Shawn Mendes, who? 16-year-old, said to be the new Justin Bieber, tops charts, Latest Music News - The New Paper
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Shawn Mendes, who? 16-year-old, said to be the new Justin Bieber, tops charts

While Justin Bieber has recently been making a career out of appearing on The Ellen Degeneres show and apologising for his endless string of questionable antics, another younger kid is set to take his place as THE teen heartthrob.

Shawn Mendes, a 16-year-old is the youngest artist to debut at the top position of the Billboard charts since... Bieber five years ago.

If you're thinking "Shawn Mendes who?", you're not alone. It's also very likely that you're not a teen. 

 

Mendes pulled the impressive feat of debuting on top without having any successful singles receiving significant airplay on the radio.

The social media star managed to sell 106,000 copies of his debut full-length album Handwritten and has garnered more than 4.8 million plays on streaming platforms. 

So who is this kid whose name will likely elicit screams for teenage girls? (Just look at his face!)

Originally from Toronto, he started out as a social media star (just like Bieber who first found fame on YouTube).

Mendes, on the other hand, found popularity after posting covers of popular songs on Vine, an app that lets users upload short 6-second videos that loop.

He has since racked up more than 77.5 million views on YouTube and has over 3 million followers on YouTube. 

Born to an English mother and a Portugese father, Mendes only started playing the guitar three years ago - on YouTube.

And the first song he learned? Train's Hey Soul Sister. 

Watch out Bieber. 

Source: The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Telegraph

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