Shawn Mendes Is A Thirst Trap And Here's The Proof

The first time it came to my attention that Shawn Mendes was a thirst trap was this racy photoshoot for Flaunt Magazine. Up until then I thought of him as that nice Canadian boy with the pretty voice doing the guitar music, but after he threw off his shirt, flexed his abs, and stared directly into the camera we all knew, this boy is now a man and that man is a thirst trap.

The harsh lighting and bold reds scream look at me, admire me, I am a real, flesh and blood thirst trap, and you love it. Here he is pictured just so casually reclining on a sofa with his shirt off, which literally no one does ever in photos unless they want people to gaze thirstily at the them.

I mean come on Shawn, here you aren’t even pretending to recline on a sofa. There is no plausible deniability here. It is just Shawn staring at a camera, giving you come hither looks and just pulling his top down to give you a lil’ taste. He isn’t asking you to be thirsty now, he is demanding it.

When you throw your head back like Shawn is doing here, you are making people think of the one time they throw their head back in ecstasy. Sure, Shawn is on the street fully clothed, but this thirst trap has skills, and he is being oh so subtle with that trap.

Instagram is the where all the top-quality thirst traps refine their skills, and allow you to peruse their hotness, while also liking what they are serving you. Shawn’s Instagram is one of the trappiest around. When I post beach snaps, I am not on a swing gazing longingly into the distance, but then again, I’m the trapped, not the trappee.

The key to being a successful thirst trap is not giving the people what they want, but giving them what they need. And we all need Shawn Mendes in silhouette playing the piano. It makes you want to see him in the flesh, but then even the contour of his profile gets a bazillion likes.

Lest we forget, Shawn is actually an incredibly accomplished singer-songwriter who has achieved much in his young adult life. Here he is being serious, one of the things that separates him from thirst trap pack. He isn’t all abs and beach shots. Here he is, playing the guitar, seemingly caught candid looking better than I will ever look in my entire life.

Once again, Shawn goes conceptual with his thirst trapping. Here he is in pajama bottoms, making you think of Shawn in bed. He doesn’t need to take off his top for you, he just needs you to think of him in bed. That is some top notch, black-belt level thirst trapping.

While Shawn’s Instagram is an endless source of him being attractive, this is probably the most representative of his brand of thirst trap. It is black and white, to show you he’s serious. He is fully clothed, but with the sleeves rolled up, to try and say, hey I’m not a thirst trap. But then, he posted a picture where he looks like a matinee idol, so really he is a thirst trap that knows how to play the game.

The music video is where musically inclined thirst traps gets a hoard of money to get you to lust over them. Shawn Mendes has used this art form differently from his contemporaries. While Bieber tries to look cool, One Direction tried to look fun, and Zayn tries to look sad, Shawn uses it to say, ‘look at how hot I am while I’m being a serious musician’.

In his collaboration with goddess Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes and Camilla walk around a post-apocalyptic landscape with the sole purpose of proving how good looking they are. There really isn’t a story. They spent money on this, but were like: ‘you know what, no one needs a story, they just need our faces’. Fair point.

Shawn’s music has continued to evolve to the point where every song he releases is a indisputable banger. He is insanely talented, but thank god even as his music continues to mature, his desire for trapping the parched, the dehydrated, and the thirsty is still as strong as ever. I mean this look to camera says it all.

In film, when people look directly at the camera it gives a sense of intimacy. Most people in music videos, film, and TV don’t look at the camera, so when it happens it can be disarming. In Treat You Better, one of his catchiest songs, Shawn uses this technique to get the fans gagging, and gag they do.

While released before the Flaunt photoshoot that made me totally aware of his thirst trap ways, Stitches was his breakout hit. It is the song that took him beyond his Vine audience to the mainstream. Like any teen idol, you need to thirst trap. Your livelihood depends on it. Here, the boy-next-door gets beaten up for your love (by unseen forces) to prove he is tough and you are worth it. He didn’t start from the bottom, he started at the top. Out of the gates as an A+ thirst trap.

Do I even need to say anything about this Mercy promo photo? He is shirtless, there is water, he is looking directly at the camera, and it is black and white. Here we have all of Shawn’s favorite ways to trap us rolled into one image, and I assume all of his fans thank him for not taking the subtle route here.

So this is the most loving gaze in the world, directed at a member of the most iconic boyband of all time. Yes, it is a candid photo, so you could say Shawn didn’t plan it. But he is at an awards show. He knows there are cameras, and he knows one loving look will have social media freaking out…and freak out they did.

When you channel Elvis, you are channeling the original rock-and-roll thirst trap. From the hair to the hips to the voice, he knew what he was doing, and the millions of screaming fans attested to that. Literally no one can pull off Elvis better than Elvis, but then Shawn Mendes brylcreams his hair back, rolls up his shirt sleeves, it’s like Elvis who?

Vogue, the fashion bible. There is no magazine in print with a more rarified, respected image than Vogue, so what better place for a thirst trap as refined and skilled as Shawn to take off his top, recline back on a sofa, and trap the hell out of the fashion-set.

When you or I take candids, our eyes are closed, we are very possibly mid-sneeze, and for some reason our single chin has tripled. But, we are not practiced in the arts of the thirst trap. We are just mere mortals. Shawn Mendes is not mortal, clearly, because this is a candid shot of him washing his face. Don’t try this at home.

At this point, you must be thinking surely I have seen every iteration of Shawn Mendes’ thirst trap game. We have seen shirtless, conceptual, candid, direct-to-camera, black and white, wet, head back, but oh no, there is more. Here is one taken directly from the One Direction playbook: the bashful thirst trap. His face screams, ‘what, are you looking at me?’ Yes, we are! You posted this on Instagram because you know how hot you look. But well played, coy is a good look.

When people think of world leaders they usually think of old men in suits. When Canada thinks of leaders we think THIRST TRAP. This has to be the two biggest Canadian thirst traps in one room, ever. I am surprised we all didn’t die of thirst. Well done you two, well done. I finally get politics.

Do you like Shawn’s sunglasses? Oh, that isn’t what you were paying attention to? Shame on you! Just joking, a thirst trap always enjoys your thirst. Here Shawn is just casually hanging by the pool in Hollywood (the mecca for Thirst Traps worldwide), shirt off, basking in the sun and the thirst.

While Shawn might be a world-class thirst trap, it is also important to remember that he is a self-made success story. His talent as a singer and his social media savvy meant he was a global phenomenon before he left high school. His fame isn’t down to a talent competition or savvy record company execs, but his own gifts and hard-work.

Not only is Shawn an incredible singer, he is also an extremely accomplished songwriter. While he makes us thirsty, he also provides us with insanely catchy, poignant, and interesting songs. Mendes was a credited writer on every song on his last album, and his sound is now distinctly his own. He isn’t just the next Bieber. He is his own category now.

So yes, Shawn Mendes is an honest-to-god thirst trap, who has been trying to get you to drool over him for years. But he is also a world-conquering popstar, who writes his own songs, plays guitar, piano, and sings like an angel. In 2018, he is the Renaissance Man thirst trap we need.