3 Reasons Why a Musical Featuring Shawn Mendes' Songs Is a Great Idea

If you're not fond of pop music, not updated with the twitter trends, couldn't care less about the Billboard and iTunes charts- or the local radio station where you tune in hasn't played Stitches yet, then you probably wouldn't know this *awesome*newcomer that is taking the charts by storm!

Let's recap. Who is Shawn Mendes, anyway?

Shawn is a Canadian singer who gained widespread recognition in 2013 after posting snippets of popular song covers on Vine. In 2014, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gertler and Island Records A&R Ziggy Chareton which led to him signing a deal with the record label. Prior to that, he was a member of the MagCon Tour with other young artists and social media sensations such as Cameron Dallas, Nash Grier and Jack&Jack.

This year, Shawn is touring with Taylor Swift as one of the opening acts in her 1989 Tour, and he is captivating us one performance at a time. You also might have heard him recently in Disney Channel's Original Movie Descendants.

Since he already sang the soundtrack for a Disney Channel Original Movie, I hope that he would take up acting as well soon enough. He has such great potential. He may have only turned 17 on August 8th (Happy Birthday Shawn!!), but he already has good looks, a great singing voice and a huge social media following -that's a top-notch A-List Hollywood success in-the-making right there!

So, why do I say his songs would be a good choice for a TV Musical? *Looking at you Kenny Ortega*

This is the first of the Handwritten music video series, and he has made it into a typical love story, that if expanded, can make a good part of a movie. The other part of his songs are:

• Part 1. Never be Alone- starting a bond
• Part 2. Life of the Party- being together
• Part 3. Stitches- getting hurt
• Part 4. Aftertaste- breaking apart

I've read countless comments how these songs made the listener emotional, because when it comes down to it, the lyrics are simple yet cleverly put-together and the meaning of his words could really hit you like a bag of feels.

Show You is one of Shawn's earlier songs. When I showed it to my classmates, they repeated the video over and over again everyday, and that is saying something. They're really not into that type of artist (they're K-Poppers) and them liking it is just a testament of how his songs speak through you and are really catchy. Disney tend to have songs that will ring in your head for a long period of time, right? That's why I think these two are a perfect match!

I also find his songs smooth and straight to the point. He's not mincing his words and if you find you're speechless over something, a good Shawn Mendes song can break you out of that trance. That's what they do in musicals, right? (Teen Beach Movie, Frenemies, High School Musical)

With his massive following, casting him in a movie will sure gain millions! His voice is suave, he exudes confidence and charisma, and he is rather charming. Those on its own can transfix anyone; and I believe Shawn will be a splendid actor. In fact, he's actually going to be a special guest for the TV Series The 100!

Aside from that, the guy has already been nominated and won various awards, and he is the youngest artist to debut in the top 25 with a debut song on the Billboard Hot 100, making to number 24 for the week ending July 12, 2014 at 15 years, 11 months and 4 days of age!

How's that for the power of social media?

I can imagine a lot of possible collaborators already should his songs be included on a musical. I'm thinking Disney here, so my cast picks would be Debby Ryan, Bella Thorne, Peyton List, Zendaya, Maia Mitchell, Ross Lynch, Mitchel Musso, and so on.

The songs that could make a great addition to this musical aside from those listed could be The Weight, which talks about the girl cheating on him but couldn't quite let him go even though she's already heavily infatuated with her current beau's bestfriend.

I would also include A Little Too Much, which talks about a girl (or can be swapped to a guy) whose strong resolve is breaking from too much pressure and loneliness.

Granted, most of his fans are teenagers, we all experience a phase in life where we can live with the simple things, and even the smallest of things can still make us cry. Listening to Shawn's songs give me that Ed Sheeran vibe-- but on a relateable level. Not only because we're the same age, but also because his lyrics are clearly understandable and realistic; and he directly depicts the messages of the songs to his listeners. Teenagers often have difficulty in expressing what they want and it all can bubble up into frustrations. His songs can express these frustrations in a 'cut to the chase' way that most of us find a little too challenging to be spoken aloud.

On another note, his songs such as Lost, I Don't Even Know Your Name, Kid In Love, Crazy and This Is What It Takes will surely make a great addition to the aforementioned songs featured in a movie for having a dominant affinity to the teenagers like me. His aptitude in making his songs striking not only to our minds, but retained to our hearts.

Kickstarter, anyone?