Shawn Mendes is the biggest pop star in the world thanks to his talent – and Vine. He’s gone from performing covers in his bedroom in online videos to having a number 1 album, Handwritten.

The teenage heartthrob is a new pop star that shows the power of social media. Mendes started performing cover songs and posting them on Vine. “The clip had 10,000 Likes when I woke up,” said Mendes. “It was a snowball effect from there.”

Mendes has over 3 million followers on Vine and he turned that following into promotion for his debut full-length album.  His popular videos caught the eyes of Island Records. who signed him to a record deal. His fans have been promoting his music for months, with #Handwritten being a trending topic on Twitter.

Even though Mendes’ songs are not played on the radio, his fervent online fan base drove the 16-year-old’s album to the top of the charts. Mendes is the youngest artist to have a number 1 album since a fellow Canadian artist five years ago-Justin Bieber.

Mendes is now having to adjust to passionate female fans that follow him everywhere.

“It’s progressively getting more and more [crazy], but I think my fans are very respectful,” said Mendes. “I will always take pictures with fans, but they back off if they can tell I’m tired. There doesn’t need to be a [bodyguard].”

Despite the whirlwind success, Mendes is still a humble young man.

“I can see why people change. You get complimented all the time, driven around in black SUV—your life is crazy. But that’s your career, not you,” said Mendes.