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Review Summary: Think twice before calling Shawn Mendes another Bieber clone, because after this refreshing debut, you'll see why. Social media can be a very useful tool for the many musicians of the music industry, whether it is to promote their upcoming material, or to get themselves out there to acquire followers or for the chance to be signed to a major music label. That's what Shawn Mendes, a 16-year old out of Ontario, Canada decided to do but in the most unusual of fashions: posting 6-second clips of him singing covers. Yes, using the power of the popular video-sharing app Vine, Mendes created multiple clips of him singing covers of hit songs which led to getting viral and in only a matter of months, acquired millions of followers. That was only one year ago, in the summer of 2013. Ever since Mendes has been signed to Island Records, become the youngest artist to chart a debut song on the Top 25 at nearly 16 years of age, amassed 1.5 million followers on Twitter, including a whopping 3 million on Vine, and is on tour currently with pop sensation Austin Mahone. With the music industry a bit tired of seeing almost identical clones of Bieber, with Mahone essentially leading the charge, what does Mendes bring to the table that makes him distinctive from all the others? In his self-titled debut EP, Shawn Mendes shys away from all the big-production pop sounds of Mahone and Bieber, opting out for more of an acoustic vibe which fits in well and shows some promising signs for the young Canadian pop singer.
The music business has seen too much of these Bieber clones: if it isn't Hunter Hayes with his charming looks in country, it's Austin Mahone with the same deal and boy-band music sounds of the early 2000's. Shawn Mendes may have those "charming" looks, and his own little fan army like the Mahomies for Austin, but he is really like the rest of these guys bombarding the industry? He actually is not, as Mendes opts for more of an acoustic flavor which is both refreshing and actually bearable and enjoyable: it's very distinctive and nothing like what guys like Mahone do in their material. "Show You" highlights the different musical style Mendes is pursuing, with a playful acoustic guitar playing by Mendes himself and not much added aside from drums and some whistling that gives it more of a folksy/indie flavor to the track. His vocals are pretty raw in this track, and it does get a bit corny in the end with Shawn singing pretty fast with his guitar in the background, but overall it is pretty solid. The lyrics are actually pretty thoughtful, while still incoporating the same ol' talk about gals that have been the headliner of many pop male artists like Mendes and Mahone. The best part, and the most surprising, part of the EP is how it's all written by Mendes himself. Yes, unlike the many pop artists who decide to hire songwriters to create them their material, both musically and lyrically, Shawn Mendes has decided to bring his own material to the table which is pretty impressive considering the fact that he hadn't written anything musically before prior to the EP. "Life Of The Party" is another standout, with a beautifully-played piano starting it off along with the passionate vocals from Mendes. It sounds more like a big-production track in the chorus with it's deep bass riffs, but it's the only time in the debut that has that feeling. "The Weight" and "One Of Those Nights" return to its acoustic roots, offering up decent lyrics in both tracks and showcases more of the rawness in Shawn's vocals. He could certainly improve vocally, but it seems that it fits with this particular musical style well and it isn't much of an issue here.
While "The Shawn Mendes EP" is a short offering of tracks, barely hitting the 15-minute mark, it does make up for quality and enjoyment. It's quite uncommon to say that about a pop male artist, especially one in his teens and has all the makings of another Justin Bieber, looks and fan army aside. Mendes doesn't look to the big-production pop sounds like Mahone or Ariana Grande, but he averts to an acoustic, almost "unplugged" kind of musical style which fits well with his vocals. His vocal range is a bit limited, and Shawn does do some of the stuff that you would expect from any pop artist in the EP, with his fast singing near the end of "Show You" a prime example. It's a little cheesy in those parts, but actually very mimimal compared to other pop material from males like Bieber and Mahone, where it is plagued throughout their material. Also the fact that all the material featured in the debut was his own and not created by others comes down as a big plus. It's definitely a solid start to the young Canadian's career, and if Shawn Mendes can replicate this surprising success with his debut album later in the next few months, he may just not be another Bieber clone and something much more than that.
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Album Rating: 3.0
Someone please fix up the album art here, it always keeps breaking up whenever I upload a photo file here.
I watched this guy during the Mahone tour, and he was first up. Performed all his tracks with only his guitar, and he did really well. His live vocals are almost identical to the studio version of the EP, he wasn't lip-syncing, so that was impressive to me. Call it gay or whatever, but after giving this debut EP a try (took about 10 listens to the whole thing before writing this up), I see some promising signs for him and his career.
Ariana Grande album is coming up next on my review radar, so stay tuned everyone!
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This site needs more unbiased pop reviews.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
@VaxXi: That's what I'm planning to offer here on my time in Sputnik. Undoubtedly I'll rip pop albums when it's due, but this is an exception. I thought that I was gonna hate this guy, but after seeing him perform live 2 weeks ago, I decided to look up his music and review it. It's definitely refreshing, it's not reminiscent of any earlier pop material like Mahone with Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, it's completely his own sound and distinctive.
Offer me any feedback everyone, it's most appreciated and will help me out alot. I'm planning on becoming a music journalist, so the feedback will go a long way for me!
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Cool beans, anyways ill look through here and see if I can offer anything!
Good luck!
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Great review SPR, pos'd. A few small corrections:
"but he is really like the rest of these guys bombarding the industry?"
is he
"to say that about a pop male artist, especially one in his teens and has all the makings of another Justin Bieber"
male pop artist sounds more natural than pop male artist
and; "teens 'that' has all the..." is correct over "teens 'and' has all the..." in this case.
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Life of the Party is actually a pretty decent tune.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
Wow, didn't expect that one to be the case. It is a pretty decent track, not the best, but hey: anything that's better than the usual generic pop stuff like from The Wanted or Bieber qualifies as a plus in my book.
Considering he's opening for Taylor Swift, Shawn Mendes has a bright future in 2015. Think about it, about a year and a half ago he was just an ordinary guy on social media. Now, he's all blown up and opening for probably the biggest music artist on the planet. Pretty damn incredible if you think about it. That's the power of social media right there.
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