Shawn Peter Raul Mendes of European Portuguese decent, was born August 8, 1998. Shawn is a Canadian singer and songwriter who has amazing talent and a social media base that is second to none. He attracted a following in 2013, when he began posting song covers on the video sharing application Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist managers Andrew Gertler and Island Records A&R Ziggy Chareton, which led to him signing a deal with the record label. Mendes went on to release an EP and his debut studio album Handwritten, whose single “Stitches” reached the top 10 in the US and Canada, and number one in the UK. His sophomore album, Illuminate (2016), was preceded by the single “Treat You Better”. Both albums debuted atop the US Billboard 200. Now Shawn is taking the radio world by storm once again with the fast flying “Mercy” (Island/Republic). It has been a prime mover here at New Music Weekly, Mediabase, Billboard and other leading music charts. We will keep you apprised on the continued story ever building for Shawn Mendes here on the pages of New Music Weekly magazine. This is a very special “Winners & Post CRS” issue where we get the chance to honor the winners for the 2017 New Music Awards. Please take the time to look at some of the heartfelt messages provided from some of our winners. There are also lots of items in this issue regarding the 2017 Country Radio Seminar (CRS). A big congratulations goes out to all of our winners and nominees and we also want to acknowledge many of the artists and groups we spent quality time with at this year’s CRS. We look forward to joining you again next year.