Shawn Mendeswas the life of the party over the weekend when he kicked offShawn Mendes: The Tour.
The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter’s third headlining tour got off to a strong start with two sold out-shows in Amsterdam at the Ziggo Dome, as well as a sold-out show at Sportpaleis Antwerpen in Antwerp.
Mendes has booked 95 arena and stadium dates spanning from March through December, with special guest openerAlessia Carajoining for the European, U.K. and North American dates.
The North American leg of the tour will conclude in his native Toronto for a sold-out show at Rogers Centre before heading to Australia, New Zealand and wrapping in South America.
Shawn Mendes kicks off stadium tour with three sold-out shows.Josiah Van Dien
Before embarking on the tour to promote his self-titled albumShawn Mendes, the “Lost In Japan” singer revealed he was inspired to push his limits to see “what I was capable of doing a little bit more.”
“I found myself listening to a lot more rock and urban hip-hop music,” he previously told PEOPLE. “One day I would create a rock song, and the next day I would create more of an R&B song. The whole album is this really big mixture of things, which I’m really excited about.”
“I realized that all of the genre walls — like people who say, ‘I only listen to country music’ or ‘I only listen to rap music’ — it’s kind of non-existent at this point because everybody listens to everything,” Mendes, 20, added. “Everything was written from my heart and my story, and that’s what keeps the music cohesive.”
Shawn Mendes kicks off stadium tour with three sold-out shows.
With a desire to “experiment with rock,” the musician said he was a firm believer in taking chances in order to benefit him in the future.
“It’s really interesting, at 19, this album is super all over the place, which is really cool for me,” Mendes said. “When I look back, I’ll be excited to see that when I was 19 I wasn’t stuck in one genre; rather, I was experimental and exploring music and my taste.”
“I feel like out of all my albums, this is the most honest and truthful one yet,” he continued. “It’s so easy to fall into the trap of taking yourself too seriously.”
After rising to fame on the now-defunct social media platform Vine, Mendes released his debut album,Handwritten, in 2015. His breakout single “Stitches” hit the Billboard Top 40, and his sophomore record,Illuminate, launched him from pop heartthrob to celebrated singer-songwriter.
The newfound famefueled his anxiety— and inspired his third album’s lead single, “In My Blood.”
“The biggest thing for me was not holding it all in,” Mendes explained. “Letting it all out and talking with my friends and family, being really present and not putting myself into this personal, dark thing. After I released ‘In My Blood,’ so many people texted me saying how much it meant to them — people that I never even knew struggled with things like anxiety — and it was a really eye-opening experience for me.”
For all tour dates and ticket info visitshawnmendesthetour.com.
source: people.com
