“Shawn” - Shawn Mendes Album Review

Shawn Mendes finally released his fifth studio album “Shawn” on Nov. 15, 2024, after an initial delay. After a four-year gap since his last album, many fans were excited to hear what Shawn had in store.

Shawn released four singles leading up to the full release of the project, so there was a pretty good sense as to what the album would sound like. The whole album is very heavily folk-inspired, a twist from Shawn’s traditional pop style.

The subject matter is clearly very meaningful to him and comes across as extremely raw. At the album’s release, Shawn took to Instagram with the message, “This album is about letting go of, and remembering who I am. It’s been my own personal medicine. I hope you love it.” Many of the tracks feel almost as if Shawn is in the room, telling a story or sharing his thoughts and feelings.

This is an album about self-discovery, with Shawn calling it his “most musically intimate and lyrically honest work to date.” There is not a lot held back in terms of the subject matter and how he truly feels.

“Why Why Why” is the most upbeat song on the album. The title is very fitting, and as the second song in the tracklist, it sets the stage well for Shawn to answer the question “Why?” throughout the rest of the album.

The most powerful chorus comes from the song “Heavy,” another very fittingly titled song. In the transition from the gentle guitar strumming to the much more intense guitar and layered vocals, the song certainly does feel “heavy.”

“The Mountain” is a song that absolutely cannot go without being mentioned. The lyrics repeat many times over again, “You can say…,” at which point Shawn fills in an anecdote that people may say about him. However, through a personal journey that it seems Shawn has gone through, he has learned that what people say about him doesn’t matter, stating in the final lyrics of the track, “But I’ve never been better, so call it what you want.”

Shawn also released a live version of “The Mountain” where he literally sings the song from the top of a mountain.

The final song on the album is a beautifully done cover of one of the most covered songs of all time, “Hallelujah.” While the rendition surely has its own “Shawn” charm to it, it remains faithful without straying too far from the original masterpiece. It serves as a great closing track to the project.

At 12 songs and only 30 minutes long, the album is relatively short. Two of the songs are less than two minutes long, and only one song, the cover of “Hallelujah,” is over three minutes long.

Some of the songs on the album also sound very similar to each other. Many of the tracks are nothing too groundbreaking but are more so very solid tunes that sound familiar. This leaves the replayability of the album as a whole to be questionable.

With that being said, there are still many fun and soulful tracks that are worth revisiting.

Shawn has most definitely poured his soul into this body of work. From heartbreak to maturity and growth, it is great to see this new direction that Shawn is taking in not only his music career but his life as well.

Rating: 7/10

Reviewer’s Favorite Song(s): “Hallelujah”

Reviewer’s Least Favorite Song(s): “That’s The Dream”

Noah Vickery is a second-year majoring in communications. To contact him, email nmv5292@psu.edu.