SHAWN MENDES, ILLUMINATED

With his sophomore set Illuminate, which streeted 9/23, Island’s Shawn Mendes and his team hope to demonstrate a new level of musical and commercial growth.

Handwritten, Mendes’ 2015 debut set, bowed with 119k SPS and has sold 400k U.S.; it spawned the radio smash “Stitches,” which has sold 2.5m and racked up 217m audio streams. The new album, which features hit “Treat You Better,” finds the 18-year-old Canadian troubadour exploring new sonic terrain; its high-profile campaign reflects the label’s confidence that Mendes—a contender for a Best New Artist Grammy nom—is ready to reach a substantially bigger audience.

“I think he’s evolved exponentially,” asserts Island chief David Massey, who notes that Mendes—who was just 15 when he began recording Handwritten—has reached a new peak as a songwriter and musician at age 18. Strongly influenced by John Mayer and Ed Sheeran, the burgeoning teen phenom has incorporated classic soul and other genres into the new material and grown significantly as a vocalist, while his guitar chops reveal much time in the woodshed. He’s also proficient on piano and drums. “I’m not the most objective,” Massey allows, “but I’m very confident the world will recognize him as a serious musical contender.”

“This album for me was where I was really able to come into my own, and spend the time I needed to craft what I wanted to put out there as an artist,” muses Mendes. “Musically and creatively, the weeks we spent up in upstate New York recording [at Rhinebeck’s famed Clubhouse] were really formative; I learned so much about myself and my songwriting, and was able to put my heart into the project. I’m so proud of every single moment on the album.”

Co-writers and producers on the set include Teddy Geiger, Scott Harris, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Jake Gosling.

Massey points in particular to lead single “Mercy,” as well as “No Promises,” “Understand,” “Ruin” and “Don’t Be a Fool,” as evidence of the album’s depth. “Mercy” has already breached the Top 40 at Spotify.

The rollout for Illumination began with “Treat You Better,” which hit #1 at iTunes in more than two dozen and territories and has racked up 580k+ in U.S. sales and more than 77m audio streams. It recently moved into the Top 5 at Pop radio and Spotify. The video has garnered north of 175m YouTube views.

“I think Shawn’s going to be among the Top 10 biggest Spotify artists in the world this year, because he straddles the guitar and pop worlds; he’s been able to organically bridge that gap,” says Massey, who underscores the “entirely global” nature of the campaign, with “Mercy” set up to follow the same strong worldwide trajectory as “Treat You Better.” “The international component,” he insists, “is every bit as strong as the U.S.”

A 9/10 performance at Madison Square Garden—which sold out in five minutes—kicked off the next phase, with a marathon of major TV appearances including Fallon, Ellen and Today following; there will also be fan events covering what Massey describes as “a gamut of traditional and new-model experiences.” These include previews of the album for fans, to drive home that this is a cohesive work beyond its estimable singles.

While a stadium tour is in the offing for 2017, Mendes has been on the road for a sellout, global run of amphitheaters and arenas in the meantime.

“Even though Shawn’s music is maturing, we wanted to make sure we brought his fans along with him,” notes manager Andrew Gertler. “A big part of putting out and marketing this album has been maintaining that connection with his fans, because that’s what got him here. We’re very much leaning on his personal connection to really get the music out there.” Mendes, he says, has been adamant about reaching out to his fans via whatever social avenues they prefer, using Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat in different ways to maintain that connection. Gertler insists that the essence of that interaction is authenticity, that “the Shawn you know online is, when you see him live, that same person.”

“I feel like my fans have grown with me through this whole thing, and they really are there by my side all along the way,” Mendes points out. “I try my best to stay in touch with them, because they’re what got me here. As things have grown, I’ve been able to meet more fans in so many new cities, and there’s nothing better than that—playing shows and knowing there are people there who love and can relate to my music in so many different places around the world.”

And who are those fans? “Historically, the major core was 13-to-17-year-old girls,” says Gertler. “Before ‘Stitches’ became a big radio hit, he went on tour with Taylor Swift, and that was the bulk of it. But with the new music and his radio success and the branching out he’s been doing, his fans are kind of growing up with him, and that’s widening quite a bit” to include college-age fans and even moms and dads. “We think this album is going to continue that process of widening his fan base, which is now much more diverse in both age and gender,” Gertler adds. “Now we’re seeing young guy fans who want to play guitar and see Shawn as an idol.”

Massey has high praise for Gertler, whom he describes as “an up-and-coming manager who’s been a great partner to us,” as well as Island team members Ziggy Chareton (A&R) and VP Marketing Sharon Timure and the radio prowess of Republic prexy Charlie Walk and head of promo Gary Spangler.

Adds Island EVP/GM Eric Wong, “It has been an honor, not to mention great fun, to be part of the illumination ride, culminating in Shawn’s sold-out 38-city world tour of 2016. We are anticipating even greater achievements for Shawn with the release of his long-awaited second album this month.”

Mendes credits his management and label teams for helping him to this new creative and commercial plateau. “Andrew and his AG Artists team have been amazing in every way possible from day one; he’s had my back and been there to help me really bring my creative vision to life,” the artist notes. “Everyone on the Island Records team puts their all into this every day, so I’m so thankful for that. It’s been amazing working with them all, because everyone’s goal on our team is to deliver great music to my fans the way I want it, in creative terms. This campaign has been all about that, just showing people, ‘This is Shawn Mendes, the musician, the songwriter.’ It’s really exciting to be able to deliver exactly that.”