YMMV / Shawn Mendes

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Is the protagonist in 'Treat You Better' a genuine person who cares for the girl in an abusive relationship, or someone who simply wants the girl to leave the other guy so he can be with her? As multiple critics (most notably A Dose of Buckley and Spectrum Pulse) have pointed out, he seems to do it for self-serving reasons.
  Buckley: Everything YOU need? What about everything SHE needs?
  Mark: Does this sound like someone who is genuinely sensitive and wants to comfort you after being abused, or someone who is possessive and thinking with his dick?
• Best Known for the Fanservice: It has been noted by some that although his music has often been very successful, he tends to only get extensive media cover or trend when he's done yet another half-naked photoshoot or being pictured shirtless out in public. Especially since 2020 where he has struggled for hits and relevancy musically.
• Broken Base: A minor example occurred when in the summer of 2019 he declined to help a fan come out to her family as bisexual. Although he congratulated the fan for her bravery and for living out her truth, he told her it would be better for her parents to hear it from her than from a total stranger. Some fans felt he was being insensitive at worst and naive at best; others felt his response was perfectly reasonable.
• Memetic Mutation: "BETTER THAN HE CAN!"
• Narm:
  • Shawn screaming out "BETTER THAN HE CAN!" in "Treat You Better" has been the butt of many jokes thanks to his delivery which have drawn comparisons to a squawking parrot.
  • Also, the line, "any girl like you deserves a gentleman" in the same song. The fact that Mendes seems to be playing the Entitled to Have You trope for all it's worth does not go that well if you've been on the internet, which has effectively destroyed nice guys with places like Reddit that have dedicated subsections just for making fun of supposed nice guys. It comes off more hilarious when all you can think of is the stereotypical nice guy with a fedora who only acts that way to get girls rather than being genuine about it tipping his fedora whilst saying that line. There's also the fact that he pronounces "gentleman" as "gentle man," something that numerous people have made fun of.
• Signature Song: "Stitches" from the Handwritten era, either "Treat You Better" or "There's Nothing Holding Me Back" from Illuminate.

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