It was August 19 and “We want shawn! We want shawn!” was the chanting you could hear inside the arena of the Verizon Center.
More than 17,000 girls were waiting for their favorite singer to step on stage. Shawn Mendes, a 19 year old canadian popstar who started off his career in 2013 through an app called “Vine” by posting six second videos of himself singing songs, is now receiving his third Billboard award this year for Artist of the Year.
I remember meeting Shawn in 2013, I had gone to a Magcon event where for $25, supporters were given a chance to interact and meet him.
At the time I wasn’t such a big fan like I am now, but I am very grateful that through that opportunity, I was able to further discover his music.
I had gone to the Illuminate concert with one of my best friends, Lauren Quiroz, a senior at Edison High School. Lauren had purchased me tickets way back in April as a birthday gift and we had been waiting for months for this day to arrive.
Every year since our freshman year, Lauren and I would buy tickets for each other every single time that Shawn was scheduled to perform in the Washington D.C area. This concert was our fourth consecutive year seeing him!
To start with, the entrance of the Verizon Center wasn’t as long as I thought it would be.
The only worry I had was if I would get caught hiding my selfie stick in my overalls.
However, when the security machine turned red they thought it was because of my bracelets. I managed to sneak the selfie stick in!
As Lauren and I waited for Shawn to come on stage, I had spotted Youtube star, Dante D’angelo!
I got up and ran so quick from my seat that I ended up spilling my water all over on the ground. In the end it was worth it because I took pictures with Dante and even made a video with him!
Around 8:45 pm., the lights began to flash and the crowd started screaming. It was finally time for Shawn to begin his performances.
He had come up from below the surface of the stage and started the concert off by singing his hit single “Treat You Better.”
Throughout the entire concert I was so having a roller coaster ride of emotions because his songs can make you feel very connected.
Did I forget to mention that Charlie Puth opened up for Shawn? Well he did and it was so amazing!
In my own personal opinion, Charlie sounds much better live because you can really hear the nice rich voice he has.
The best part of the concert was when Shawn sang “Bad Reputation.” He sang the song so beautifully and with deep emotions. It was obvious that Shawn gave it all to that song.
Towards the end of the concert, Shawn decided to step down from the stage and run around the arena to meet his fans!
Unfortunately Lauren and I were in the first row with seats and he was greeting everyone who had floor seats but we still got to see him at a very close proximity.
Lauren and I also met some new friends who were sitting next to us because we were all really big fans of Shawn.
We were also all high school seniors! Overall this was a very emotional experience and it was one of the best concerts he has had. I wish I could re-live it all over again.