Illuminate (Shawn Mendes album) Last updated February 25, 2025 Singles "Treat You Better " was released as the lead single from the album on June 3,2016. [ 4] The music video was released on July 12,2016. It features a storyline where Mendes tries to help a girl in an abusive relationship,and says he can treat her better than her current partner. The song currently has almost two billion views on YouTube. [ 5] Since its release,"Treat You Better" has peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 [ 6]
"Mercy " was serviced to US top 40 radio stations as the second single from the album on October 18,2016. [ 7]
"There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back " was released as the album's third single on April 20,2017. [ 8] 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 were reissued with "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" as track one upon the single's release. [ 9]
Along with the pre-order of Illuminate ,"Ruin" was released as the album's first promotional single on July 8,2016. [ 10] Its music video was released on July 18,2016. [ 11]
On July 28,2016,"Three Empty Words" was released as the second promotional single from the album. [ 12]
"Mercy" was released as the album's third and final promotional single on August 18,2016. Its music video was released on September 21,2016,receiving over 200 million views. [ 13] It features Mendes in a car which is filling up with water and it also features Mendes trashing a room with guitars,a drum-set and a piano.
Critical reception 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." [ 15] 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." [ 16]
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." [ 14] 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." [ 17]
Billboard listed the track "Don't Be a Fool" at number 90 for the best deep cuts from 21st century pop stars. [ 18] Associated Press listed it at number 5 on their best albums of 2016. [ 19]
Illuminate debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200equivalent 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 number one at 18 years,two months and seven days old,becoming the fifth youngest artist to score their first two number one,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 number one since 5 Seconds of Summer bowed at number one 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 . [ 23]
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 . [ 24]
Track listing Illuminate – Standard version [ 25] Title Writer(s) Producer(s) 1. "Ruin" Jake Gosling 4:01 2. "Mercy " 3:28 3. "Treat You Better " 3:07 4. "Three Empty Words" Mendes Harris Zmishlany Warburton Gosling 3:19 5. "Don't Be a Fool" Gosling 3:35 6. "Like This" Pourkarim 3:06 7. "No Promises" Geiger 2:46 8. "Lights On" Gosling 3:21 9. "Honest" 3:19 10. "Patience" Gosling 2:55 11. "Bad Reputation" Gosling 3:18 12. "Understand" Mendes Harris Geiger Warburton Gosling 5:00 Total length: 41:15
Illuminate – Deluxe version (bonus tracks) [ 26] Title Writer(s) Producer(s) 13. "Hold On" Gosling 3:19 14. "Roses" Gosling 3:52 15. "Mercy" (acoustic) 3:39 Total length: 52:05
Illuminate – Japanese special edition (bonus tracks) [ 28] Title 17. "Stitches" 3:27 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) 3:53 Total length: 69:19
References 1 2 Fekadu, Mesfin (October 27, 2016). "Shawn Mendes, the serious, striking musician, emerges on new album" . Associated Press . Retrieved November 8, 2016 . ↑ Stutz, Colin (July 6, 2016). "Shawn Mendes Announces New Album 'Illuminate' - Billboard" . Billboard . Retrieved August 20, 2016 . ↑ "Shawn Mendes Illuminates Sold Out Show at Madison Square Garden" . Billboard . October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016 . ↑ "Treat You Better - Single by Shawn Mendes on iTunes" . iTunes Store (US) . Archived from the original on July 8, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016 . ↑ Geffen, Sasha (July 12, 2016). "Shawn Mendes's 'Treat You Better' Video Is A Reminder That No One Has To Tolerate Abuse - MTV" . MTV . Archived from the original on July 15, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2016 . ↑ Trust, Gary (August 29, 2016). "The Chainsmokers Hold Atop Hot 100, Shawn Mendes Hits Top 10" . Billboard . Retrieved August 29, 2016 . ↑ "Top 40/M Future Releases - Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates" . AllAccess Music Group . October 18, 2016. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016 . ↑ Kaufman, Gil (April 18, 2017). "Shawn Mendes Announces New Single, 'There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back' . Billboard . Retrieved April 20, 2017 . ↑ "Illuminate (Deluxe) by Shawn Mendes on Apple Music" . iTunes. 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2017-05-08 . ↑ "Amazon.com: Ruin: Shawn Mendes: MP3 Download" . Amazon . July 8, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016 . ↑ "Shawn Mendes Shares 'Ruin' Music Video" . Radio.com . July 18, 2016. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2016 . ↑ "Amazon.com: Three Empty Words: Shawn Mendes: MP3 Downloads" . Amazon . July 28, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016 . ↑ Daw, Robbie (August 18, 2016). "Shawn Mendes Begs For 'Mercy' On Powerful New Song: Listen - Idolator" . Idolator . Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2016 . 1 2 Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "Illuminate- Shawn Mendes" . AllMusic . Retrieved September 23, 2016 . 1 2 Levy, Joe (September 23, 2016). "Shawn Mendes': Illuminate" . Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2016 . 1 2 Reyes, Jon (September 23, 2016). "Shawn Mendes' 'Illuminate': Album Review" . Idolator . Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016 . 1 2 de Freitas, Sonia. "Album Review: Shawn Mendes-Illuminate" . Renowned for Sound . Retrieved October 6, 2016 . ↑ "The 100 Best Deep Cuts by 21st Century Pop Stars: Critics' Picks" . Billboard . Retrieved December 13, 2017 . ↑ Fekadu, Mesfin. "AP's top albums of 2016" . associated press . Retrieved September 23, 2016 . ↑ "04 | 2017 Album of the Year | Shawn Mendes" . The JUNO Awards. Retrieved January 10, 2019 . ↑ "Pop Album of the Year | Shawn Mendes" . The JUNO Awards. Retrieved January 10, 2019 . ↑ "2017 ARIA Awards Nominated Artists Revealed" . Australian Recording Industry Association . Archived from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2019 . ↑ Caulfield, Keith (October 2, 2016). "Shawn Mendes Earns Second No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 With 'Illuminate' . Billboard . Retrieved October 3, 2016 . ↑ "On The Charts This Week" . FYI Music News . October 3, 2016. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016 . ↑ "Illuminate by Shawn Mendes on iTunes" . iTunes Store (US) . September 23, 2016. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2016 . ↑ "Illuminate (Deluxe) by Shawn Mendes on iTunes" . iTunes Store (US) . September 9, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016 . ↑ "Illuminate (Japanese Edition)" . Discogs . January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2018 . ↑ "Illuminate (Japan Special Edition) [ Japan Bonus Track] " . CDJapan. Retrieved May 22, 2018 . ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2016. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 6, 2016. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 30, 2016. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 30, 2016. ↑ "Shawn Mendes Chart History (Canadian Albums)" . Billboard ↑ "Top Stranih [ Top Foreign] " (in Croatian). Top Foreign Albums. Hrvatska diskografska udruga. Retrieved March 28, 2018. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). IFPI . Retrieved November 19, 2017 . ↑ "Danishcharts.dk – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2016. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 3, 2016. ↑ "Shawn Mendes: Illuminate" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland . Retrieved October 28, 2016. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2016. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts . Retrieved September 30, 2016. ↑ "Official IFPI Charts - Top-75 Albums Sales Chart - Εβδομάδα: 39/2016" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016 . ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2016. 38. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ . Retrieved October 1, 2016. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 39, 2016" . Chart-Track . IRMA . Retrieved September 30, 2016. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2016. ↑ "Oricon – Shawn Mendes album rank" (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved April 9, 2018 . 1 2 "Los más vendidos 2017" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas . Archived from the original on February 4, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018 . ↑ "Charts.nz – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . Hung Medien. Retrieved September 30, 2016. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . Hung Medien. Retrieved September 30, 2016. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart" . OLiS . Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . Retrieved October 13, 2016. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2016. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved October 1, 2016. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). IFPI . Retrieved November 19, 2017 . ↑ "22016년 40주차 Album Chart" . gaon chart . Retrieved 2017-11-19 . ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2016. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . Hung Medien. Retrieved September 30, 2016. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2016. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved October 1, 2016. ↑ "Shawn Mendes Chart History (Billboard 200)" . Billboard ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Albums 2016" . Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved January 6, 2017 . ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2016 Albums" . Hung Medien. Retrieved December 29, 2016 . ↑ "Album Top-100 2016" (in Danish). Hitlisten.NU. Archived from the original on December 30, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2016 . ↑ "Jaaroverzichten - Album 2016" . Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2016 . ↑ "Classement des 200 meilleures ventes d'albums de 2016" . Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (in French). snepmusique.fr. Retrieved January 14, 2017 . ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" . GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved September 20, 2020 . ↑ "Tónlistinn – Plötur – 2016" (in Icelandic). Plötutíóindi. Retrieved 1 April 2022 . ↑ "Top of the Music - FIMI/GfK: Le uniche classifiche annuali complete" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017 . ↑ "Los más vendidos 2016" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas . Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2017 . ↑ "Top 100 Albums Annual 2016" . El portal de Música . Retrieved January 22, 2022 . ↑ "Årslista Album – År 2016" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved January 13, 2021 . ↑ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2016" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved December 31, 2016 . ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2016" . Billboard . Retrieved December 9, 2016 . ↑ "ARIA End of Year Albums 2017" . Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 5, 2018 . ↑ "Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2017" . Billboard . Retrieved December 15, 2017 . ↑ "Album Top-100 2017" . Hitlisten. Retrieved January 11, 2018 . ↑ "Classifiche annuali dei dischi più venduti e dei singoli più scaricati nel 2017" (in Italian). FIMI. Archived from the original (Click on "Scarica allegato" and open the "Classifica annuale 2017 Album combined" file) on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2018 . ↑ "Top Selling Albums of 2017" . Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 22, 2017 . ↑ "Top 100 Albums Annual 2017" . El portal de Música . Retrieved January 22, 2022 . ↑ "Årslista Album – År 2017" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan . Retrieved January 16, 2018 . ↑ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2017" . Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 10, 2018 . ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2017" . Billboard . Retrieved December 12, 2017 . ↑ "ARIA End of Year Albums 2018" . Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 10, 2019 . ↑ "Album Top-100 2018" (in Danish). Hitlisten. Retrieved January 16, 2019 . ↑ "Årslista Album – År 2018" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved January 15, 2019 . ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2018" . Billboard . Retrieved December 5, 2018 . ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2019" . Ultratop. Retrieved December 20, 2019 . ↑ "Album Top-100 2019" (in Danish). Hitlisten. Retrieved January 15, 2020 . ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2021" . Ultratop. Retrieved January 5, 2022 . ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2022" (in Dutch). Ultratop . Retrieved January 14, 2023 . ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2023" (in Dutch). Ultratop . Retrieved January 7, 2024 . ↑ "Rapports annuels 2023" (in French). Ultratop . Retrieved January 7, 2024 . ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2024" (in Dutch). Ultratop . Retrieved January 2, 2025 . ↑ "Rapports annuels 2024" (in French). Ultratop . Retrieved January 2, 2025 . ↑ "Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200" . Billboard . Retrieved November 15, 2019 . ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2019 Albums" (PDF) . Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved November 9, 2021 . ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved June 26, 2017 . ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2022" . Ultratop . Hung Medien. Retrieved August 30, 2022 . ↑ "Brazilian album certifications – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil . ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . Music Canada . Retrieved August 7, 2024 . ↑ "Danish album certifications – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . IFPI Danmark . Retrieved August 7, 2024 . ↑ "French album certifications – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique . Retrieved August 19, 2019 . ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Shawn Mendes; ' ' (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved January 12, 2018 . ↑ "Italian album certifications – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved January 15, 2018 . ↑ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas . Type Shawn Mendes in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Illuminate in the box under the TÍTULO column heading . ↑ "Dutch album certifications – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers . Retrieved August 15, 2018 . Enter Illuminate in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2017 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen" . ↑ "Norwegian album certifications – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. ↑ "OLiS - oficjalna lista wyróżnień" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . Retrieved April 19, 2023 . Illuminate in the search box. ↑ "Portuguese album certifications – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa . Retrieved August 7, 2024 . ↑ "Singapore album certifications – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . Recording Industry Association Singapore . Retrieved January 4, 2022 . ↑ "Spanish album certifications – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . El portal de Música . Productores de Música de España . Retrieved November 11, 2023 . ↑ "Veckolista Album, vecka 12, 2018 | Sverigetopplistan" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan . Scroll to position 47 to view certification. ↑ "British album certifications – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved October 11, 2021 . ↑ "American album certifications – Shawn Mendes – Illuminate" . Recording Industry Association of America .
Studio albums Live albums EPs Singles Featured singles Promotional singles Other songs Films Concert tours
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
