What Is Justin Bieber And Shawn Mendes’ New Song ‘Monster’ About? We Broke Down The Lyrics
It’s here, you guys. Yep, after months of waiting, the highly anticipated Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber song has finally
Lillie Gissen
It’s here, you guys. Yep, after months of waiting, the highly anticipated Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber song has finally come out, and boy, is it a bop. The brand new collaboration, called “Monster,” dropped on Friday, November 20, and we cannot stop listening to it!
But wait, what exactly is the new track about, you ask? Which of the two stars wrote it? And is it inspired by someone in their real lives? Not to worry, you guys, because we went ahead and broke down the lyrics to it once and for all…
The Song Highlights The Negative Impacts Of Fame
It turns out, the song isn’t inspired by someone specific, but instead, it’s about the pressures Mendes and Bieber face from being propelled into the spotlight at a young age.
“You put me on a pedestal and tell me I’m the best / Raise me up into the sky until I’m short of breath (Yeah) / Fill me up with confidence, I say what’s in my chest / Spill my words and tear me down until there’s nothin’ left / Rearrange the pieces just to fit me with the rest, yeah,” the lyrics read. “But what if I, what if I trip? / What if I, what if I fall? / Then am I the monster? / Just let me know / And what if I, what if I sin? / And what if I, what if I break? / Yeah, then am I the monster? / Yeah, just let me know, yeah.”
While speaking to Zane Lowe recently, the “In My Blood” crooner got real about what the song meant to him.
“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. And [Bieber’s] heart fell deep into it. And him and I, even yesterday, were on the phone for an hour and had the deepest conversation, I think, about so much,” he explained.
“I was 15 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, uh / Liftin’ me up (Liftin’ me up), liftin’ me up (Yeah) / And tearin’ me down (Down), tearin’ me down (Down, down, yeah) / I’ll take responsibility for everything I’ve done (Yeah) / Holdin’ it against me like you’re the holy one (Yeah),” the song continues. “I had a chip on my shoulder, had to let it go / ‘Cause unforgiveness keeps them in control / I came in with good intentions, then I let it go / And now I really wanna know.”
How Did The Song Come About?
It turns out, Mendes wrote the song and asked Bieber to be in it.
“I had this song called ‘Monster’ that I wrote a long time ago. It’s about how society wants to put celebrities up on a pedestal, but as much as they want to do that, they want to celebrate the fall. It was a time when I was really afraid of my industry and afraid of my craft and afraid of everything. I didn’t have control. Everyone else had control over me. I think it just ended up becoming a metaphor for a bigger thing; that we all put pressure on each other as humans to be great, to be perfect.” he revealed during a recent interview. “I called Justin and said, ‘I have this song and it means a lot to me. If it means something seriously to you and you want to put something very real on it, please be a part of this with me.’ And he did. Since then, we have become closer than ever. Sometimes I think that music comes along for a bigger reason, which, for me in this case is to create a song to inspire people, but to also create a friendship that was never there before.
When Did Shawn Mendes And Justin Bieber First Meet?
Their relationship actually dates all the way back to 2015, when an interviewer interviewer asked Bieber if he knew who Mendes was. At the time, he admitted that he didn’t, but then, the singer decided to search him up and listen to his tunes. And he took to Twitter to gush over them. “Checked out the music. Way to go buddy,” Bieber wrote to Mendes.
One year later, when the musician released his debut album, Bieber took to Twitter to share his support again. “Shawn Mendes’ voice makes me smile. Truly a gift to be able to move people’s emotions through songs. So proud of you brother, great album,” he tweeted.
They continued to support each other over the years, and in a 2018 interview, Mendes explained that it was an honor to be compared to Bieber.
“When I first started out, everybody was like, ‘Oh, how do you feel about being compared to Justin?’ I was like, ‘What do you mean, how do I feel?’ That’s the best thing anyone could say to me. He’s the man,” he said.
The star even admitted that it was Bieber who inspired him to get into music! He explained, “He was everything. He was what everyone talked about, the singer who everyone wanted to sing and dance like. He completely inspired me to start singing.”
There Was A Brief Rivalry Between Them In 2019
Despite their close friendship, in 2019, when Observer Magazine called Mendes the “Prince of Pop,” Bieber wasn’t happy about it.
“Hmm. Gonna have to break a few more records to dethrone my title there bud (Canadian voice)… But if you want we can play hockey for it,” he commented on Instagram.
But the 26-year-old quickly left another comment, explaining that he was totally joking around! Phew!
“There is no competition,” he explained. “It was a playful joke people, relax. There’s no sides, we’re all just here to make dope music. I’m just competitive as he is so it was just a little playful jargon.”
They Both Dated Hailey Baldwin
As fans know, Mendes was linked to Hailey Baldwin in late 2017, after they were caught holding hands at a Halloween party. Then, in May 2018, they even attended the Met Gala together! But just two months later, the model started dating her now-husband, Bieber, but it didn’t cause any tension between the pop stars.
“I get it, you know. I texted Hailey, ‘Congratulations,’” Mendes said after she got engaged to the “Love Yourself” crooner. “I really am happy for them. She’s still one of the f**king coolest people ever — she’s not just a beautiful person visually, but she’s one of the most beautiful hearts I’ve ever met.”
When Will Shawn Mendes’ New Album Come Out?
There’s a bunch more songs coming from Mendes very soon. Yep, mark your calendars, you guys, because the singer’s upcoming album, Wonder, is going to drop on December 4, 2020.
“I think I’ve mainly evolved as a person and that’s kind of reflecting in the music,” Mendes explained to Radio.com about his new tunes. “I think one thing that really kind of happen to me over the last six months is this real moment of reflecting and kind of looking at my own life, but also like being able to look at the world and not be so caught up in my career, my job, and my life, but I’m able to kind of look around see things a lot clearer for the first time.”
He added, “I feel like Wonder is in a lot of ways me just reflecting on my life, and life in general … I’ve never really done that before … probably because I didn’t have the mental capacity and clarity to even be able to reflect, and also probably because I was really scared of what people would think if I started to reflect in my music.”
What About Justin Bieber’s New Music?
New tour.. maybe a new album @justinbieber ??
— Scooter Braun (@scooterbraun) July 23, 2020
As fans know, Bieber just released an album, called Changes, in February 2020. But get this — he’s already working on his next LP! He told his fans during an Instagram Live, “I’m going to make another [album] while I’m in quarantine. There’s nothing else to do. I will.”
Plus, in July 2020, his manager, Scooter Braun, teased his upcoming tunes on Twitter. “Maybe a new album @JustinBieber?” he wrote.