Three male singer/songwriters of different nationalities and different generations make a big splash with the release of their new albums this week - and it is the youngest of the three, Canadian cub Shawn Mendes, who makes arguably the bigger splash ahead of British bear Passenger and America's old grizzly, Bruce Springsteen.

The 18-year-old Mendes' second album Illuminate lit up iTunes earlier in the week, at one point leading the online retailer's chart in 57 countries. When the first of ...