Today, we are talking up “Mercy,” Shawn Mendes’ third hit in the past two years, a terrific, solid, Top 40 song about youth and passion. Mendes sounds masculine yet vulnerable, with a vibe that harkens back to the Skylarks huge 1973 hit “Wildflower,” a ballad with its own mellow, soulful sound that is frequently covered, and even sampled (by Eminem).
Shawn Mendes is a good looking, buff, talented 18-year-old Canadian singer/songwriter with star-power, and who is unusually mature and articulate for his age. In the music video, he sings and plays the piano, drums and guitar.
While watching the video, I thought back that for most of my life, hit songs were sung by people “about my age” —the Beatles were in their early 20s when I was a teen; when Linda Ronstadt was in her 30s, so was I; when Bruce Springsteen was in his 40s, so was everybody else. Boomers were 50 when Paul McCartney, also in his 50s, was touring.
Today, the pop music tableau skews much younger and even though Shawn Mendes and I are generations apart, I fully appreciate his talent, and his being this good so young.
Interesting to know: Mendes’ fellow Canadians include Drake, Justin Bieber, The Weekend, Michael Buble and newcomers Alessia Cara and Country duo High Valley.