Shawn Mendes reveals his celebrity status makes it hard to find a girlfriend

STANDING at a gawky 6ft 2in, with a baby face and the uniform hair quiff, Shawn Mendes could be any ordinary teenager.

But he’s far from normal.

The teen pop star has 4.8 million followers on video-sharing app Vine, 7.5 million on Twitter and more than 4 million likes on Facebook.

But the stats don’t stop there.

He recently sold out New York’s Madison Square Garden in a matter of minutes, has more than 600 million views on the YouTube video for his bestselling UK single Stitches and is worth over £2million.

And all before his 19th birthday.

The Canadian singer first stumbled upon fame in 2013, when he uploaded a clip of himself playing guitar and singing an acoustic version of Justin Bieber’s As Long As You Love Me on Vine.

Overnight it had 10,000 likes and his followers rocketed.

Since then the singer/songwriter’s been catapulted into the limelight after signing with Island Records and releasing two albums, Handwritten in 2015, which reached No.12 in the UK chart, and Illuminate last month.

Despite his youthful looks, he’s mature beyond his years.

His determination to become a “timeless artist” is a force to be reckoned with and this work ethic – along with his talent – is perhaps why he amassed such a huge following before he’d even left school.

With back-to-back appearances, endless selfies with screaming fans and a world tour on the cards next year, Shawn is relentlessly busy.
But he’s ever the professional (take note, Biebs) as we sit down to talk.

You’ve gone from a regular schoolboy to pop sensation in just three years, Shawn – do you feel like you’ve made it?

I’ll never feel like I’ve made it. You can’t get too comfortable and relax because your world can flip overnight.

There have been artists who’ve sold out arenas one year, and the next they can’t fill a theatre. There’s always more to achieve.

You look back at people like Elvis and The Beatles and still get their music because it’s timeless. That’s what I want.

Do you worry that becoming world-famous will affect your private life?

I do worry a little, but if it does happen I’ll take it with a pinch of salt and learn how to handle it.

Truthfully, I don’t think there will ever be a time when I can’t walk across the street to go to a restaurant. It’s up to you to keep your life as normal as possible.

I will forever have time to take photos with fans and talk to them if they want to talk. But when it comes to having time to myself, I take it seriously.

You can’t give the world your whole self or you’d fall apart. I give as much as I can, and then I have to take time for myself.

You’re single at the moment – do you find it difficult to meet women?

It’s hard to connect with people when you work in this industry. Even though I’m not an intimidating person, my career is.

People will automatically think: “Oh, he’s a douchebag because he’s famous,” and they’ll be mean.

But if they took the time to get to know me, then they’d understand I’m not that person. I’m very down-to-earth.

It’s hard to get through that first bubble, not just with girls but with everyone.

That sounds quite lonely…

Yeah. I mean, it’s not that I can’t connect, it just takes a little more effort. I almost have to make myself completely vulnerable for people to feel comfortable around me.

But it’s OK, I get it. I’m intimidated by Taylor Swift. Not in a bad way, but I see her and I’m like: “OMG, what do I do? What do I say?” So I understand how people might feel meeting me.

I don’t get upset about it, I just have to work round it because that’s my life now.

You’re very mature for 18. Does the music industry make you grow up too fast?

I feel I’m a lot older than my age. I’ve been working for three years and hang around more with people in their 30s than I do 18 year olds, so it’s been quite a natural progression.

Saying that, all my friends from home went to university last week and I’m kinda jealous. I wish I could stop time and go there for a year. I miss things like that the most.

How do you keep your feet on the ground?