Shawn Mendes wows fans with fusion music, wishes luck to Team India for Champions Trophy final

Mumbai: For one-and-half hours, international pop sensation Shawn Mendes kept music aficionados engaged with his energetic performance at the Lollapalooza India 2025 music festival and even extended his support to the men's Indian cricket team ahead of the ICC Men's Champions Trophy final against New Zealand.

The first day of the two-day music gala, known for bringing together a diverse mix of global music talents, certainly made its mark, saw Mendes serve a perfect finale performance on Saturday at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse in South Mumbai.

Kicking off his set around 8.30 pm, the Canadian singer entered the stage in a casual T-shirt and pants, before quickly switching to the Indian cricket team's blue coloured jersey with 'Virat' and the number '18 written on the back as a hat-tip to the popular batter.

This thoughtful gesture sent a wave of excitement into the crowd, whose chants of "Kohli…Kohli…Kohli" filled the air.

“India, I know you have a match tomorrow. Good luck. I hope it goes well,” Mendes said amid loud cheers from fans.

The ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 final will be played between India and New Zealand at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

“Galat time sab ho gaya ek saath,” noted a fan as he humorously commented on the clash between the music festival and the cricket final, echoing the sentiment of many who felt torn between two events.

Mendes kept the spectators captivated with his popular songs such as "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back", "Treat You Better", "Senorita", "Why", and "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind". Many of them sang along with the singer, swaying to the beats of his melodies.

"Dher sara pyaar, Mumbai! (Lots of love, Mumbai!)" said the musician as he addressed the huge crowd gathered at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse.

Another highlight of Mendes' performance was the fusion of different musical instruments: he was on the guitar and was joined by two artists, a tabla and a sitar player, respectively.

The singer said he admires Indian culture, music and musicians.

"No matter where I go, music is the one thing that unites (people) in a beautiful way. I've always had such love and admiration for India, India's music, and its musicians here. One of the greatest, beautiful and magnificent cultures... It is amazing... I want to do something special for you guys tonight," he said as he introduced the tabla and sitar players on the stage.

The fireworks lit up quite a few times during his performance and Mendes also never let the energy drop as he kept urging fans to sing along and clap with him.

“See you, namaste, bye-bye,” he said in his concluding remarks.

The first day of Lollapalooza India 2025 also saw performances by popular rock band Glass Animals, German record producer and DJ Zedd, and American musicians Cory Wong and Isabel LaRosa performed.

Homegrown talents such as Jonita Gandhi, Dot., Sahil Vasudeva, Frizzell D’Souza and Dhanji, and Spyryk too delivered a vibrant performance.

BookMyShow Live, the live entertainment experiential division of BookMyShow, India’s leading entertainment destination has spearheaded Lollapalooza India as the promoter and co-producer for the festival’s Indian edition along with global producers, Perry Farrell and C3 Presents for the third year in a row.