Illuminate (Shawn Mendes album)

Illuminate is the second studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter Shawn Mendes. It was released on September 23, 2016, through Island Records and Universal Music Group.[2] Musically, the album contains music genres pop, rock and blues.[1] 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 March 2017.[3]

Illuminate
Studio album by Shawn Mendes
Released	September 23, 2016 (2016-09-23)
Recorded	February - August 2016
Studio	Noble Street Studios (Toronto, Ontario)
Genre	Pop rock blues[1]
Length	44:34
Label	Island Universal
Producer	Jake Gosling Teddy Geiger Laleh Pourkarim Dan Romer Scott Harris Daylight
Shawn Mendes chronology
Handwritten (2015) Illuminate (2016) Live at Madison Square Garden (2016)
Singles from Illuminate
"Treat You Better" Released: June 3, 2016 "Mercy" Released: October 18, 2016 "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" Released: April 20, 2017

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 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.[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]

Promotional singles

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

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[14]
Rolling Stone	[15]
Idolator	[16]
Renowned for Sound	[17]

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.""[15] For Jon Reyes of Idolator, "[Shawn's] most noticeable change, aside from the tight music hall sonics, is the subtle infusion of sex into the lyrics. He's graduated from songs like "Kid In Love" to fare like "Lights On" and "Patience." Both ballads paint clear pictures of behind-closed-doors moments, and the sexual nature of the lyrics doesn't qualify as innuendo by any means."[16] Associated Press listed it at number 5 on their best albums of 2016.[18] Billboard listed the track "Don't Be a Fool" at number 90 for the best deep cuts from 21st century pop stars.[19]

Accolades

Award ceremony	Category	Result
Juno Awards of 2017	Album of the Year[20]	Nominated
	Pop Album of the Year[21]	Nominated
ARIA Music Awards of 2017	Best International Artist[22]	Nominated

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.[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]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back"	Shawn Mendes Teddy Geiger Scott Harris Geoffrey Warburton	Geiger Andrew Maury	3:19
2.	"Ruin"	Mendes Ido Zmishlany Harris Warburton Zubin Thakkar	Jake Gosling	4:01
3.	"Mercy"	Mendes Geiger Danny Parker Ilsey Juber	Gosling Geiger	3:28
4.	"Treat You Better"	Mendes Geiger Harris	Geiger Dan Romer DJ "Daylight" Kyriakides	3:07
5.	"Three Empty Words"	Mendes Harris Zmishlany Warburton	Gosling	3:19
6.	"Don't Be a Fool"	Mendes Harris Warburton	Gosling	3:35
7.	"Like This"	Mendes Laleh Pourkarim Gustaf Thörn	Pourkarim	3:06
8.	"No Promises"	Mendes Harris Geiger	Geiger	2:46
9.	"Lights On"	Mendes Harris Warburton	Gosling	3:21
10.	"Honest"	Mendes Harris Warburton	Gosling Harris	3:19
11.	"Patience"	Mendes Harris Geiger	Gosling	2:55
12.	"Bad Reputation"	Mendes Harris Warburton	Gosling	3:18
13.	"Understand"	Mendes Harris Geiger Warburton	Gosling	5:00
Total length:				44:34

Illuminate – Deluxe version (bonus tracks)[26]

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 Parker Juber	Gosling Geiger	3:39
Total length:				55:24

Illuminate – Japanese version (bonus tracks)[27]

No.	Title	Length
16.	"Stitches"	3:27
17.	"Treat You Better" (live at Madison Square Garden)	4:17
18.	"Ruin" (live at Madison Square Garden)	7:53
Total length:		60:11

Illuminate – Japanese special edition (bonus tracks)[28]

No.	Title	Length
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

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

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2016–17) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[29] 3 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[30] 1 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[31] 3 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[32] 11 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[33] 1 Croatian International Albums (HDU)[34] 25 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[35] 7 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[36] 1 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[37] 1 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[38] 6 French Albums (SNEP)[39] 16 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[40] 2 Greek Albums (IFPI)[41] 12 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[42] 21 Irish Albums (IRMA)[43] 1 Italian Albums (FIMI)[44] 3 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[45] 61 Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)[46] 1 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[47] 2 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[48] 1 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[49] 29 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[50] 1 Scottish Albums (OCC)[51] 3 Slovak Albums (ČNS IFPI)[52] 25 South Korean Albums Overseas (Gaon)[53] 32 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[54] 5 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[55] 1 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[56] 2 Taiwanese Albums (Five Music)[57] 1 UK Albums (OCC)[58] 3 US Billboard 200[59] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2016) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[60] 67 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[61] 81 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[62] 27 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[63] 28 French Albums (SNEP)[64] 161 Italian Albums (FIMI)[65] 83 Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)[66] 78 UK Albums (OCC)[67] 66 US Billboard 200[68] 128 Chart (2017) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[69] 42 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[70] 7 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[71] 4 Italian Albums (FIMI)[72] 41 Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)[46] 29 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[73] 39 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[74] 9 UK Albums (OCC)[75] 73 US Billboard 200[76] 22 Chart (2018) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[77] 61 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[78] 24 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[79] 54 US Billboard 200[80] 98 Chart (2019) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[81] 83 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[82] 47 Decade-end charts Chart (2010–2019) Position US Billboard 200[83] 182

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[84]	Platinum	70,000
Austria (IFPI Austria)[85]	Platinum	15,000^*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[86]	Platinum	40,000^*
Canada (Music Canada)[87]	3× Platinum	240,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[88]	4× Platinum	80,000
France (SNEP)[89]	Platinum	100,000
Germany (BVMI)[90]	Gold	100,000
Italy (FIMI)[91]	Platinum	50,000^*
Mexico (AMPROFON)[92]	2× Platinum+Gold	150,000^^
Netherlands (NVPI)[93]	Platinum	40,000^^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[94]	Gold	15,000^*
Poland (ZPAV)[95]	Gold	10,000^*
Sweden (GLF)[96]	2× Platinum	60,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[97]	Gold	100,000
United States (RIAA)[98]	Platinum	1,000,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

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