(Previously written in 2017)
It was a Shawn Mendes takeover! I don’t think I’ve ever sang and danced as hard as I did for the #IlluminateWorldTourToronto. Shawn played two nights at the ACC on Friday August 11th and Saturday August 12th. I went for the second night thanks to Spotify Canada for the hookup with tickets. My adventure started on Thursday with a meet and greet with his opening act, Charlie Puth.
Meet and Greet with Charlie Puth
My friend is one of the top listeners of Charlie on Spotify Canada. So we were both invited to compete against him in a “Fan Vs Artist” challenge. Charlie greeted the winners and he asked us where he could get some good traditional Canadian poutine. We joked saying he needs to go to Montreal or “Smokes Poutine”. He said he was going to eat it on stage and that he would hand feed the audience while performing. SPOILER ALERT. He didn’t and I was lowkey very disappointed.
I competed against him in Jenga. We had to do rock paper scissors to see who went first. He’s a scissor guy, whereas I’m a rock girl, so I won that round. He was so lowkey and chill.
When we met him, we explained that we wanted to do this pose:
And he responded with “girls are weird.” Hey, we got a cute photo out of it.
Illuminate World Tour
Charlie Puth opened for Shawn and FACT: he’s crazy talented
When the lights went down for Shawn Mendes to come out on stage, the arena SHOOK. It was full of screams, and was lit up from the crowd’s phones to get their first picture of the Canadian heartthrob. He opened with his hit “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” and played songs from his new album like “Bad Reputation”, and “Roses” (aka my two favourites). He had a second stage with a huge giant moon hanging from the roof. He also brought a young boy on stage who was from England. Shawn with a cute kid? The arena went WILD (again). During “Three Empty Words”, he forgot the lyrics and improved a line. It’s okay Shawn, it happens to the best of us.
There is no denying Shawn Mendes is crazy talented and is representing the kind-hearted stereotypes of Canadians. His unproblematic behavior makes him a great role model for all the children and young adults in the arena. Even the parents were singing along.
