Watch Shawn Mendes Inject Some Whimsy Into 'Treat You Better' With Jimmy Fallon

What do you suggest enters the planning conversations about Jimmy Fallon's "classroom instruments" musical segments? The song in question probably has to be simple enough to be strip to its key parts, for one thing. For another, it certainly has to sound good in a pseudo-acoustic setting.


Monday night (October 8), the latest pop tune to get this treatment was Shawn Mendes's "Treat You Better," where Fallon manned a woodblock and Mendes himself played the spoons. It wasn't as seemingly futuristic as Ariana Grande's paper-instrument take on "No Tears Left to Cry," although it sounded pretty fantastic as Mendes's rasp soared over all of the whimsy.


"Treat You Better" became Mendes's second top-10 single in the U.S. Once it was released in 2016, which is to mention it's a known song. Yet like, why not "Lost In Japan" for this segment? The juxtaposition of a titillating midnight bop with classroom instruments sounds like a brilliant match, however hey, I don't make the rules. Mendes is likely saving that one for his joint efficiency with Zedd at the American Music Awards anyway, which air on Tuesday (October 9).


Also, The Roots do not get enough credit for making these performances pop, yet they should, because they do so much here! It's not just a bunch of shakers and plastic clappers; the main melodic instruments here are a ukulele, melodica, along with a toy xylophone, and you also really gotta play those things to prepare it work.


In addition to spreading the gospel of his self-titled album, which dropped in May, Mendes — a good Canadian — is very stoked that hockey has began up once again. Honestly, same. Check out the lovely little clip above.