In the surge of up and coming artists, one has notably risen above them all, ceaselessly taking music and his portrayal of it to a greater level. His name? Shawn Mendes.

Shawn Peter Raul Mendes was born on August 8th, 1998 in the town of Pickering, Ontario. His achievements, although already exceptionally impressive, are more so when you take his young age into consideration. For some background, let’s start off with the early stages of his career.

The single that kickstarted his career, Life of the Party, (released back in June of 2014), debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 24 around two weeks after release. This would consequently result in Shawn becoming the youngest artist to debut in the top 25 with a debut song. Since then, it’s been a whirlwind. From platinum and gold certified singles and albums, the selling out of eminent arenas in their entirety, it’s safe to say he’s undoubtedly amassed a tremendous amount of support throughout the world.

Not only is he remarkable in a musical sense, but his heart of gold and utter humility is evident when it comes down to it. He’s a charitable artist, having donated over $100,000 to the Mexico City earthquake relief efforts back in September. As of December 2017, he is an ambassador for “Hear The World Foundation”, a nonprofit organization working to improve the quality of life for those with hearing loss.

As for the future, Shawn is said to be releasing his new album this year, featuring long awaited tracks and possible collaborations. He will not be touring this year, but will make appearances at a few different festivals and shows (of which include Smukfest and Summer Sonic).

So, what is it about Shawn Mendes that is so captivating? Regardless of the reason (or plethora of), he is indisputably a force to be reckoned with, and I’m thrilled to see where his career takes off from here.