artists:  Shawn Mendes & Justin Bieber

songwriters: Justin Bieber, Adam King Feeney, Shawn Mendes, Ashton Simmonds, Mustafa Ahmed. 

date released:  2020

Lyrically, the song is about the pitfalls and pressure of stardom. Mendes stated: "It's about how society can put celebrities up on a pedestal and watch them fall, and it seems to be this entertainment thing.  And it's hard."  What was harder was that both stars found stardom early; Mendes at 16, and Bieber at 15, too young not to get into the ego traps of the music industry.  To complicate matters, Mendes was raised with staunchly religious values, as his family was Portuguese.  Therefore, the lyrics suggest "sinful" actions as part of the monster of fame.  

Underlying the lyrics in the song is a certain tension between the two men.  A love triangle arose when Shawn Mendes escorted model, Hailey Baldwin, to the Met Gala in 2018.  Just a month later, she announced her engagement to Justin Bieber.  Given this complication, it is a wonder that the collaboration happened at all, but it was a good thing it did.  "Monster" was a commercial success around Europe, reaching the top of the charts in eight countries and entering the top 10 in every territory it charted in. In Asia and Oceania, the single was a huge hit reaching the top position in many countries, such as Japan and Australia.  

Let Mendes and Bieber explain in their own word in this video from ET Canada.

https://youtu.be/26ujgfl2Bgw