(Vivian Bradner-Young/Staff)
The crowd exploded as Shawn Mendes burst onto the stage. Everyone was clapping and cheering, which set the rest of the concert up to be full of energy. At any point you could hear the song lyrics being screamed by the crowd. Mendes encouraged the audience to participate by having them clap to the beat of the song or yell the lyrics as loud as they could at his August 27 concert at the Nationwide Arena.
Alessia Cara, opened for Mendes, getting the audience excited by singing some of her most popular songs such as, “How Far I’ll Go” from the Disney movie Moana and “Scars to Your Beautiful.”
Throughout the concert there was a large circular screen behind Mendes. The screen displayed images of bright colors that correlated to Mendes’ numbers.
Mendes also came down to a second smaller stage where he played the piano andwas much closer to the audience, singing “Life of the Party,” “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” and “Ruin.” He most likely chose these songs because they are all slower and more emotional than the ones he sang on the bigger stage. It broke down the barrier between him and the crowd, and made everyone feel more connected to him and each other.
The crowd was lit up with excitement, and actual lights. Before the concert started, everyone was given a wristband to wear throughout. This made every song more special by having added lights in the crowd.
Mendes’s overall performance was impeccable. While some artists have been known for lip-syncing while singing live, or sounding completely different than the recording, Mendes did not disappoint as it appeared that he was not lip-syncing. When he was singing and paused in the middle of a lyric, you could not hear a vocal track in the background. He also put special twists on some songs, such as a medley of songs such as “Because I Had You” and “Patience” to add a special touch to the live show.
Not only did Mendes have an incredible performance, but he also presented an important message. While singing “Youth” he paused to talk about the idea that the younger generation has the power to make a difference in this world, and nobody should take that away from us- especially in today’s climate, that was something that definitely resonated with everyone.
The day before the Columbus concert, Mendes performed at the Video Music Awards with Camila Cabello, who appears in his song, “Senorita,” which went viral in 2015 on the internet because of their chemistry. What appeared as on-screen relationship was, in reality, played up for publicity.
Unfortunately, Cabello did not make an appearance at the Columbus concert, as many had hoped. Before the finale, Mendes played Coldplay’s “Fix You,” which brought the audience together for such a heart-felt song.
During the last song, “In My Blood,” smoke billowed from the stage, confetti shot from the sky, and Mendes ran offstage to greet fans, which was a thrilling act to end the show.
