Shawn Mendes needs only his guitar to drive young PH fans to the edge
Shawn Mendes
Shawn Mendes is never not anxious before a performance. But thankfully, he begins settling down once he gets the first song out of the way. And the more pumped-up the crowd gets, the more comfortable he becomes onstage.
Surely then, dealing with nerves wouldn’t be too much of an issue for the 18-year-old recording artist in Manila, where the fans, he immediately found out, could get really “passionate” and “loud.” At the airport last March 15, a throng of eager fans welcomed him. It was almost like being in a concert, Shawn recalled.
What more the actual concert?
The answer was obvious. The shrieking and cheering inside SM Mall of Asia Arena last Saturday was, as expected, unceasingly hysterical. And Shawn didn’t need full-blown production numbers to elicit such response. Dressed casually in a grey
T-shirt and jeans, the Canadian singer-songwriter needed only his guitar and earnest singing to drive the young and pubescent fans to the edge.
The set he delivered was relatively short—13 songs and a medley. But, he made sure not to miss the biggest hits: the upbeat and punchy “Treat You Better”; “Mercy,” a soaring pop-rock anthem with gospel undertones; and “Stitches,” which started out stripped-down, with Shawn crooning while playing the piano.
His other standout performances were those of “Three Empty Words,” a quiet, sensitive acoustic number that is close to Shawn’s “heart”; and “Ruin,” a soulful, pleading tune that could have easily been John Mayer’s, but with growls, vocal breaks and all.
Shawn wasn’t much of a talker onstage, too—preferring instead to hop from one song to the next with minimum fuss. But the Inquirer did get a chance to chat with him about his music and his first time in Manila, the day before the show, which was mounted by MMI Live.
—Photos by Jasper Lucena for MMI Live
Excerpts from the press conference:
How was your stay here? We went to Balite Falls (in Cavite), which was a beautiful spot. We drove into the woods that opened up to a waterfall, where there were a bunch of kids … I’d go on vacation here someday, perhaps take a trip to Taal Volcano.
What’s the next step after your albums, “Handwritten” and “Illuminate”? I just want to make more good music. I’m feeling inspired right now, more than I was writing the second album. The songs are coming to me faster than before—and that’s exciting.
Where do you usually write your songs? I can write songs pretty much anywhere—sometimes on planes, or in bathrooms, because of the nice reverb. Here, I have a balcony overlooking the ocean, so I wrote a bunch of songs there … I have begun working on two or three, but nothing’s finished yet … I hope I can include them in my next album.
How important is writing your own material, and not just relying on an army of songwriters? Whether or not you write your own music or are just a singer, you’re still creating something beautiful. But, it’s important for me to tell my own story … It’s nice to be growing up and sort of recording my life through music.
With whom would you want to collaborate in the future? I would love to collaborate with Drake and The Weeknd, who are great composers … And it would also be cool to work with Rihanna.
Have you always been interactive with your fans? My fans who have spent time with me will get to understand my work more, and relate or connect with my songs better, because they know more than how I look or sound like. It’s important for me to make a connection with my fans.
But how do you deal with the not-so-nice ones? It’s tough. You can get a thousand compliments, but one negative thing could pull you down to the ground. You simply try to ignore those—well, it’s impossible—but you just focus on the positive. I have replied to such people a few times, and that didn’t turn out very well!
You started out on YouTube and Vine. What advice can you give to young, aspiring singers using these platforms?
The biggest mistake one can do is to copy someone else. If you stay true to yourself, people will eventually grasp onto it and like what you do. Copying never works out.
