On December 4, 2020, at midnight, Shawn Mendes released his fourth album, “Wonder.” The album includes 13 songs, and two of those songs feature top artists Justin Bieber and Camila Cabello.

The music of Mendes, a 22-year-old singer-songwriter from Toronto, is inspired by 60’s instrumentals as well as several music artists and their songs. 

Shawn Mendes got his fame at the early age of 15 years old, being the youngest in a group of nine boys who made 15 to 30 second videos while singing cover songs, which were posted on Vine. This group quickly gained a lot of attention from the media. Shawn Mendes was noticed by big celebrities at the time. From there, he made albums and began touring with MAGCON, a group of young online stars. Being 15 years old, balancing his social media platform, school, and music career got overwhelming. In 2017, he left MAGCON to pursue his music career.

After leaving MAGCON, Mendes released his second album called “Illuminate,” and in 2019, he released his third album “Shawn Mendes.” The other boys from the MAGCON group stuck to pursuing social media careers. Soon after Shawn left, the MAGCON boy group split and went their separate ways. They still post on their social media and YouTube accounts, get promotions, and make 15 to 30 second videos.

While being interviewed on Spotify, Shawn Mendes stated that his song “I can’t imagine” was inspired by Led Zeppelin and its chord progression. Another song he was inspired by was “Are you gonna be my girl” by Jet, because that song made him feel freer with himself. In his Spotify interview, Shawn Mendes said, “Although the album and songs may not sound like it, I kept going back to that song to keep [my] energy up.”

I love his new album because of the instrumental touch, which gives free vibes. His album is one you can listen to while blasting it through your car radio with the windows down. Shawn Mendes never fails me when it comes to his music. I cannot wait for what else he is working on, whether it is a new song, album, part two to his documentary, or a cover to a song.