Aaliyah Mendes has published a nostalgic childhood photograph of herself and her brother, pop singer Shawn Mendes, sitting together on a bedroom bed. The picture, shared on social media, coincides with the tenth anniversary of the singer's hit single Mercy.
The nostalgic upload sparked a warm reaction from fans online, with several commenters pointing out that the siblings looked Brazilian and that the bedroom setting clearly resembled a traditional Portuguese household. Shawn and Aaliyah share deep family roots in Portugal through their father, Manuel Mendes, who originally hails from the southern Algarve region.
Although both siblings were born in Toronto, Canada's largest city, they grew up in Pickering, a municipality located in the Durham region east of Toronto in Ontario. Raised by a Portuguese father and an English mother, the pair grew up in a culturally diverse household, exposing them to varied traditions and allowing Shawn to become familiar with the Portuguese language from an early age.
Despite a five-year age difference between the two, Mendes and his younger sister have built an exceptionally close bond over the years, frequently describing themselves as close friends.
Rise to Fame and Music Career
The childhood photo captures the siblings shortly before Mendes embarked on his music career. At age 13 or 14, Mendes taught himself to play the guitar by studying tutorials on the video platform YouTube, before posting videos of himself singing acoustic covers of popular songs online.
His major breakthrough arrived in August 2013 after he uploaded a cover of Justin Bieber's track As Long As You Love Me. The clip accumulated 10,000 likes on its first night, driving a rapid surge in followers that expanded into millions within months.
By early 2014, Mendes joined the Magcon tour, a roadshow that brought top male social media content creators to cities across the United States to meet young fans in person. During this period, a talent manager discovered Mendes's cover of Say Something by A Great Big World, reached out to his mother, and persuaded the family to travel to New York.
The manager introduced the young performer to executives at Island Records, leading to the release of his debut single, Life Of The Party, in June 2014. Without receiving radio promotion, the song debuted at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making the 15-year-old Mendes the youngest artist ever to enter the top 25 of the US chart with a debut release.
Tenth Anniversary of Mercy
The throwback photo shared by Aaliyah arrives as Mendes marks a major milestone for one of his signature tracks. Mercy was released on August 18, 2016, turning ten years old. Mendes celebrated the anniversary by sharing a video of a live performance of the song recorded in Montreal, Quebec.
Mercy initially served as a promotional single for fans pre-ordering his second studio album, Illuminate, before being sent to American radio stations two months later as the album's second official single. Mendes co-wrote the pop-rock track alongside Ilsey Juber, Danny Parker, and producer Teddy Geiger.
The track begins softly with a gentle piano arrangement before breaking into a powerful chorus driven by guitars and heavy drums. Commentators note that Mendes transformed emotional heartbreak into an energetic, liberating anthem that captures listeners instantly.
The anniversary arrives during a landmark period for the singer, who recently celebrated his 28th birthday. Mendes recently went public with his relationship with Brazilian actress Bruna Marquezine, posting photos of the couple on social media and stating that she had genuinely changed his life.
Mendes also recently released his self-titled album, Shawn, which has been highlighted as a project of personal liberation for the Canadian artist.
