Illuminate

IlluminateStudio album by Shawn Mendes
General information
Release Date	September 23, 2016
Recorded	February - August 2016
Studio	Noble Street Studios (Toronto, Ontario)
Genre	Pop, Rock, Blues
Length	44:40 (Standard) 55:31 (Deluxe) 52:12 (Walmart) 1:07:50 (Japanese) 1:09:26 (Japanese Special Edition)
Producer(s)	Jake Gosling, Teddy Geiger, Laleh Pourkarim, Dan Romer, Scott Harris, DJ "Daylight" Kyriakides
Label
Studio albums chronology
Previous	Handwritten
Current	Illuminate
Next	Shawn Mendes
Singles
1. "Treat You Better" Released: May 2, 2015 2. "Mercy" Released: July 17, 2015 3. "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" Released: March 19, 2016
Promotional Singles
1. "Ruin" Released: June 7, 2015 2. "Three Empty Words" Released: June 27, 2015 3. "Don't Be a Fool" Released: September 15, 2016

Illuminate is Shawn Mendes's sophomore studio album. It was released on September 23, 2016, through Island Records and Universal Music Group.

Musically, the album contains music genres pop, rock, and blues. The album debuted atop the US Billboard 200 and the Canadian Albums Chart. It was preceded by the lead single "Treat You Better", which reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

This album was supported by the Illuminate World Tour, which began in February 2016.

Singles

• "Treat You Better" was released as the lead single from the album on May 2, 2015. The music video was released on June 11, 2015. It features a storyline where Mendes would like to help the girl in an abusive relationship, and he can treat her better. The song currently has almost two billion views on YouTube. Since its release, "Treat You Better" has peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

• "Mercy" was serviced to US top 40 radio stations as the second single from the album on September 17, 2015. Its music video was released on August 20, 2015, receiving over 200 million views. It features Mendes in a car that is filling up with water and it also features Mendes trashing a room with guitars, a drum-set, and a piano.

• "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" was released as the album's third single on March 19, 2016. The song debuted at number 7 in the United Kingdom, becoming his highest debut in the country. It also debuted in the top ten in Australia and Denmark. The iTunes version of both the standard and deluxe versions of Illuminate was reissued with "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" as track one upon the single's release.

Treat You Better

Mercy

There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

Promotional singles

• "Ruin" was released as the album's first promotional single on June 7, 2015. The single came along with the pre-order of Illuminate. Its music video was released on June 17, 2015.

• "Three Empty Words" was released on June 27, 2015, as the second promotional single from the album.

• "Don't Be a Fool" was released on September 15, 2016 as the third promotional single from the album.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Rolling Stone
Idolator
Renowned for Sound

The album received generally positive reviews from music critics.

Writing for Rolling Stone, Joe Levy noted "Illuminate mixes professions of romantic agony like "Mercy" (where a quietly hummed hook explodes into crashing drums), with nice-boy valentines like "Treat You Better" and bedroom come-ons like "Lights On"" while naming the album "disarmingly intimate." Jon Reyes of Idolator, wrote that "[Shawn's] most noticeable change, aside from the tight music hall sonics, is the subtle infusion of sex into the lyrics" as well as feeling that the record as a whole "displays his lyrical development" and "polishes a proven formula."

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that the album has "a bit of grace and warmth" and that Mendes "came into his own on Illuminate while also complimenting his "small and sweet" voice and how he "has gelled into his pop persona." Sonia de Freitas, writing for Renowned for Sound, noticed that it "is apparent that Mendes has shifted to a more mature and soulful sound, and far more introspective lyrical content" while praising his vocals, writing that "he sings earnestly, with an emotive delivery in every song."

Billboard listed the track "Don't Be a Fool" at number 90 for the best deep cuts from 21st century pop stars. Associated Press listed it at number 5 on their best albums of 2015.

Accolades

Award ceremony	Category	Result	Ref.
Juno Awards of 2017	Album of the Year	Nominated
	Pop Album of the Year	Nominated
ARIA Music Awards of 2017	Best International Artist	Nominated

Tracklisting

Deluxe and Walmart Exclusive (Bonus Tracks)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Hold On"	Mendes · Harris · Warburton	Gosling	3:19
15.	"Roses"	Mendes · Tobias Jesso Jr. · Tom Hull	Gosling	3:52
16.	"Mercy" (Acoustic)	Mendes · Geiger · Danny Parker · Ilsey Juber	Gosling · Geiger	3:39
Total length:				55:31

Japanese (Bonus Tracks)
No.	Title	Length
16.	"Stitches" (Bonus Track from Handwritten)	3:28
17.	"Treat You Better" (Live at Madison Square Garden)	4:18
18.	"Ruin" (Live at Madison Square Garden)	7:52
Total length:		1:07:50

Japanese Special Edition (Bonus Tracks)
No.	Title	Length
17.	"Stitches" (Bonus Track from Handwritten)	3:28
18.	"There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" (Acoustic)	3:21
19.	"There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" (NOTD Remix)	3:14
20.	"Treat You Better" (Ashworth Remix)	3:52
Total length:		1:09:26

Commercial performance

Illuminate debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 145,000 equivalent album units, of which 121,000 copies were pure album sales. It became Mendes' second number-one album in the US and his best sales week. Mendes achieved his second No. 1 at 18 years, two months and seven days old, becoming the fifth artist to score their first two No. 1 albums at such a young age, following Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Hilary Duff and LeAnn Rimes. In addition, Mendes is the first artist to have their first two full-length studio albums hit No. 1 since 5 Seconds of Summer bowed at No. 1 with Sounds Good Feels Good (2015) and their self-titled debut album (2014), and the first male artist to claim the distinction since 2015, when ASAP Rocky bowed atop the list with At. Long. Last. ASAP, following 2013’s Long. Live. ASAP.

In his native Canada, the album debuted at number one with 21,000 total consumption units, of which 17,000 were album units sold, surpassing the highest one week sales total reached with his last album, Handwritten. Illuminate also picked up 3.8 million audio on-demand streams, the second highest total of the week, trailing only Drake's Views.

Gallery

• Photoshoot
• Booklet

Trivia

• The album originally did not feature "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" until the Illuminate World Tour began.

Personnel

Composer - Ilsey Juber, Scott Harris, Shawn Mendes, Danny Parker, Teddy Geiger, Laleh Pourkarim, Gustaf Thörn, Zubin Thakkar, Geoffrey Warburton A&R -Ziggy Chareton, David Massey, Gabrielle Rosen Producer - Teddy Geiger, Jake Gosling, Laleh Pourkarim, Dan Romer Vocal Producer - Laleh Pourkarim Backing Vocals - Anouck Boungnang, Rachel Brown, Ziggy Chareton, Adam Coltman, Jackson Dimiglio, DJ Kyriakides, Mike Dwyer, Teddy Geiger, André Gertler, Matthew Gooderham, Jake Gosling, Scott Harris, Chris Leonard, Laleh Pourkarim, Dan Romer, Gustaf Thörn, Geoffrey Warburton Vocals - Shawn Mendes, Chris Leonard Vocal Engineer - Scott Harris Engineer - Jackson Dimiglio, Teddy Geiger, Laleh Pourkarim, Dan Romer Assistant Engineer - Mike Dwyer, Gustaf Thörn String Engineering - Paul Antonell String Arrangements- David Baron Hand clapping - Ziggy Chareton, Teddy Geiger, Jake Gosling, André Gertler, Scott Harris, Chris Leonard, Geoffrey Warburton Guitar - DJ Kyriakides, Teddy Geiger, Laleh Pourkarim, Dan Romer, Gustaf Thörn Acoustic Guitar - Scott Harris, Chris Leonard, Shawn Mendes, Geoffrey Warburton Electric Guitar - Teddy Geiger, Scott Harris, Chris Leonard, Geoffrey Warburton

Percussion - Teddy Geiger, Jake Gosling, Scott Harris, Shawn Mendes, Dan Romer, Geoffrey Warburton Mastering - Chris Gehringer Art Direction - Joe Spix Mixing - Tony Maserati, Jackson Dimiglio, Jake Gosling, George Seara Mixing Assistant - Cody Robertson, Tyler Scott Programming - Jackson Dimiglio, Teddy Geiger, Jake Gosling, Shawn Mendes, Dan Romer Piano - Teddy Geiger, Jake Gosling, Peter Gosling, Scott Harris, Gustaf Thörn Keyboard - Teddy Geiger, Scott Harris, Dan Romer Bass - Teddy Geiger, Chris Leonard, Shawn Mendes, Dan Romer, Gustaf Thörn Violin - Dana Lyn, Olivier Manchon, Rob Murphy Viola - Dana Lyn, Olivier Manchon Tambourine - Shawn Mendes Drums - Teddy Geiger, Dan Romer Synthesizer - Jackson Dimiglio, Teddy Geiger, Jake Gosling Cello - Ling Kwan Organ - Jake Gosling Design - Ashley Pawlak Package Production - Andy Proctor Photography- James Minchin III Primary Artist - Shawn Mendes Soloist - Shawn Mendes Wood Clapping - Jackson Dimiglio Fender Rhodes - Jake Gosling Clapping - Jake Gosling