If people were to search “‘Monster’ by Shawn Mendes & Justin Bieber” in the dictionary the definition would simply read; vanilla. Sadly this song proves yet again that just because you have incredible star power on one song, it doesn’t immediately equal hit status.
This song comfortably sits in amongst blurred lines, and doesn’t hear them delivering anything new lyrically. Instead they just regurgitate the same material they’ve both released in the past. Especially in Bieber’s case who has just come off the back of releasing ‘Lonely’ which is pretty much the same concept with a different melody.
Lyrically they reflect on the hardships that come with living your life in front of cameras and the uncertainties that follow a career in the music industry. It’s slightly a little bit too “pity me” and “privilegey” for 2020, especially when you have so many people losing lives, family members and jobs during this time. It just doesn’t feel like the right timing for a song like this, and instead their collaboration could’ve been a lot more impactful and special.
“I was fifteen when the world put me on a pedestal. I had big dreams of doin’ shows and making memories. Made some bad moves tryin’ to act cool, upset by their jealousy. Lifting me up, lifting me up, And tearing me down, tearing me down” Bieber sings before they both question during the hook “What if I, what if I trip? What if I, what if I fall? Then am I the monster?”.
With a slight doo-woop guitar direction on the production, the song doesn’t really have an exciting sonical growth or journey to follow that distracts you from the lyrics, which is a total shame. Because Lady Gaga, Kanye and Eminem still hold the titles for the three best songs called ‘Monster’, and this one comes no where close to being included on the list.