Music & Concerts

Eponymous new Mendes album charming but uneven

Third straight Billboard chart-topper exhibits sonic growing pains

Published

7 years ago

June 7, 2018

Shawn Mendes new album, gay news, Washington Blade

Shawn Mendes has done a remarkable job blending social media, fashion and music. This is the cover of his new eponymous album, his third. (Photo courtesy Island Records)

Scrolling through Shawn Mendes’ Instagram profile, one can’t help but notice work of an extremely careful curator — an almost scientific balance of hair mussing, perfectly captured black and white candids and bare (but never too much) skin.

Social media has changed the way we interact with popular culture so thoroughly, we hardly think about it anymore. If Justin Bieber was the first artist to take full advantage of social media, Mendes is the well-oiled machine, slick and speedy. In less than five years, the 19-year-old Canadian has traveled the well-trodden path from YouTube to mainstream stardom, with albums “Handwritten” (2015) and “Illuminate” (2016) both making it to the Billboard No. 1 spot. His new self-titled album “Shawn Mendes” (also a Billboard chart-topper) treads little new territory, sticking instead with a winning formula: youth, good looks and catchy choruses. Even so, several songs on the new record stand out.

Mendes (who’s straight) grew up in the social media spotlight and was signed to a label at age 15. Bieber is still perhaps the most relevant comparison, and not just because both artists hail from Canada. Bieber, whose first several albums targeted a young demographic, did not come into his own until his fourth and most recent album “Purpose” (2015). And while Mendes has certainly matured since his debut album, the music seems to be in an awkward growth phase, similar to Bieber’s “Believe” (2012).

Consider Mendes’ single “Lost in Japan,” easily one of the best tracks on the album. Opening with spacey jazz piano chords, the song smoothly transitions into an up-tempo bass groove, the piano intro somewhat reminiscent of fellow Canadian Drake’s song “Sooner than Later.” Addressing a long-distance lover, Mendes sings the chorus in sensuous falsetto: “Do you got plans tonight?/I’m a couple hundred miles from Japan, and I/I was thinking I could fly to your hotel tonight.” The use of the non-gendered second-person “you” draws listeners into the fantasy.

Yet the album is split between these moments of relative sophistication and the inoffensive pop/rock style of “Stitches,” Treat You Better” and “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back.” The lead single “In My Blood” falls into the latter camp. Unlike the album’s more inventive songs, it follows in the example of the previous albums, where catchy and palatable triumph over interesting. If anything, it’s symptomatic of Mendes’ growing pains.

The single “Youth,” featuring singer Khalid, trends in the opposite direction. The two young singers harmonize over what appears to be an anthem for the ceaseless tragedies witnessed over social media: “Waking up to headlines, filled with devastation again/My heart is broken, but I keep going.” The chorus strikes a defiant tone: “As long as I wake up today/You can’t take my youth away.” Without a doubt, this is Mendes’ better side.

The album is also an interesting example of the way we discover, interact with and understand music in the digital age. Music marketing has become as savvy and ubiquitous as fashion advertising, and the two are often indistinguishable. (See Mendes’ 2016 shoot for L’Uomo Vogue.) Social media platforms allow us to curate our online image in a careful, deliberate way that is impossible under normal circumstances. They have allowed Mendes to cement his identity as the ever dreamy, always fashionable charmer. But as the self-titled album naming suggests, Shawn Mendes is not just the artist — he is the product.

It is perhaps worth remembering the single greatest truism of marketing: Sex sells. This holds true for music as well as for fashion. While Mendes has made progress in developing his sound, the music remains inseparable from his carefully crafted image — big smiles and Yves Saint Laurent boots. In part, this illusory product is what makes him so addictive to fans. And Mendes makes it hard not to indulge.

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Music & Concerts

Kylie brings ‘Tension’ tour to D.C.

Performance on Tuesday at Capital One Arena

Published

4 weeks ago

April 5, 2025

Tinashe Chingarande

Kylie Minogue visits D.C. on Tuesday.

Aussie pop icon Kylie Minogue brings her acclaimed “Tension” world tour to D.C. next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Capital One Arena. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.

The show features songs spanning her long career, from 1987 debut single, “The Loco-Motion,” to “Padam, Padam” from her album, “Tension.”

Music & Concerts

Busy season for live music in D.C.

Erivo, Kylie, Sivan, and more headed our way this spring

Published

2 months ago

March 14, 2025

Joe Reberkenny

Cynthia Erivo plays WorldPride in D.C. on June 7. (Photo courtesy of World Pride)

One sure sign of spring’s arrival is the fresh wave of live music coming to Washington. With more than 10 venues and a diverse lineup of artists, the city offers no shortage of live performances for the new season.

In addition to this impressive list, don’t forget the many artists coming to town for WorldPride, May 17-June 8. In addition to headliner Cynthia Erivo performing on Saturday, June 7 at the two-day street festival and concert, many other performers will be in town. Jennifer Lopez, Troye Sivan, and RuPaul are among the featured performers at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds, June 6-7. Visit WorldPrideDC.org for a list of other performers.

MARCH

Grammy and Emmy Award-winning Mary J. Blige will take the stage at Capital One Arena on March 26 for her For My Fans tour. Two days later, on March 28, J Balvin will also perform at Capital One Arena for his Back to the Rayo tour.

The Lincoln Theatre will host the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington for three performances—one on March 15 and two on March 16.

If dance parties are more your vibe, you’re in luck. DC9 is hosting a series of themed dance parties this month, starting with Poker Face: 2000s + Dance Party on March 14, the ever-popular Peach Pit ’90s dance party on March 15, H.O.T.S.: A Sapphic Dance Party on March 22, and RageRiot!—a burlesque and drag revue featuring a lineup of local drag kings, queens, and everything in between on March 29.

APRIL

Australian queen of pop Kylie Minogue will bring her Tension tour to Capital One Arena on April 8, with British dance artist Romy as her special guest.

Indie singer-songwriter mxmtoon will stop in D.C. for their Liminal Space tour on April 4 at the 9:30 club, followed by indie rock band Gossip on April 5. The 9:30 club will also host two dance parties in April: Gimme Gimme Disco – a dance party inspired by ABBA on April 11 and Broadway Rave on April 18.

The Atlantis will feature Brooklyn-based indie rock band Pom Pom Squad on April 2.

Comedy duo Two Dykes and a Mic will bring their Going Hog Wild tour to the Howard Theatre on April 19.

DC9 has two dance parties lined up this month: Bimbo Night on April 4, hosted by Baltimore’s “premier red-tattooed Filipina diva” Beth Amphetamine, and Aqua Girls: A QTBIPOC Dance Party on April 5, celebrating “queer transcendence through music, movement, and community.”

The Anthem will welcome a lineup of big names in April, starting with Alessia Cara on April 8. Lucy Dacus will take the stage on April 18 and 19 for her Forever Is a Feeling tour, while funky pop artist Remi Wolf will headline on April 27, joined by special guests Dana and Alden.

MAY

Indie-pop artist Miya Folick will bring her Erotica Veronica tour to The Atlantis on May 1, followed by multi-genre musician SASAMI on May 2. Pop artist Snow Wife will close out the month at The Atlantis on May 31 as part of an official WorldPride 2025 event.

Queer rock band Lambrini Girls will perform at the Howard Theatre on May 4, while rock trio L.A. Witch will take the stage at DC9 on May 12.

Union Stage will feature Rachel Platten on May 3 for her Set Me Free tour, followed by Femme Fatale: A Queer Dance Party later that night.

The popular DJ festival Project Glow will return to RFK Stadium grounds on May 31 and June 1.

JUNE

Pride month kicks off with “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Trixie Mattel, who will perform at Echostage on June 3 as part of a series of official WorldPride 2025 events.

Queer icons Grace Jones & Janelle Monáe will take over The Anthem on June 5 for a WorldPride 2025 event performance.

Perfume Genius will bring his signature sound to the 9:30 club on June 7 as part of WorldPride 2025 festivities. Later in the month, Blondshell will hit the 9:30 club for her If You Asked for a Tour on June 24.

Music & Concerts

Pride concert to take place at Strathmore after Kennedy Center rescinds invitation

International Pride Orchestra ‘heartbroken’ event ‘would no longer be welcome’ at DC venue

Published

2 months ago

February 27, 2025

Jaylon Curry-Hagler

The Kennedy Center (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The International Pride Orchestra has announced its Pride concert will take place at the Strathmore Music Center on June 5 after the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts disinvited the group.

Since President Donald Trump took over the Kennedy Center during his first month in office, LGBTQ events and performances have been banned with community allies withdrawing in solidarity.

The Kennedy Center has cancelled “A Peacock Among Pigeons: Celebrating 50 Years of Pride,” a May 21 concert that was to feature the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. The International Pride Orchestra on Monday said its concert will now take place at the Strathmore.

“We were heartbroken when we learned that our concert would no longer be welcome at the Kennedy Center,” said International Pride Orchestra Founding Artistic Director Michael Roest in a statement released by the orchestra’s media page. “The Kennedy Center has long been a symbol of artistic excellence, inclusivity, and freedom of expression. However, we are profoundly grateful to the Strathmore Music Center for opening their doors to us. Their willingness to host our Pride Celebration Concert ensures that our message of love, pride, and resilience will be heard on the doorstep of the nation’s capital.”

The Pride concert is among the events that have faced uncertainty since the Trump-Vance administration took office on Jan. 20. Many, however, are fighting back and looking for ways to push back against the bans and cancellations.

“We aim to create a powerful and positive representation of the queer community through music,” said Roest. “We want to show the world who we are, celebrate our queer identities, and amplify the work of organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community.”

WorldPride is scheduled to take place in D.C. from May 17-June 8.