Though they might equal other concert crowds in capacity, fans who come to see teen heartthrobs are able to reach a different volume level than any other audience — a phenomenon that was certainly in effect during Shawn Mendes‘ stop in Nashville last night for his self-titled tour.
While Mendes is 20 years old and no longer an official teenager, many of his fans have been with him since his very first album, Handwritten, released in 2015. On Friday night, those fans were clearly proud of him, passionately singing along to every song and expressing their love for the Canadian star at any given chance. When he asked them to wave their arms, they happily obliged; and when he blew them kisses, they swooned and eagerly returned them.
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Mendes arrived on stage with recent single “Lost in Japan” and the crowd brought the energy instantly, filling the room with sound as they jumped along to the beat. During his second song, “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back,” Mendes held his microphone out for the crowd to sing the words for him and seemed elated when they did so, as if there had been any question as to whether or not they knew the words.
Each member of the audience was equipped with a light-up bracelet that changed color depending on the song being played, casting an appropriately pink glow during “Nervous” and a soft blue cast during the ballad, “Never Be Alone.” While these lights were flashing, the screen behind Mendes alternated between showing a live feed of his face and scenery matching the song in question, whether that be flowers, planets, sunsets or colorful abstract art.
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The stage production was sparse, with just Mendes and his band on stage without any props or accessories. That simplicity is part of the singer’s appeal, and his audience doesn’t come to see elaborate props or visuals, they come to see a young man and his guitar, an experience Mendes expertly delivered on.
His voice sounded clear and strong and he often moved into his falsetto, which caused the audience to erupt in fresh screams each time, especially during the whistling “Particular Taste.” Dressed in painted-on jeans and a sleeveless collared shirt he later removed to reveal a second sleeveless shirt, Mendes oozed confidence, the result of years on the road and crowds full of fans who can’t get enough of him. With three albums of material to mine from, the 20-year-old did a solid job of giving the fans what they came to hear along with promoting his latest album, 2018’s Shawn Mendes.
Several songs received slight production updates, with Mendes adding a bit of a rock edge to early hit “Stitches” and turning the sultry “Señorita” into a very brief piano ballad before returning to strumming his guitar. In the middle of his set, Mendes hit the B Stage in the middle of the crowd, a circular platform at the center of which stood a giant light-up flower that reached almost to the ceiling. He began his time on the smaller stage at the piano, thoughtfully playing a medley featuring one song from each of his album for any newbies in the audience, which, judging by the screams when asked, were many — or else his fans just couldn’t help but scream at anything he said.
Mendes seemed especially pleased to be playing in Music City and professed his love for Nashville several times throughout the evening, even sharing that thinks the city has “the best fried potatoes in the entire world.” He also conceded that the Nashville Predators are an “incredible hockey team,” which means a lot coming from someone who hails from Toronto.
Interestingly, his penultimate song was a cover of Coldplay’s “Fix You,” which Mendes described as “one of [his] favorite songs of all time.” He sat at the piano as a the crowd sang along, although to a much lesser degree than previous songs that night. For his final number, the rousing “In My Blood,” the screen behind him moved up to reveal a wall of lights that gave the stage much more depth and turned it from production befitting a smaller venue to a true arena show. He saved the special effects for last, with confetti shooting from the ceiling and smoke from the stage as the song came to its conclusion.
When he spoke to the crowd, he did so candidly and easily, admitting that while he does say “I love you” to almost every crowd (and means it), he had a special message for Nashville — telling the audience that there’s “magic in the city.”
“We have the music, we have the lights, we have the cameras, but the most incredible part of my show, the most amazing part every single time, is you guys,” he continued before asking the crowd to continue singing as loud as they could — which, to no surprise, they were happy to do.
Photo Credit: PopCulture.com/John Connor Coulston
