Shawn Mendes, Arena Birmingham - review with pictures

I was one of them, and it was fantastic. Throwing my cares to the wind, I embraced my inner teen by singing along to the newest pop hits and eating way too much pick 'n' mix.

It’s been hinted that 20-year-old Shawn is the new ‘King of Pop’ - booting the likes of Justin Bieber to the sidelines.

And I can completely understand that. He was electric on stage. The deafening screams from thousands of teenagers at the beginning of every song almost ruined my hearing for good

With his cheeky grin, effortlessly scruffy hair, and his incredible talent in singing, piano and the guitar - it’s easy to see why he’s gained such a devoted following.

Opening the Birmingham leg of his world tour with a hit from 2018, Lost in Japan, the crowd suddenly became a sea of flashing pinks, blues, greens and oranges - bringing the stadium to life with a burst of colour.

Each fan had been given a light up wristband on entry, which jumped into action as soon as he came on stage.

Ever the gentleman, Shawn kept asking how the fans were doing throughout the show - receiving screams of approval back each time.

“Birmingham - how you guys doing down there? Sing as loud as you can now,” he called out in his distinctive Canadian accent.

Number one single There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back was Shawn’s second song of choice for the night, one of his most famous hits - which had the entire arena singing along.

He followed with a performance of Nervous, before saying: “I just want to take a second now to say thank you to every single person for coming out tonight - from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

“Truly what makes a show great, I quickly learned that the most incredible part of the show is you guys.

“Now scream as loud as you can.”

He also gave a special mention to the support act for the night, Alessia Cara, who thrilled fans with performances of Stay and Scars To Your Beautiful, and a rendition of How Far I'll Go from Disney's Moana.

Stitches was next - Shawn’s first top 10 single in the US which then also reached number one in the UK.

Renditions of Bad Reputation, Never Be Alone and Treat You Better followed, the latter of which saw almost the entire venue on its feet.

In between songs Shawn would charm the audience further (not that they really needed it) by blowing kisses to the crowd and bending down to shake the hands of those at the front.

Wearing a sleeveless black jacket and plain black jeans, the young star got rid of the jacket half way through the show, simply sporting a plain white vest underneath and further sending the younger fans a little bit wild.

He said: “I spent the last two days here in Birmingham rehearsing for the tour - I really like you guys - you’re very warm and very special.”

He added: “Every single person in this arena - no matter how old or young you are - you have the power to change the world,

“Thank you for being so sweet tonight. I love you.”

He finished the show with a breath-taking cover of Coldplay’s Fix You, which had almost everyone - alright, mostly the older side of the room - singing along to.

The cover then merged wonderfully into another favourite and top 10 hit In My Blood that had the entire crowd belting out the lyrics.

It was a magical night watching Shawn Mendes at Arena Birmingham - the singer/songwriter is effortless on stage and really makes sure his fans have the most enjoyable experience.

And it looks like they certainly did.

Thank you Shawn, you really do treat us better.