Shawn Mendes – Monster Ft. Justin Bieber | Lyrics Meaning & Song Review

Shawn Mendes went on social media today to announce a brand new song dropping soon. This new release is titled “Monster” and is a collaboration with fellow Canadian singer and songwriter Justin Bieber. This is the two artists’ first collaboration together.

“Monster” is the follow-up single to Shawn Mendes’s releases in 2020; “Wonder” and “Intro.” All songs are part of Shawn’s upcoming fourth studio album titled ‘Wonder.’

Shawn Mendes revealed a 13-second snippet of the music video along with the announcement. The single is scheduled to release on November 20, 2020, with the album dropping on December 4th.

Watch “Monster” Video by Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber

“Monster” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review

“Monster” is a song about the underbelly of the music industry. Both Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber have seen the zeniths of success in the industry at a relatively young age, which may not be all glitz and glory as an outsider would perceive it to be.

Verse 1

In the first verse of the song, Shawn Mendes talks about the rise and fall of an artist. This trend seems to be common to every artist out there, save for a few exceptions such as Eminem. The industry builds up young artists to the peak of success and fame and if they show the slightest signs of struggle, the industry lets them go–lets them fall. The music ‘business’ has no time for ‘weak links.’ However, Shawn Mendes says it doesn’t just stop there. Sometimes the industry re-stitches these broken artists and give them a final push to squeeze out anything left inside them. Artists follow-through, remembering what it used to be.

Chorus

In the chorus of the song, Shawn Mendes questions if the artist is to be blamed for the fall? The music industry, especially for artists of the caliber of Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber, is massive. The pressure is massive, and the demands are even higher. And it is human nature to trip and fall and break and sin. Does that make the artist the bad guy, the monster?

Verse 2

Justin Bieber jumps in on the second verse of the song bringing in his own personal experience in the music industry. He starts off by shouting out to his first hit “Baby” released when he was just 15 years old. The song blew up massively and also got a lot of hate along with it. Until 2018, Justin Bieber’s “Baby” video was the most disliked video on YouTube, a record held for 8 years. Along with this came its fair share of hate. This is not at all what a 15-year-old should endure. However, he was able to overcome all of that and become an icon in the music game. But he is a rare one.

Justin Bieber also goes on to sing how he had a patchy public persona in the years following his massively successful entry into the music industry. However, he has been trying to correct his ways for a few years, and this should be appreciated. Justin Bieber asks if everyone else so holy that they feel okay to judge his behavior? Let all the haters think about that. The best of the song is when Justin Bieber accepts responsibility for all the mistakes he has done in the past. Acceptance is the first step toward recovery!!

Pre-chorus

In the pre-chorus of “Monster,” Justin Bieber says that he holds no hate towards his haters. He realizes that it is as giving more life and energy to the haters. He is going to let them just pass by, and move on with his life.

Let us hear what you think about this collaboration in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics and further meaning breakdown on Genius.