Months before singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes topped the Billboard 200 chart with his debut album Handwritten, BackstageOL’s Dave Morales received the chance to talk with the rising star shortly after he signed his recording contract.
At the time, Mendes was already shocked by his success. “I’m just as surprised as anyone else is. It’s coming insanely fast, almost overnight for me. I haven’t gotten the moment to sit down and really take in what’s going on.”
“When things really started to take off was when I posted a Vine of me singing a Justin Bieber song, like a six and a half second cover of ‘As Long As You Love Me,’ and it was sort of an overnight explosion,” Mendes recalled of his path to stardom. “I woke up in the morning with 10,000 followers. Then everyday, I’d post another Vine of another popular song and then it was just a spiral, sort of snowball effect to where I’m at now.”
Being a young Canadian artist and having a large fanbase, Mendes has been compared by many to Justin Bieber. However, the sixteen-year-old had no ill words to say about Bieber. “The thing is, I’m coming into this industry…at a quick pace, and I feel like I’m having a very small taste of what he goes through everyday…a very, very small taste of what he goes through everyday. And it’s hard, like I put him up on a pedestal because this is very hard to handle. The stress, being able to cope with everything that’s going on, and keeping your head on your shoulders gets very hard,” he said. “I can understand why he’s stressed out. Sometimes it gets a little crazy but I mean it’s hard, so I give him that.”
Morales talked with Mendes the day after he performed his first ever concert, and the “Life of the Party” singer already had a crazy fan story to share. After the show, Mendes was signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. At one point, hundreds of fans started chasing him. “Me and my buddy Ian and my mom and my sister were chased by like 400 girls. It was the scariest thing in my entire life. They ended up slowing down and it was fine. It was harmless.”
Watch the interview below:
