Throwback to that Time I went to a Shawn Mendes Show

I wrote this blog post back in December  (2019) when I went to a Shawn Mendes show. Little did I know that'd be my last concert for awhile.  I was supposed to go to a Snoh Aalegra show in San Diego last week (March 2020) but obviously that got cancelled.  Here's the post!

So I went to the last show of Shawn Mendes’s world tour, in Mexico City. Yea, I planned my holiday flight itinerary around it, I’m not here to talk about that. What I DO want to start with first and foremost is telling you about how Shawn Mendes really played me right from the jump. I cannot explain the heartbreak I felt when I walked up to the venue at exactly 8:30p, crossed the stadium lot (which was empty since everybody that wasn’t me was smart enough to show up on time), and heard the stadium go apeshit. From the screams I knew that Shawn Mendes had obviously just hit the stage, and I could have gotten over that, except HE OPENED WITH MY FAVORITE SONG. The audacity. By the time I jogged into the stadium and found my seat (literally RAN my lanky ass halfway around the arena to get to my section), he was just finishing the opening number. Ugh. I tried to mentally shake myself out of it to enjoy the rest of the show, but I BOUGHT THESE TICKETS MONTHS AGO, AND ‘LOST IN JAPAN’ IS THE REASON I WANTED TO COME TO THIS SHOW. I will never get over this.

It gets better, though. Throughout the show I was constantly reminded how many dope Shawn Mendes songs there are, so I was appeased. I didn’t realize how much of a bop “Mutual” is, and in general seeing him live helped me gain a new appreciation for his ability to write melodies. The treatments/arrangements of his songs are nothing special, but the vocal melodies are better than your average Top 40 song. If he mixed it up with maybe some live instrumentation, real background vocals or interesting percussive choices (or look, honestly, just him and a guitar and skip the extra pop fluff), he could really have some Grammy heat in the future.

Unrelated sidebar: The woman sitting next to me was cracking me up. I went to the show by myself and thought the woman next to me did as well, but she kind of folded her arms the whole time and not visibly enjoying the show. I thought maybe she’s just uptight and self conscious about going to the show alone, but then I noticed her constantly peeking a few seats down with a concerned look on her face. Like the look your momma gives you when you actin up in church and she’s like 20 sections from yankin you outta the sanctuary and making your regret giggling in the pew with your cousins during the sermon (not that I would know from personal experience).  Anyway, I think was chaperoning some kind of date night for her child or something. She did not look thrilled about it.

IMAGE:

Okay, I know this Mendes kid is corny and his core fanbase are preteens who have a crush on him (hey, whatever sells tickets) but that says nothing about his musical talent. I think the general public (or people who are fans of pop music the way I am) tend to overlook artists like Shawn Mendes. When I first heard “Stitches” on the radio I wasn’t exactly wow-ed. Okay, it’s a catchy tune, but whatever. I think Shawn Mendes didn’t catch my ear until “Treat You Better” (if you haven’t seen Jojo’s cover, check out) and I didn’t take him seriously until I first heard “Lost in Japan” and “Where Were You In the Morning?”. He’s got some sauce that goes above the heads of his core fan base, and he may never be appreciated fully until he finds a way to tap into black audiences. (Cuz we’re the ones who get it, Shawn. We grew up on Boyz II Men and Usher, game recognize game.)

Pro-tip, though Shawn. Black people are not going to put up with the fact that you rely on your audience to sing half your lyrics. We paid money to hear those chops live! You can get away with the excessive crowd participation for a song or two, or maybe on a couple punchy lines if you’re a rap artist, but black people aren’t paying money to scream your lyrics in a crowd. We need you to take us to church. (And I know you can, I heard your lil vibrato, your mic was loud bro. I guess it has to be to be heard over the crowd at your shows.)

I also gotta comment on how sweet and endearing it was that Shawn Mendes seemed to be truly excited to do what he does, to enjoy being on stage, and really wanted to connect with the audience. Seeing people like that really makes me think I need to reset my energy in life, because 2019 has not been the business and I have not been the most free, happy, positive person I could be. Gotta get back to the old Aja. But I digress.

Also he did a piano cover of “Fix You” and almost got me with that one. Dammit, Shawn, I’m a sucker, don’t try and take me out the game like that. I can’t be out in Mexico City lookin like a punk in front of all of these fourteen year olds and their parents.

MUSIC:

The kid has a good voice. He’s got excellent tone quality and can maintain vocal control even after jumping around the stage in excitement and getting moved to tears by the crowd’s energy.

My biggest request for Shawn Mendes is PUH-LEEEASE expand your fan base by singing more R&B. I know he did that one collab with Khallid, but that was like a slightly experimental kind of pop, and I wouldn’t consider that an R&B collaboration just because the other singer was a black artist. I know it sounds silly to tell a huge pop star to think about expanding their fanbase but Shawn Mendes has enough sauce to make it work. If Justin Bieber can do it Shawn Mendes can. (Musically, we’re not commenting on the rest of Justin Bieber’s life right now.) Maybe like one more heartbreak or janky situation and a couple more tattoos and he could make something that sounds a little more grown, I know he can do it, and I’m ready!

And Señorita is a wack ass song. I said it.