It's time to count down my top 40 Shawn songs! I've got a list, and I'm still not even sure I 100% agree with it because seeing any song as low as #40 is torture lmao, but I'll start counting down very soon~

 

Feel free to give your own thoughts on each song as we go, and I hope this is a nice trip down memory lane from the last three wonderful eras of music Shawn has given us, and maybe even an introduction to some of his earliest album tracks if you've yet to go back to the likes of his first EP, Handwritten (and Revisited), or even Illuminate!

 

I have a feeling there'll be some ~unpopular choices~ here too, so get ready!!

I'm looking forward to this!

 

Perhaps you could put your list of songs into this site: https://czeckd.github.io/preference-revealer/dist/ (just for yourself to see!) and it might help you feel firmer on the positions of certain songs?

 

I'll try and use this thread as an opportunity to revisit his first album era, which I didn't during the album rate

I'm looking forward to this!

 

Perhaps you could put your list of songs into this site: https://czeckd.github.io/preference-revealer/dist/ (just for yourself to see!) and it might help you feel firmer on the positions of certain songs?

 

I'll try and use this thread as an opportunity to revisit his first album era, which I didn't during the album rate

There may be another opportunity to familiarise yourself with the Handwritten era coming up! :o

 

I took your advice though and sorted the songs out with the preference revealer, and it came out with (mostly) the same results, so I'm just gonna go with it. First couple of songs coming up shortly :cool:

 

39 Like to Be You (feat. Julia Michaels)

from Shawn Mendes: The Album

 

40 Perfectly Wrong

from Shawn Mendes: The Album

 

Let's get this underway! Expect some crazy fanboy commentaries, because this was honestly so difficult sorting these songs out into a list because there isn't a Shawn song that I'll go on record saying I actively dislike with a passion. At the bottom of the list we have two songs from the self-titled album; the first of those being Perfectly Wrong. Placed towards the very end of the album, Perfectly Wrong lets us relax for a moment and take in a beautiful ballad after Youth and Queen. This is such a beautiful song, and although not his strongest ballad to date, Shawn does a fine job of reminding us that he can deliver with softer, vulnerable tracks like this. The juxtaposition of somebody being perfectly wrong for him as laid out in the lyrics prove that his songwriting becomes stronger with each new era, and as Perfectly Wrong builds to its dreamy yet powerful final chorus, we're led on a real journey throughout leaving us hollow by the end, but in a good way. It's an emotional one, but surely one that a lot of people can find themselves relating to.

 

Being an artist with so few collaborations in his discography, it's always a welcome surprise when we get to hear Shawn's vocals paired with another artist's. Handwritten gave us Air, the cute bop with Astrid S, and the theme repeats itself on the self-titled album with another cute Like to Be You sized singalong. Julia Michaels lends her talents to the song that breaks away from the usual tried and tested heartbreak duet and instead asks through the lyrics what it's like to be somebody else in a relationship, longing never to lose them and wanting to know what's going on inside their head. This always seemed like an obvious choice of single to me, but when we consider the singles we did end up with from the album, it seems best that Like to Be You was left a gem of an album track. Although the song doesn't exactly break the mould in any monumental way, it's cute and a reminder that Shawn sounds fantastic no matter what he's writing or putting his vocals to. With Julia on board, both of them manage to create a storyline that is believable. I think my favourite memory of Like to Be You is hearing it on the latest tour - it was a cute, laid-back moment when Shawn took himself over to the b-stage and performed with his guitar and little backing music. Really intimate moments like that are some of the best from a Shawn concert, because they really make you fall in love with him more. The above video of Shawn and Julia's performance of the song on The Late Late Show in 2018 is a favourite too; a really heartwarming performance that makes you long for another collaboration - will it happen again?

Two good songs to start with! :wub: My favourite of the two is Like to Be You, which for me is one of the highlights from the album. Julia and Shawn's vocals really fit together nicely. I agree that the performance of it on tour was a lovely moment in the set list! :heart:

I've listened to all of Shawn's albums but I'm not familiar with most of the songs by title name so I'm going to follow along and listen to all of your recommendations on the way.. excited for this!!

Two good songs to start with! :wub: My favourite of the two is Like to Be You, which for me is one of the highlights from the album. Julia and Shawn's vocals really fit together nicely. I agree that the performance of it on tour was a lovely moment in the set list! :heart:

I think I'd quite like to hear a solo Shawn version, oops :ph34r: It's a cute little song, but I feel there's far more to enjoy besides this on the album (sadly :().

 

I've listened to all of Shawn's albums but I'm not familiar with most of the songs by title name so I'm going to follow along and listen to all of your recommendations on the way.. excited for this!!

Thanks Josh, hope you enjoy!! A lot of album tracks coming your way, so hopefully a lot to like :wub:

 

37 This Is What It Takes

from Handwritten

 

38 Don't Be a Fool

from Illuminate

 

Some relief from the self-titled album now as the next two songs come from both Shawn's first album, Handwritten, and his sophomore effort, Illuminate. Both songs are fantastic, but jumping straight into talking about Don't Be a Fool first. This is a lovely song that I feel sounds a lot better when Shawn performs it live (see the MTV Unplugged performance in the YouTube video above). This was a real moment for me on the Illuminate World Tour, despite it not having been a favourite when I first listened to the album. Over time, the song's really wormed its way into my affections and I can truly appreciate it in every way. Its laid back vibe coupled with the strumming of guitars coming from every angle really makes for such a pleasurable three minutes of music. While it's a change in lyricism compared to most of the other songs on Illuminate, the message Shawn conveys with this is still cute; managing to continue the theme of 'protectiveness' or longing to love somebody better than anybody else that has in the past from songs like Treat You Better and, coincidentally... This Is What It Takes.

 

This Is What It Takes has always been a favourite of mine when listening to Handwritten. Sometimes it's easy to forget just how beautiful it is when glossing over Shawn's discography at a quick glance, but when you take the time to listen to Handwritten and appreciate all of the songs, this stands out as one of the most important on there. It's very special, and really cements Shawn as a brilliant songwriter and vocalist for me. Through his crisp vocals and determined lyrics on this track, Shawn declares that if this is what it takes, he's willing to do anything to bear the pain that the other party in a relationship may be harbouring. Throughout all of Handwritten, scattered in the lyrics of most songs, there's an underlying message of hope and optimism, and this is no exception. Having heard this live on Shawn's first world tour - way back when in 2015 during the Handwritten era, this struck me as a real moment and I don't think my feelings on this song will ever dwindle. If you have the time to watch some of his live performances on YouTube, this would be close to the top of my recommendations (if you can hunt them down, that is x).

Enjoyed all of these so far! I think Don't Be a Fool has been my favourite of the lot so far so I suppose our ranking's are pretty similar in that respect, aha. The Julia Michaels collab was nice too, I don't really remember it from when it was released but I do have a few plays for it according to last.fm - a bit of a rediscovery there then. :heart:

Enjoyed all of these so far! I think Don't Be a Fool has been my favourite of the lot so far so I suppose our ranking's are pretty similar in that respect, aha. The Julia Michaels collab was nice too, I don't really remember it from when it was released but I do have a few plays for it according to last.fm - a bit of a rediscovery there then. :heart:

Haha glad to hear you like Don't Be a Fool :wub: A really great song picking up from where Revisited left off, really. Like to Be You is cute :heart: No discredit to it, but I'd love to hear Shawn with a male feature on his next album, or even just standalone. Will be interesting to hear how his voice sounds with another - even just an up and coming artist, not a big name.

 

Thanks for commenting Josh :heart:

Haha glad to hear you like Don't Be a Fool :wub: A really great song picking up from where Revisited left off, really. Like to Be You is cute :heart: No discredit to it, but I'd love to hear Shawn with a male feature on his next album, or even just standalone. Will be interesting to hear how his voice sounds with another - even just an up and coming artist, not a big name.

 

Thanks for commenting Josh :heart:

I agree with this - I'd love to hear another male collab again after Youth because I think both Shawn's and Khalid's voice are so distinctive so it really worked. Does the Zedd remix of Lost in Japan count ? :P

I agree with this - I'd love to hear another male collab again after Youth because I think both Shawn's and Khalid's voice are so distinctive so it really worked. Does the Zedd remix of Lost in Japan count ? :P

Indeed - Shawn and Khalid worked so well together; another collab along those lines would be great. :wub: I'd say Zedd counts too - there was a rumour recently that there was a collaboration with Shawn, Selena and Marshmello. That's something I'd love to hear. More dance collaborations like Lost in Japan (Remix) and If I Can't Have You with top-name producers would be amazing!

 

35 One of Those Nights

from The Shawn Mendes EP

 

36 Memories

from Handwritten Revisited

 

Harking back to Shawn's debut era Handwritten now, at #36 is Memories. This was one of the bonus tracks included on Handwritten Revisited, the repackaged edition of the album that arrived some time after its initial release. I think the very special thing about all of the new tracks we got from Handwritten Revisited was that they all showed a new direction for Shawn, and paved the way for the more mature sound that followed with both Illuminate and the self-titled. Memories closes the album, and instantly becomes one of the emotional, powerful Shawn ballads that you can't help falling in love with. His vocals sound incredible, while at the same time remaining delicate as ever. The song speaks about creating the most wonderful memories in a relationship, holding onto all that's important and never missing an opportunity to do amazing things with the person you loved. 'Let's write a story, and let's sing a song, let's hang up pictures on the wall' - is one of the greatest lyrics in the song I feel; it really captures beautifully how the small things become the most precious and worthwhile, looking back on them years down the line with the happiest of nostalgia. This, alongside Running Low and Act Like You Love Me really waved goodbye to the Handwritten era with a bang, and all three are criminally underrated (or in some cases, songs people haven't even heard yet).

 

Going even further back with the next song to where it all started for Shawn. Fresh off the back of being discovered on Vine, Shawn released The Shawn Mendes EP. One of the songs included on that was One of Those Nights - a really beautiful (yet at the same time, so fun) song about just living in the moment, doing whatever makes you feel happy and really fulfilling yourself. You can tell that this is one of Shawn's earliest songs because his voice sounds remarkably younger on this than, say, Illuminate or the self-titled (and even most of Handwritten, to be honest). Despite that, the song is still catchy as hell, it has a hook that makes you want to go back for more and it proves that he can deliver effortlessly every time, no matter what type of song he's pushing. I'd really recommend a listen of The Shawn Mendes EP if you haven't checked it out yet - it includes some of Shawn's finest songs, including The Weight and Show You (both of which are stunning too), as well as the eventual lead single from Handwritten; Life of the Party. This song, to me, really serves as an introduction to the style that we should've expected from the Handwritten era with songs like Strings and Aftertaste not sounding too dissimilar at all.

 

33 Where Were You in the Morning?

from Shawn Mendes: The Album

 

34 Bad Reputation

from Illuminate

 

Apologies it's taken this long to get back on with this countdown - I'll be counting down my favourite Shawn songs more regularly now until we get to the creme de la creme. Up next we go back to the Illuminate era, and it's album track Bad Reputation's time to shine. With a moody, darker sound than Shawn's normally known for, Bad Reputation speaks about the person of his dreams not having a great reputation with everybody else, but Shawn doing all he can to save them and still wanting her despite all of that. "I don't care what they say about you baby / they don't know what you've been through" really strikes a chord with me; you can never judge a book by its cover, and you never know what somebody's going through despite what you may think of them. I think that's something that's particularly important in the age we're in now when pre-conceived opinions or outside perceptions can really interfere with how you feel about somebody that could otherwise be a fantastic person in your life? Anyway, Shawn's vocals on this song really shine, and show just how deep he's willing to go, and how emotional he can get. His live performances of the song, such as from his MTV Unplugged set, really prove just how incredible an entertainer he is, and this was a definite highlight from the Illuminate World Tour too.

 

Just ahead of Bad Reputation is one of the promotional singles from Shawn Mendes: The Album. Where Were You in the Morning?, again, was a change in style for Shawn. The production was different to what we'd heard before - taking a more relaxed, but groovy and funky vibe and adding his vocals on top to give us a sultry, sexy track about waking up and finding the person you went to bed with last night... isn't there. I think the song did a great job setting up the album. Despite the fact that it's far from being one of my favourites from the album in general, it's still one that's good to go back to every now and then. This song was also one of the chosen ones when it came to The Album: The Remixes. Shawn decided to add KAYTRANADA onto it for that extra spark. I must admit the remix isn't one that I've gone back to much (if at all) since hearing it for the first time, but I do remember it being fairly decent. Again, this was another tour highlight because it's one of those songs that proves just how beautiful Shawn's voice is live, and that he can really sing and hit every note, while all the time putting on one of the best shows you'll have ever been to.

 

31 Youth (feat. Khalid)

from Shawn Mendes: The Album

 

32 Hold On

from Illuminate

 

Back to the Illuminate era again, and this time we have bonus track Hold On, a cute little song where Shawn talks about, quite literally, 'holding on' - being reassured by his dad that everything's going to be okay. It sounds as though always being on the road, away from family, etc can take its toll, so to have that reassurance from your nearest and dearest will help you to keep pushing on and knowing that if you're having a bad day, tomorrow's going to be better than today. Despite not being a massive blown-away moment on the album, this is a very nice track and even for the listener, I feel you can take a lot away from it. Knowing that you're not alone when you feel down, or just get caught up with everything that's going on in life. The song bears some resemblance in its lyrics to the likes of A Little Too Much; sometimes you can become overwhelmed, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel. That's one thing that Shawn's lyrics are really good for. He's such an advocate for mental health and wellbeing - it's not always love songs. There's deep and spiritual meaning there, and that's beautiful.

 

We come back to Shawn's third self-titled album again, and this time it's one of the "singles". Promo single, actual single, who knows? There's an official video for the song, but it wasn't released until later down the line; it was a response to events happening in the world more than anything. On the song itself before we speak about the video, Youth is such a great song - it could well have worked as an official single, so lord only knows what his team were thinking (practically for most of the era following In My Blood, really). Shawn and Khalid's voices sound great together, and Shawn collaborating with other male artists is something we haven't heard all that much of, so to be treated to that was a nice moment. Again, the lyrics in this song are so important and speak about the innocence of youth, making sure that it's something that can never be taken away from you in the time we spend in the world. That message is reinforced to the maximum in the music video, which, through its visuals, spoke about gun violence, terror and some other frightening things that go on today. It was moving, emotional, and it's probably one of Shawn's longest videos to date, and one that he and his team put a lot of effort into. I was excited to hear what Youth would sound like on tour, and it translated really well. It wasn't quite the moment some other songs from the album were, but I still bopped along. The lack of Khalid live didn't really change things too much either - Shawn filled in the blanks well.

Youth is one of my favourites! :wub: I never got around to watching the video #badmod, I'll have to soon! There's a handful of his videos I've never seen actually. :blush:

 

I definitely think it was a missed opportunity as a full-blown single!

Youth is one of my favourites! :wub: I never got around to watching the video #badmod, I'll have to soon! There's a handful of his videos I've never seen actually. :blush:

 

I definitely think it was a missed opportunity as a full-blown single!

I mean, in terms of what we actually watch Shawn videos for (:kink:), it's not an essential, but the message in it is definitely worth a watch! Very powerful.

 

29 Understand

from Illuminate

 

30 Patience

from Illuminate

 

Heading into the top 30 now (sorry for the mega delay again - I promise I'll finish these results in a timely manner from now on!), and we have the first of two tracks from Illuminate in this section. Patience is a cute little album track that does the job nicely, and is always a pleasant listen each time I go through the album. It's one that I'll quite often cherry-pick if I'm not in the mood to listen to the whole album too. It's a beautiful little song, about hoping that somebody will just make their mind up about whether they love you or not. It's about Shawn just wanting to let go and move on if someone's just not into him in the same way. The lyrics are really nice, and the song itself just suits the vibe of the album perfectly. His voice sounds great on this song, and it's one that I feel that is short, but very very sweet.

 

Just ahead of that, another album track from Illuminate - Understand. I feel this song doesn't get enough love because it's such a beautiful song and Shawn sounds absolutely sublime on it. It's one that I often need to go back to and remind myself how it sounds, but when I do listen to it, it's just got such a great vibe. It puts you in a good mood, and it's catchy as hell. The chorus is a beauty, and it's one that I think would have worked really well as a very low-key single, but that's a more outlandish suggestion. This song also sees Shawn talk for part of the song, with some inspirational words about growing up and going with the flow. As well as that, we also have the anthem-like chants of 'we all get lost sometimes', etc throughout the song and it's life-giving! Honestly, so much love for this song!

 

27 Nervous

from Shawn Mendes: The Album

 

28 Queen

from Shawn Mendes: The Album

 

Next up we have two songs from the same album, this time a promo single and an album track. The album track, Queen, is a bop that kind of follows the same style as a few of the other tracks, notably the song just above it too. Queen sees Shawn add a little sass to his lyrics in the chorus, and switch the style up, going for a more relaxed affair compared to either all-out bops or a ballad. The song's really quite funky, and it's hard not to sing along. It's admittedly not a song I've gone back to a lot in recent times, but when I listen through his third album, this is an obvious highlight. On an album full of highlights though, it's easy to say that. The one thing that was a massive shame though was this wasn't performed on tour. I feel if it had it could have been a moment. I guess it's not one we'll see pop up any time soon though - its time will have surely passed.

 

Just ahead of Queen is 'is it a single, isn't it?' song Nervous. Again, we saw Shawn shake the style up for this song, and this repeated itself for most of the album. We ventured off into songs that absolutely sounded like Shawn and what we'd expect or hope to hear from him, but also managed to sound so very fresh and really energising. It's a great song, and Shawn puts his voice to good use hear with absolutely killer vocals in its chorus. Obviously the most frustrating thing about this song though is the fact that it could have gone on to be a single - it even had the music video (that I would have given my left arm to be the hands in x), and was all set to go... and then nothing ever happened? Sadly this was a recurring theme with Shawn's third album. We had our fair share of promo singles, but not a lot of time spent with actual, real singles to promote the album. Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself with Wonder and we end up with at least one decently promoted post-album single. All said and done though, Nervous remains an incredibly strong song and one that I love revisiting because it's just lush.