2016 might have been a regrettable year for some, but at least it produced Shawn Mendes’s second album, Illuminate. The 15 song pop album was released on Sept. 23 by Island Records and rightfully debuted as his second number one album on the Billboard 200.
At just 18 years of age, Shawn Mendes has ascended to success from his Vine roots, and shed his Bieber comparisons with his second album, a mixture of John Mayer and Ed Sheeran vibes. Aside from comparisons, he is growing his own slow jamming, electric guitar ballad sound.
The title Illuminate, gives meaning to the contents of his album, “It’s a little dark, but when people are going through rough times in their life, music is kind of the biggest thing that sheds light on people through their dark times. And that was kind of where we were coming from,” Mendes said in an iHeart Radio interview.
“Ruin” starts the album off with a steady blues influenced by a drum beat, and Mendes’ soulful voice trying to win an unnamed girl over (a position that many listeners would love to be in). From then on, it becomes clear that his second album will be significantly more mature than his first
Handwritten, his first album, was written when he was 15, and Illuminate was written in his later teens. Not only does the transition between the two reflect his melodic and vocal growth, but also his growth into adulthood as well. His evolution can be listened to like two separate diaries from some of his most evolutionary years.
He transitions from charmingly singing “if this is what it’s like falling in love then I don’t ever want to grow up” (“Kid in Love” from Handwritten), to pleading with someone to “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” (“Mercy” from Illuminate). Despite never wanting to grow up in his first album, his new lyrics show that he has experienced love with heartache, not just the puppy love induced butterflies.
Even more drastic, are his more intimate lyrics like “I like the vibe in this hotel room” and “all of my friends seen her naked/ or so the story goes.” But just as Mendes has been maturing, so has his audience, which makes the listen even more special. It would be disappointing if he tried to maintain his younger lyrics and pretend that change never happens.
His passion driven velvety voice carries effortlessly throughout the entire album, which listens like comfort food for the ears, and even features a spontaneous spoken word portion in “Understand”, one of the most self-revealing songs on the album.
Illuminate is a solid second album that will not only please past fans, but win over new ones. It is not mindblowing, but because of its positive reception, obvious progression, and emotionally crafted melodies, it is a four out of five stars album. If this is how his second album came out, his third album will surely twinkle one star brighter. Fans can only imagine how smooth he will sound in his 2017 world tour.
