Shawn Mendes was riding high this month when his second album, Illuminate, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart and made him only the second male artist to have two No. 1 albums by the age of 18.
Then, Justin Bieber — the other male artist to have achieved that feat — urged his 88.7 million Twitter followers to buy Illuminate. “Shawn Mendes voice makes me smile,” he tweeted.
It wasn’t enough to keep Mendes on top (Illuminate fell to No. 6 on the Billboard chart after only a week) but we’re still loving the single “Treat You Better” and the hot photos for L’Uomo Vogue.
So, what have we learned this month about this talented 18-year-old Canadian?
He still gets nervous about performing
“I always am whenever I step onto a stage, although now I’m more aware and confident,” he told L’Uomo Vogue. “How do I beat the tension? I prepare my voice by eating manuka honey according to grandmother’s recipe. And then I isolate my mind, focusing only on the music.”
He wasn’t completely honest in “Honest”
In the break-up song from Illuminate, Mendes sings: “Can you meet me down on Adelaide Street?”
“I was Google-mapping streets in Toronto when I was writing ‘Honest.’ I was like, I’ve gotta make this personal,” he told Ryan Porter of the Toronto Star.
“And I was like, Adelaide Street! I know that street, because my dad sells bar and restaurant supplies. I guess it was a pretty shady thing as a songwriter.”
He doesn’t read books
“My favorite book? I don’t read much, I don’t have the time,” he told L’Uomo Vogue. “But I’m not at all happy about that: I want to read more, it’s a promise I made to myself, I think it’s important.”
He never dated Camila Cabelo
“A thing? No, we weren’t, actually,” Mendes told People. “We’re just really close friends. She is one of those people who is just very easy to connect with and still, to this day, is one of my greatest friends. You find that instant connection with people, and she’s one of them.
“We’re not dating — nor did we.”
He had a dream about another Canadian star
On Oct. 6, Mendes told fans on Twitter: "Had a dream i was playing soccer and on the way to the bathroom i saw Drake, so i introduced myself to him and he had no clue who i was so i Went on to say "im from Toronto you know! The guy who sings Stitches" and hes like ah cool i dont know that track. I was heartbroken. Even though, i still told kids not to go up to the porta potty door and try to listen LOL."