’s a good song, but has a stronger message than most people think. The music video sheds light on domestic abuse and makes the song a powerful message. 

When artists share the backstory of specific songs it makes it easier to relate. This helps establish that relationship between an artist and their fans.

“Ruin” is another song on the new album and differsfrom “Treat You Better.” It gives off a John Mayer vibe. The song has a lot of guitar and sounds like an acoustic version, but transforms into a bluesy feel instead. 

“Mercy” is another good song, but it sets a sad mood. It starts off with Mendes humming and goes into some piano and guitar. 

“Please have mercy on me/ Take it easy on my heart/ Even though you don’t mean to hurt me/ You keep tearing me apart.” 

These are some of the lyrics that accurately describe how love hurts. This seems to be what the entire song is about, and if you’ve ever been hurt you can definitely relate to the lyrics. 

“Three Empty Words” sounds like an acoustic breakup song. It’s not a typical breakup song where one bashes on your ex-boyfriend or girlfriend. The song is about falling out of love with someone and it isn’t sung in a sad tone. 

“We’ll play the songs we used to love/ While we try to fall in love again.” 

The lyrics describe trying to make a relationship work, knowing that you and your significant other have lost the spark. 

All of the songs on this album are relationship based songs; either a breakup or falling out of love with someone. This is definitely the album you want to listen to if you’re going through a breakup, and you can relate to at least one song on the album if you’ve ever had your heart broken. 

People shouldn’t compare Mendes to Bieber because they don’t produce the same type of music. Mendes has an amazing voice and it can be heard throughout this album.