Shawn Mendes is the self-titled third studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter Shawn Mendes released on May 25, 2018 through Island Records. If you don't know who Shawn Mendes is or you have been a fan of him since one day, then you should definitely go and give his new album a listen.
In My Blood serves as the opening track for Shawn Mendes. This song is described as a "rock ballad" while also sticking to Shawn's acoustic roots as he sings about struggling with anxiety with lyrics like, "Laying on my bathroom floor, feeling nothing/ I'm overwhelmed and insecure, give me something/ I could take to ease my mind slowly", and, "Help me, it's like the walls are caving in/ Sometimes I feel like giving up/ No medicine is strong enough/ Someone help me/ I'm crawling in my skin/ Sometimes I feel like giving up/ But I just can't", before singing on the chorus with, "It isn't in my blood/ It isn't in my blood".
Also, watch the music video for "In My Blood" either on here down below or on YouTube.
Nervous is a pop song that talks about having butterflies when it comes to being around your crush. He begins with, "I saw you on a Sunday in the café/ And all you did was look my way/ And my heart started to race/ And my hands started to shake, yeah/ I heard you asked about me through a friend/ My adrenaline kicked in/ 'Cause I've been askin' bout you too/ And now we're out here in this room", and continues into the chorus with, "I get a little bit nervous around you/ Get a little bit stressed out when I think about you/ Get a little bit excited/ Baby, when I think about you, yeah/ Talk a little too much around you/ Get a little self-conscious when I think about you/ Get a little bit excited/ Baby, when I think about you, yeah/ Yeah, when I think about you, babe". Fun Fact: Nervous was co-written by "Issues" singer and songwriter Julia Michaels.
Lost In Japan is a R&B song with heavy-beats as the singer expressing his commitment to his lover by showing his desire by going into the other side of the world. On the first verse, he sings, "All it'd take is one flight/ We'd be in the same time zone/ Looking through your timeline/ Seeing all the rainbows, I/ I got an idea/ And I know that it sounds crazy/ I just wanna see ya/ Oh, I gotta ask", and then continues with, "Do you got plans tonight?/ I'm a couple hundred miles from Japan, and I/ I was thinking I could flying to your hotel tonight/ 'Cause I-I-I can't get you off my mind/ Can't get you off my mind/ Can't get you off my mind (oh)".
Where Were You In The Morning is where Mendes talks about a one night stand that may be based on his real life experiences singing, "You said, "I wanna get to know ya"/ Why you gotta get your hopes up?/ You said that you were staying over/ But then I woke up to the cold air", before singing on the chorus with, "Where were you in the morning, baby?/ You didn't leave your number for me/ Left me without a warning, baby/ Where were you in the morning, baby?", and then sings on the post-chorus with the lyrics, "How do you, how do you just walk away?/ How do you, how do you just walk away?"
Like To Be You featuring Julia Michaels is where the two singers begin talk to each other back and forth using the song's lyrics throughout the track. Shawn starts off the first verse with, "Don't cry" - do, whatever makes you comfortable/ I'm tired too, there's nothin' left to say/ Let's call a truce, 'cause I don't really wanna go to/ Bed like this", and then Julia comes in on the second verse singing, "Can I kiss you or not? 'Cause I'm not really sure right now of/ What you want, are you still mad at me?/ I'm hopin' not, 'cause maybe we could go to the movies/ I know that always cheers us up, hey". Finally, Shawn and Julia come together on the chorus with the lyrics, "I don't know what it's like to be you/ I don't know what it's like but I'm dying to/ If I could put myself in your shoes/ Then I'd know what it's like to be you".
Fallin' All In You is a pop ballad song that was written with the help of singer Ed Sheeran. Shawn belts out on the chorus with, "You are bringing out a different kind of me/ There's no safety net that's underneath/ I'm free/ Falling all in you/ Fell for men who weren't how they appear/ Trapped up on a tightrope now we're here/ We're free/ Falling all in you".
On "Particular Taste", Shawn sings about a girl who seems to be very 'particular' when it comes to certain things. He sings on the first verse with, "She don't listen to a thing, 'less it feels right/ Only dances when it's Kanye/ She could take you one-on-one if she feels like/ You'll be begging her for mercy, mercy", and then continues with the chorus lyrics like, "She's got particular taste, yeah/ She's so obsessed with the chase, yeah/ She don't waste time on conversations, no/ She just goes right for the face, oh/ She's so particular". On the second verse, this girl is still acting like things in her life have to be perfect singing, "Never pickin' up her phone ' less it rings twice/ Only answers with a question, "Mhm?"/ If I try to play it cool, it never goes right/ Got me drowin', drowin', uh".
On "Why", Mendes sings about an undeniable attraction between him and a girl with the lyrics, "I know a girl, she's like a curse/ We want each other, no one will break first/ So many nights, trying to find someone new/ They don't mean nothing compared to her, and I know", and, "When people ask about us, now, we just brush it off/ I don't know why we act like it means nothing at all/ I wish that I could tell you that you're all that I want, yeah". Then Shawn begins to question their relationship singing on the chorus, "Why do we put each other through hell?/ Why can't we just get over ourselves?/ And you say "hi" like/ You just met me/ Why do we put each other through hell?/ Why can't we just get over ourselves?/ Why can't we just get over ourselves?"
Because I Had You talks about a guy who sees a girl moving on with another guy that he thought wasn't right for her even after he'd broken her heart. On the first verse, Shawn tells the girl, "I think it's time that I be honest/ Should've told you not to go/ Thought I knew just what I wanted/ I didn't know myself at all", and continues with, "You're with somebody I can't be, yeah/ But I can tell that you're happy". Shawn is finally starting to realize that he has a second chance with this girl singing on the chorus, "It's time for me to finally meet somebody new/ Take her to all the places that I took us to/ And she might help me forget/ But loving her is something I could never do/ Because I had, because I had you".
Queen is about when someone acts stuck-up and believes in their mind that they have more power over everyone else. Shawn sings on the first verse with, "It's hard to believe that you don't remember me at all/ Am I hard to recognize?/ You say, "nice to meet you" every time/ Yeah and I made me laugh/ I still remember what you said/ Guess I shouldn't be surprised/ You say, "nice to meet you" every time", and then continues with, "I know that we got a lot of mutual friends/ Don't say my name, don't come up in your conversations/ Yeah". Then the singer asks this girl who made her the "queen" on the chorus, "Who crowned you queen of/ You think that you're too cool?/ Making beautiful look ugly/ The way you put yourself above me/You treat me like I got nothing on you/ Making beautiful look ugly/ You ain't the ruler of my country/ Who made you the queen?"
Youth featuring Khalid was inspired by the tragic events of the Manchester bombing. Shawn and Khalid sing together on the first verse with, "Here I am, stuck on this couch/ Scrolling through my notes/ Heart was broken, still not growing, nah/ Waking up to headlines, filled with devastation again/ My heart is broken/ But I keep going", and then they say on the chorus, "You can't take my youth away/ This soul of mine will never break/ As long as I wake up today/ You can't take my youth away/ You can't take my youth away/ This soul of mine will never break/ As long as I wake up today/ You can't take my youth away/ You can't take my youth away".
Mutual is a guitar and drum based track with a simple message: If you don't love back, leaving may be the only option. Shawn opens up on the first verses with, "I want you close to me/ I want you close, I want you closer/ But when you're here with me/ It's hard to tell just what you're after", and then he continues with, "I need to know/ If this is mutual/ Before I go/ And get way too involved/ I want you bad/ Can you reciprocate?/ No, I don't want to have to leave/ But half of you's not enough for me".
Perfectly Wrong describes an ill-fated relationship from Shawn's perspective. This song also takes inspiration from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet with the lyrics, "Taste the poison from your lips/ Lately, we're as good as gone". Then Mendes continues on to the chorus singing, "You're perfectly wrong for me/ And that's why it's so hard to leave/ Yeah, you're perfectly wrong for me/ You're perfectly wrong for me/ All the stars in the sky could see/ Why, you're perfectly wrong for me".
When You're Ready is the final song on Shawn Mendes. It talks about how this girl is not ready to be committed in a relationship with Shawn, but whenever she's ready, he will still be waiting for her when the time is right. He sings on the chorus, "Baby, tell me when you're ready/ I'm waiting/ Baby, any time you're ready/ I'm waiting/ Even ten years from now/ If you haven't found somebody/ I promise, I'll be around/ Tell me when you're ready/ I'm waiting".
I love Shawn Mendes' album. He is a very talented artist. His music is very good, but also different. And the lyrics on some of his songs are so relatable to his own personal experiences with life. I give the Shawn Mendes album a 5/5. So, make sure that you go and support this artist by purchasing the Shawn Mendes album on Amazon Music, Spotify, ITunes and Google Play. Here are the links for it:
