Social media has created superstars such as Justin Bieber and The Weeknd, and Vine star Shawn Mendes is no different. His popularity grew when he posted Bieber and Ed Sheeran covers on the popular social media app. Now, with his Vevo channel, he posts his own music.

Mendes’ first full length album, Handwritten, released on April 14, showcases his musical ability. Playing the guitar and showing off his vocals, Mendes demonstrates true talent.

The lead single “Life Of The Party” introduced Mendes onto the music charts, demonstrating that not all Viners are unoriginal and plain. The song is slower than most on the album, with a piano and a drum directing the song. Inspirational lyrics like “We don’t have to be ordinary/Make your best mistakes/’Cause we don’t have the time to be sorry/So baby be the life of the party” remind listeners that it’s okay to be out of the ordinary.

“It’s about being happy with yourself as an individual,” Mendes says in an interview with MTV. “There’s one line, ‘We don’t have to be ordinary,’ it really connected with me. Being 16 years old, there’s a ton of trouble figuring out who you want to be, you don’t have to be like a certain person. Just have pride in yourself as an individual.”

“Something Big,” the second single from the album picks up the pace. The melody of the song can improve anyone’s mood, creating a perfect area for a dance party. The lyrics, however, are quite repetitive.

“Each hook generates diminishing returns as the hook’s impact gets weaker with each repeat. At least change up the hook a bit here and there!” Andrew Le, reviewer for Renowned For Sound wrote.

The album includes some slower tracks, like “The Weight,” “I Don’t Even Know Your Name,” and “Crazy. “The Weight” and “I Don’t Even Know Your Name” both sound extremely similar, both with a strong acoustic guitar presence and almost the same rhythm. The songs, although nothing special, add to exploiting Mendes as a serious musician and not a one hit wonder.

“Strings” sounds exactly like Ed Sheeran’s “Don’t,” with Mendes half singing, half rapping like Sheeran does on his song. The melody and the acoustic guitar demonstrate a lot of similarities between Sheeran and Mendes.

“Aftertaste” and “Air” are nearly the same song with Mendes repeating the same syllable throughout the song. Both songs are nothing special, with “Aftertaste” also resembling Sheeran’s style of music.

The best song on the album has to be “Stiches.” The song starts out slow and builds to the chorus, creating anticipation and allowing the chorus to stand out in between the slower versus. The song is the most enticing on the album, and is almost unexpected, slowing down and speeding up at the perfect times.

Overall, Handwritten introduces Shawn Mendes to the world of music. The album has a close resemblance to Ed Sheeran, but does not have anything that really stands out. The record reminds teenagers that being yourself is perfectly fine and it exemplifies Mendes’ true musical talent.