Last month, I saw Shawn Mendes live! After seeing Reneé Rapp earlier in September, I remembered how much I love live music – the shared crowd excitement, the bustling energy, the collective fangirling. So, naturally, I decided to look into another upcoming concert: Shawn Mendes’s On the Road Again Tour.
I remembered seeing Shawn Mendes announce his tour during the summer, but I’ve never been a die-hard fan. Like many girls, I loved him during his Stitches era and later liked a few songs, like “Heavy,” from his later albums.
Still, possibly because of the strong wave of nostalgia I’ve been experiencing lately, I decided I couldn’t miss seeing Shawn Mendes live. If I didn’t see him now, when would I?
So, I bugged my friends trying to find at least one person to go with me. Considering his concert was mid-week and I don’t know too many die-hard Shawn Mendes fans, it was hard to find someone willing to go, but I finally found someone to go with me!
And boy, am I happy I roped someone into attending this concert with me. I’d never been to the Huntington Bank Pavilion, and I fell in love with it. It reminded me of why I love Chicago. I could see skyscrapers behind Shawn Mendes as I stood among thousands of other fans (mostly girls), feeling the cool wind from Lake Michigan and simply enjoying a random Wednesday night amid the stress of Northwestern’s quarter system.
I used to love pop music, so hearing him sing “In My Blood,” “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back,” “Treat You Better,” and many of his older songs really reminded me of what men in pop used to be. There was a time when our radios would play hours on end of men’s love or Justin Timberlake-like dance songs. Men in the music industry were dynamic. We had DJs, pop-rock bands, classic pop boy bands, and amazing solo artists.
For me, the 2012 – 2016 era will always be our peak pop years. Back then, we had Shawn Mendes, Justin Bieber, Adam Levine, and Bruno Mars dominating this genre.
Back then, fangirls were built different — and I mean that in the best way. You could see thousands of girls waiting for their favorite singers’ signatures, spending thousands of dollars on their tickets, and falling madly in love with these teen heartthrobs. I don’t think many artists have the dedicated, almost-obsessed fan base that these (what I like to call) “pop men” used to generate.
Today, we have “It Girls.” We have Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Charli XCX, and many more. I love that Tate McRae can dance, and her concerts raise the bar for what performances should look like. I am obsessed with Sabrina Carpenter’s music videos and fun, girly music. I am in no way trying to discredit the women who are crushing the music industry right now.
But there was a time when college girls used to blast The All-American Rejects, One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer, The Vamps, and all of our favorite solo male artists.
I simply think there’s always room for both. And I think right now, the men in studios are not delivering the same way they used to. We need to start opening up more garages and bring back boy bands. Benson Boone has been a recent “pop man,” but again, I personally haven’t been really impressed.
I want to see girls gushing over their favorite male artists. I want women to enthusiastically fight for barricades.
Role Model is one of the few current “pop men” with a strong female audience — he’s funny, charming, and relatable. His latest album, Kansas Anymore, grew his listeners. Now, he’s People’s first-ever Sexiest Man Alive centerfold. He’s so good at using his listeners that he started his own award. Perhaps it’s his amazing connections and his “Sallys” that keep women loving him. Whether it’s his many tattoos or his beloved ex, there are plenty of reasons behind what feels like now a rare level of obsessed fan base. He’s one of the few male artists keeping the girls hooked, but even with him, we are still missing that more early 2000s pop-rock energy.
On your way to class, I hope you are inspired to dig into your Spotify and bring back a “pop man.” Listen to “Dirty Little Secret,” or “Some Nights,” or anything that takes you back to the golden age of pop. I hope these songs radiate to you the joyful, nostalgic feelings that they do for me.