Shawn Mendes. Now that’s a name that I’ve been hearing quite a lot these past few months. Of course, like Justin Bieber, I didn’t pay much attention to him. I thought his music was not really “my style”. I know, I know. I’m kind of quick to judge when it comes to music. I don’t know what factors make me decide whether or not to listen to an artist. Sometimes I judge them by their names, their debut single’s title, their genre, their physical appearance, their music video, etc. It really depends.
As usual, I came across Shawn Mendes’s “Stitches” accidentally. I was looking for Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” and this song by Shawn Mendes was waving at me on the side, at the ‘suggested songs’ area. So, as part of my New Year’s Resolution of giving other artists a chance, I thought I should give this Canadian dude a try as well. At first, I had no idea what to expect. At the back of my head, I was expecting something Justin Bieber-like, possibly during his “Baby” days. I braced myself and waited for some sugary, pop beat to play. What I heard was the soft and sweet sound of the piano and Shawn Mendes’s stripped down voice. I’m not good at describing voices and stuff like that, but Shawn Mendes’s voice is comparable to some 90’s boyband member that I can’t quite pinpoint. All throughout the song, Shawn Mendes never failed to take my breath away with his powerful vocals, accompanied by the calming and resonating sound of the piano. The melody and harmony was just perfect. It was like apple and cinnamon; peanut butter and jelly; a cup of tea and scones. :)
Although I couldn’t relate much to the lyrics, it is very catchy and easy to remember. I read somewhere that Shawn Mendes “really want to write a song where the bridge is a repetitive something, that just drills itself into your head”. The lines “Got a feeling that I'm going under, But I know that I'll make it out alive, If I quit calling you my lover, Move on…” definitely did that. After listening to the song just for a couple of times, I found myself singing those lines again and again. Shawn Mendes also mentioned that he was a bit hesitant in singing a song that he didn’t pen himself. However, after listening to this wonderful tune, penned by Daniel Parker, Teddy Geiger and Daniel Kyriakides, he “fell in love”.
I don’t usually watch music videos unless I really, really like the artist. I was kind of curious what kind of video Shawn Mendes shot for this amazing tune. It showed him in an empty parking lot getting hit, repeatedly, by an unseen force, therefore getting bruises and wounds. I have to say, Shawn Mendes’s acting skill is pretty good for someone who probably doesn’t do a lot of acting. He explained the music video’s concept in an interview saying that it was just him “getting beaten up by this thing that you can't see”. He added, “It was really fun. I got to do some acting in it and learn how to 'pretend' get hit. I love acting. I wanted to be an actor for a long time before I thought about singing. So I think definitely I'd love to be in movies.” Well, kudos to you Shawn Mendes! I’m pretty sure it won’t be long until we see you in a TV series or a movie. I actually like the concept and story of the video because it’s simple, yet it signifies something. It’s not one of those music videos that don’t really have a connection to the song and would make me say “What was that all about?”afterwards.
To be honest, the acoustic version was the one that got me lovin' the song. I listened to the original a few days after getting hooked on the acoustic version. The original turned out to be more upbeat, but I liked it nevertheless. I suddenly realized that I’m getting more into acoustic versions of songs nowadays. First, it was Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean” and “Love Yourself” and now it’s Shawn Mendes’s “Stitches”. I read somewhere that Shawn Mendes is “better than Bieber”. Well, I’m not so sure about that. I’ve only listened to one song so it’s quite too early to judge. However, I have to say that I’m still on a “Justin Bieber high” right now, so I might be biased. Moreover, I don’t think they are comparable.
Shawn Mendes is definitely on my “watch list” and I’m looking forward to hearing more awesome songs from him.
