Shawn Mendes at Arena Birmingham, 9th April 2019

Last Tuesday I saw Shawn Mendes live for the first time ever, and being my first concert in a few months I was so ready! Despite having to go to work at 7am on the day, instead of feeling super unmotivated to get out of bed I was just really excited for my shift to be finished. What made it even more exciting was the fact that one of my best friends who I don’t get to see very often was coming down to mine for the show. After I’d finished work we went to pick her up from the train station and soon enough we were on our way to Birmingham!

Before the show we met up with another friend who we were going to the concert with and made our way to the arena. Once we got inside we were given special light-up bracelets (Taylor Swift-eque) which made me very happy because I always think the effect they have is magical. I was shocked when we got to our seats what an amazing view we had! We were in block C which is one of the front blocks on the floor, and even though we were second to last row of the block we had such a good view. It was the first time I’ve ever been in one of the front blocks so I was very excited!

Shawn’s support act was Alessia Cara, who was probably one of the best support acts I’ve seen. High praise indeed, but she had so much energy and really got the crowd hyped up – everyone around us was jumping up and down and singing along already and I just thought wow if they have this much enthusiasm and energy for the support act it’s gonna be crazy when Shawn comes on! After Alessia’s incredible half-hour set, I got the chance to meet up with some more friends and even though we only got to spend a little while together it made me so happy. Bear in mind I only know these girls because of Twitter, it never fails to amaze me how without it I never would have met such amazing friends and I really am so thankful that our love for the same music and artists allows us to come together.

Because of the fact I’d met up with some friends, the break between Alessia and Shawn seemed to fly by, and it wasn’t long before we had to go back to our seats and the show was about to begin.

Shawn’s first song was ‘Lost in Japan’ which immediately got the already hyped crowd even more hyped as everyone screamed out the lyrics. In fact, the first five songs of the show never really gave much of a chance to breathe in between them because the energy was just so high! We danced and screamed our way through ‘There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back’, ‘Nervous’ and ‘Stitches’, all of which I sang my little heart out to at the top of my lungs just having the time of my life.

The pace was slowed down a little when Shawn started singing the more chilled ‘Bad Reputation’, and then into ‘Never Be Alone’, at the end of which he disappeared from the main stage and somehow appeared a few moments later on the B stage. Now let me tell you, this was the most aesthetically pleasing B stage I have ever seen. On the back of it there was a huge rose with a massive stem that extended almost to the ceiling, and it lit up different colours throughout different songs – similar to the light up bracelets which I also must say add so much to the atmosphere of the show. I just think they’re so clever and beautiful, to look out on the crowd all lit up different colours makes my heart feel all warm.

Once on the B stage Shawn played the piano while he sang a mash-up of ‘A Little Too Much’ and ‘Because I Had You’, and then he sang one of my favourite songs from his most recent album ‘When You’re Ready’, which was really beautiful. The whole B stage experience was just so magical, he also sang ‘Life of the Party’, ‘Like to be You’ and ‘Ruin’, which are all really slow, beautiful songs. Combined with the piano playing and the lit up rose along with the lit up bracelets and people waving their arms in the air just gave me this really warm feeling inside, like this is where I really belong and feel at home. Might sound cringey but it really is true. Also speaking of the slower songs, this is where you could really appreciate just how amazing Shawn’s voice is – his vocals live sounded exactly the same as they do on record. Also he’s just really cute so yeah there’s that.

There was another burst of energy when Shawn returned to the main stage and sang ‘Treat You Better’ and ‘Particular Taste’, both of which again got the crowd jumping and screaming before again bringing the pace down with ‘Where Were You in the Morning?’ and ‘Fallin’ All in You’. But probably one of my favourite moments of the night was when he sang ‘Youth’. This song has always been close to my heart because I can relate to it so much – it’s all about the world being a scary place and sometimes when you read the news you feel so helpless, but no matter what nobody can take our youth away. It’s about being strong no matter what’s going on in the world and I just really adore the song. So getting to hear it live was a special moment. Towards the end of the song, Shawn made a speech that gave me goosebumps. He said that ‘youth’ isn’t about how young or old you are, it’s a feeling of being happy and free.

“Every single person in this arena, no matter how old or no matter how young you are, you are the people who have the power to change the world. It’s up to us to stand our ground and to say that no matter what happens, our youth will not be taken away from us.”

And in that moment I fell in love with him a little bit more.

After the beautiful ‘Why’, Shawn launched into ‘Mercy’, which again made the crowd go wild before the encore in which he sang a cover of ‘Fix You’ by Coldplay – a song which makes me emotional already but hearing it sang so beautifully in an arena with the lights – wow. Surprisingly I didn’t cry (if you know me you’ll know I cry at basically every concert I go to), but it was definitely an emotional and magical moment. The final song was ‘In My Blood’, which was an amazing song to finish on because everyone was just belting out the words and it was so special since it’s such a meaningful song as well. The confetti cannons went off at the end, making for a dramatic and really pretty finale to an incredible show.

My first time seeing Shawn live definitely did not disappoint – I thought the show had the perfect balance between upbeat and slower songs, really getting the crowd hyped at times and then bringing it right down to just focusing on Shawn’s beautiful vocals and lyrics. As for Shawn, he was super adorable all the way through, always thanking us and smiling and to see him looking really happy throughout the show made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I had the most amazing time, and to have the chance to spend it with some of my friends who I don’t get to see very often made it even more special.

Have you seen Shawn Mendes live, and if so what was your favourite part of the show? I’d love to hear from you, and your thoughts on this post in the comments!

As always thank you so much for reading, x