Handwritten

HandwrittenStudio album by Shawn Mendes
Alternate covers
General information
Release Date	April 14, 2015
Recorded	April 2013 - February 2014
Studio	Noble Street Studios (Toronto, Ontario)
Genre	Pop Rock
Length	39:28 (Standard and Walmart) 48:49 (Deluxe) 55:47 (Deluxe Edition) 1:03:55 (Target and HMV) 56:40 (Revisited) 1:00:38 (Revisited Walmart)
Producer(s)	Shawn Mendes, Teddy Geiger, Scott Harris, Martin Terefe, Ido Zmishlany
Label
Studio albums chronology
Current	Handwritten
Next	Illuminate
Singles
1. "Life Of The Party" Released: May 24, 2013 2. "Something Big" Released: October 6, 2013 3. "Stitches" Released: April 4, 2014 4. "I Know What You Did Last Summer" Released: October 17, 2014
Promotional Singles
1. "A Little Too Much" Released: April 14, 2015 2. "Never Be Alone" Released: April 14, 2015 3. "Kid In Love" Released: April 14, 2015
Album Trailer

Handwritten is the debut studio album by Shawn Mendes. It was released on April 14, 2015 through Island Records. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 119,000 album-equivalent units, of which 106,000 copies were pure album sales. The album includes "Stitches", which reached top 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the UK Singles Chart for 2 weeks, while its reissue, Handwritten Revisited features the US top 20 single "I Know What You Did Last Summer". To promote the album, Mendes performed in several television shows and awards. Two concert tours were also supported by the album: #ShawnsFirstHeadlines and Shawn Mendes World Tour.

Background

After signing a record deal with Island Records in May 2013, Mendes released his debut single "Life Of The Party" which peaked at number 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Following the single release, an EP titled The Shawn Mendes EP was released on June 27, 2014, and sold 48,000 copies in its first week. Mendes announced his debut album title and artwork on December 26, 2014, and it was made available to pre-order on January 1, 2015.

Handwritten was reissued in a revisited edition on October 19, 2014. It includes five live recordings tracks from the Greek Theatre and four brand new songs.

Singles

• "Life Of The Party", was released as the lead single from Mendes debut EP The Shawn Mendes EP on Jul 28, 2014. The song serves as the first single from Handwritten as well. A one-shot lyric video for the song showing Mendes in the George Street diner premiered on Vevo on Jun 30, 2014. The official music video for the song premiered on March 10, 2015.

• "Something Big", was released as the album's second single on November 7, 2014. The official music video for the song premiered on November 11, 2013, on Vevo, and it is Mendes' first official music video.

• "Stitches", was released as the album's third and final single on March 15, 2015. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart of May 12, 2014, at number 89 and became his first top 10, peaking at number 4. It also peaked at No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in December 2015 and became Mendes' first UK chart-topper.

• "I Know What You Did Last Summer", was released as a single from a revisited edition of the album on November 18, 2015. The song is a collaboration with Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello. It has peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the UK the song peaked at number 42.

Life Of The Party

Something Big

Stitches

I Know What You Did Last Summer

Other songs

Before the album release, Mendes released five songs through pre-order on iTunes. The first song "A Little Too Much", was released on January 1, the same day the album pre-order started. A music video for the song premiered on the singer's Vevo on January 3. Mendes announced through Instagram that the second promotional song would be "Never Be Alone" and it was made available on February 16. An official music video for the song was released on January 24. On February 15 the singer released "Stitches", the third pre-order single, which official music video premiered on March 18. An acoustic version of "Life Of The Party", featured in the deluxe version of the album, was released as the fourth pre-order single on March 30 at midnight, the same day as it was made possible to hear every song preview on iTunes. "Kid In Love", was made available as the fifth and final pre-order track on April 6 at midnight, just a week before the album release, while a music video for the acoustic version of "Life Of The Party", was posted on Shawn Mendes' Vevo on April 10. "Aftertaste" also gained a music video, which was posted on March 16.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 119,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, of which 106,000 copies were pure album sales. He became the youngest artist since Justin Bieber to have a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 album chart in nearly five years. Bieber was 16 years and 2 months old when his album My World 2.0 spent its fourth and final week at the top. Mendes was 16 years and 8 months old. In its second week, the album descended to number seventeen with 20,000 equivalent album units, of which 12,000 copies were pure album sales, an 89% pure album sales decrease (from 106,000 copies), surpassing Madonna's MDNA (2011) for the biggest second-week percentage drop for a number-one debuting album in the Nielsen SoundScan era. As of July 2015, Handwritten has sold 391,000 copies in the United States.

In his native Canada, the album debuted at number one with first-week sales of 14,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In its second week, the album descended to number six.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	58/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Billboard
Digital Spy
The Guardian
Idolator
Newsday	B+
NY Daily News
Rolling Stone
USA Today

Handwritten has received lukewarm reviews from music critics, who were divided on the album's writing. At Metacritic, which assigns a "weighted average" rating out of 100 from selected independent ratings and reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a Metascore of 58, based on 5 reviews.

Billboard's editor Carl Wilson called Handwriten "a promising teen's first album" but ended his review by opining that "so far, though, Mendes' music is not nearly as inventive as his strategies to publicize it." Lewis Corner of Digital Spy felt that the record was at its best "when Mendes veers slightly away from the soppy sentiments" and that "his vocal tone is clear and distinct, and the songs are packed with hooks and heart" but that "he faces a challenge ahead of him to convince a broader audience, and there are moments here that fall short of that," ending his review by opining that the album is "a sturdy enough foundation to ensure he doesn't disappear just as quickly." Writing for The Guardian, Caroline Sullivan rated the album three-out-of-five stars and claims: "At 16, Mendes isn’t the artist he’ll be at 25, but he’s made a persuasive start – the adult-pop big league could yet be his."

Glenn Gamboa of Newsday felt that the album "goes well beyond what you'd expect from your average teen sensation" and that "he tackles a wide range of styles and topics and handles them all well." Jim Farber of NY Daily News complimented Mendes' overall look and sound and wrote that "a bright future for Mendes seems guaranteed." Nick Murray from Rolling Stone described Mendes as a "nice-guy guitar strummer more influenced by the light acoustic pop of Ed Sheeran." Writing for USA Today, Brian Mansfield opined that the album "has the simplicity and vulnerability of a carefully folded love note passed surreptitiously in class" while noting that he "aches to be more than ordinary."

In a more negative review, Christina Lee of Idolator wrote that Handwritten "has its tiny moments of spark, but it also gets dull because of how self-serious he is" and that it "seems like he’s afraid to overstep any boundaries" while also writing that "if he hadn’t already invited fans into his world, he’d have to try harder with his music to captivate them," although she did specifically compliment "Life Of The Party," "Stitches," and "I Don't Even Know Your Name." Writing for AllMusic, Stephen Erlewin criticized the songwriting and production while writing that Mendes had enough time "to learn how to engage a listener for at least 60 seconds, but Handwritten is pretty thin gruel" and that "he can't hold the audience's attention for any longer than on Vine, relying on his puppy-dog eyes and croon to get him through a song."

Accolades

Year	Organization	Award	Result	Ref.
2016	Juno Awards	Album of the Year	Nominated
		Pop Album of the Year	Nominated

Videos

Shawn Mendes - "Handwritten" Album Available Now!

Shawn Mendes - Handwritten Inspirations (VEVO LIFT)

Shawn Mendes - Handwritten Inspirations (VEVO LIFT)

Shawn Mendes - Handwritten Inspirations "Never Be Alone"

Shawn Mendes - Handwritten Inspirations "Aftertaste"

Shawn Mendes - Handwritten Inspirations "I Don't Even Know Your Name"

Shawn Mendes - Handwritten Inspirations "Strings"

Tracklist

Standard and Walmart Exclusive
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Life Of The Party"	Ido Zmishlany, Scott Harris	Zmishlany	3:35
2.	"Stitches"	Daniel Parker, Teddy Geiger, Daniel Kyriakides	Geiger, Parker, Kyriakides	3:27
3.	"Never Be Alone"	Shawn Mendes, Harris, Martin Terefe, Glen Scott	Terefe	3:36
4.	"Kid In Love"	Mendes, Harris, Zmishlany	Zmishlany, Terefe	3:46
5.	"I Don't Even Know Your Name"	Mendes, Harris, Geoffrey Warburton	Terefe	4:00
6.	"Something Big"	Mendes, Harris, Zmishlany	Zmishlany	3:41
7.	"Strings"	Mendes, Harris, Emily Warren	Sam Watters, Louis Biancaniello	4:11
8.	"Aftertaste"	Mendes, Harris, Warren	Watters, Biancaniello	3:50
9.	"Air" (featuring Astrid S)	Mendes, Warren	Harris, Craven J	4:14
10.	"Crazy"	Mendes, Terefe	Mendes, Warburton, Geiger	4:12
11.	"A Little Too Much"	Mendes	Zmishlany	4:07
12.	"This Is What It Takes"	Mendes, Harris, Warburton, Zmishlany, Terefe	Terefe	3:50
Total length:				39:28

Deluxe
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Bring It Back"	Mendes, Warburton, Terefe	Terefe	3:43
14.	"Imagination"	Mendes, Warburton, Terefe	Terefe	3:38
15.	"The Weight"	Mendes, Harris, Joshua Grant	Warburton, Harris	4:05
Total length:				48:49

Deluxe Edition iTunes Version
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
16.	"Life Of The Party" (Acoustic)	Zmishlany, Harris	Zmishlany	3:14
17.	"I Know What You Did Last Summer" (featuring Camila Cabello)	Mendes, Cabello, Bill Withers, Noel Zancanella, Zmishlany	Zancanella, Zmishlany	3:43
Total length:				55:47

Target Exclusive and HMV Canada Exclusive Edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
16.	"Don't Want Your Love"	Mendes, Warburton, Zmishlany	Zmishlany	2:52
17.	"Lost"	Mendes, Harris, Warren	Craven J, Harris	3:14
18.	"Handwritten Demos"			9:00
Total length:				1:03:55

Revisited
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
4.	"Kid In Love" (Live)	Mendes, Zmishlany, Harris	Zmishlany, Terefe	4:17
5.	"I Don't Even Know Your Name" (Live)	Mendes, Harris, Terefe, Warburton	Terefe	3:37
7.	"Strings" (Live)	Mendes, Harris, Warren	Watters, Biancaniello	3:45
8.	"Aftertaste" (Live)	Mendes, Harris, Warren	Watters, Biancaniello	2:38
11.	"A Little Too Much" (Live)	Mendes	Zmishlany	3:09
14.	"Act Like You Love Me"	Mendes, Warburton	Jacquire King	3:25
15.	"Running Low"	Mendes	Jordan Orvosh	4:34
16.	"Memories"	Mendes, Warburton, Max River	King	3:51
Total length:				56:40

Revisited Super Deluxe Edition Walmart Exclusive
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
17.	"Stitches" (Live)	Daniel Parker, Teddy Geiger, Daniel Kyriakides	Geiger, Parker, Kyriakides	3:58
Total length:				1:00:38