Happy ‘Handwritten’ week - a Shawn Mendes appreciation post!

April 17, 2015 | by Rose Riddell

In the world of music, early release dates are something of a rarity - but in the world of Shawn Mendes, anything can happen. The 16-year old singer-songwriter’s album was scheduled for release on April 24th, but due to some crazy love on Twitter, the album 'Handwritten' is out now!

Here’s some official info about the release:

"By popular demand, Island Records 16-year old singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes’ hotly anticipated debut album HANDWRITTEN has been released ahead of schedule, in reaction to the phenomenal numbers and 1.2 million Twitter mentions posted by last night's Vevo premiere of his RIAA gold #1 debut “Life of The Party,” his biggest video premiere to date! Shawn announced yesterday that if his fans could make this his biggest video premiere and get over 1 million Twitter mentions, they would be awarded with the album early!

The long-awaited "Life Of The Party" video is the second in Shawn's “Handwritten” video series and is a one-take video that features cameos by Vine stars Nash Grier, Jack & Jack, & Aaron Carpenter. It follows the release of the video for “Never Be Alone,” which reached #1 on iTunes upon release. That #1 accomplishment joins a string of other #1 accomplishments for Shawn including the phenomenal RIAA gold #1 debut of “Life of The Party, the #1 debut of the The Shawn Mendes EP, as well as the #1 pre-order debut of HANDWRITTEN.

In addition to “Never Be Alone,” “Something Big” and “Life of The Party,” the aptly-titled HANDWRITTEN album will contain new songs crafted by Shawn in writing sessions on his tour bus over the course of the past year. The album will include production by Martin Terefe (credits: Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours,” Train’s “Hey Soul Sister”), as well as songs with “Life of The Party” co-writers Ido Zmishlany and Scott Harris.

Shawn, hailed as “Music’s First Vine Star” by Billboard, and one of Time Magazine’s most influential teens of 2014, was also crowned “The real deal” by Teen Vogue. Shawn transitioned from teen viral online sensation to full-fledged industry best-seller when his videos were discovered online by manager Andrew Gertler & he was introduced and signed to Island Records. He has since performed live on the The Late Show With David Letterman, ABC’s Good Morning America, Live with Kelly & Michael, NBC's Today Show, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He also performed on and was interviewed by Ellen, and toured this past summer across the U.S. and Canada on Austin Mahone’s Secret Tour."

To celebrate the release of his debut album ‘Handwritten’, we’ve compiled the top five list of reasons we appreciate Shawn Mendes. Check them all out below…

1. He is super trendy - so much so that he was the top trending topic on the night of the Superbowl XLIX. People prefer Shawn to sports!

2. He’s so popular that his album was released early ‘cuz of over 1 million Twitter mentions! That's some dedicated fans right there.

3. Shawn will join Taylor Swift on her sold-out 1989 Tour between May and October 2015. And anyone who’s a friend of Taylor Swift is a friend of ours.

So excited to see my 1989 World Tour-mate @ShawnMendes's album Handwritten at #1 on iTunes!!!

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 16, 2015

4. Shawn is one of Time Magazine’s most influential teens of 2014. He sits on the list alongside Jaden Smith, Becky G, Lorde, and many others - you can check out the whole list HERE.