Pop star Shawn Mendes is hoping he won't be booed offstage by rock fans at the Governors Ball this weekend.
The Stitches singer is slated to perform at the annual festival in New York on Friday (01Jun18) ahead of indie rockers Jack White and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and he is terrified his set will disappoint, admitting he is "totally" intimidated by the audience.
"I don’t know if any of Jack White’s fans are gonna know who I am, but the thing about festivals is it’s the moment to not be a name but to be a musician and an artist," he tells Rolling Stone. "I’m just gonna get onstage and do what I do because that’s all I can do. Then maybe one day I’ll be in Jack White’s position, and that’s the dream."
The Canadian hitmaker shot to fame on social media in 2013, gathering millions of followers on popular app Vine, and the star admits he is just beginning to become comfortable with himself as a serious musician.
“I was stuck as a Viner in people’s minds for a long time. I feel like I’ve finally broken free from that," the 19 year old says. "I'm still really young in terms of being a musician."
Since he and fellow Canadian Justin Bieber became stars via social media, Shawn is often compared to the Sorry singer, but he insists he never tires of the comparisons, despite gossip suggesting otherwise.
"One thing people may not know about me is how much I look up to Bieber," he explains. "I don’t think I’ve ever truly told him he was my main inspiration for what I wanted to do. I learned every one of his songs by heart. He taught me how to riff and sing. So every time someone asks me about Bieber, I always say, 'That’s the biggest compliment you could give me.' "
Shawn learned to play guitar by watching tutorials on YouTube, the video platform where Bieber was discovered.
