"Monster" is a song recorded by American Internet personality and singer Gabbie Hanna. It was independently released for digital download on October 26, 2018, simultaneously with its encore titled "Monster (Reborn)". Both tracks were written by Hanna and Some Randoms, while production was solely handled by the latter. The lyrics of "Monster" explore the theme of losing friends and self-analysis, and the song prominently features Hanna belting. A double music video for "Monster" and "Monster (Reborn)" was uploaded to the singer's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel on the same day as the single's digital release and was directed by Ryan Parma. The video features her chasing a little girl into a house located in the woods at night, eventually setting it on fire and dousing herself in

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...

, hinting at Hanna's suicide. Commercially, "Monster" experienced minor success in the United States, peaking at number 19 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Pop Digital Songs chart. In December 2018, Hanna became the center of a

viral Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). Viral may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...

internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

due to an interview with Genius she conducted earlier that year. During her interview, she performed excerpts of "Monster" a capella, prompting several users to create

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

videos where her vocals were replaced by various sounds. Hanna performed "Monster" and "Monster (Reborn)" at the First Inaugural Patreon Assembly on November 2, 2019.

Background and composition

"Monster" was independently released for digital download in various countries on October 26, 2018, simultaneously with its

encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pres ...

titled "Monster (Reborn)". Both were written by Hanna and Some Randoms, while production was solely handled by the latter. "Monster" includes Hanna belting the line: "So what if I'm the monster" throughout. In a Carpool Karaoke video on

with

Ricky Dillon Richard Porter Dillon Jr. is an American YouTube personality and singer. Over his ten years on YouTube, Dillon has amassed over 3.2 million subscribers on his channel, as well as more than 415 million views on his videos. Early life and e ...

, Hanna revealed that she initially chose a considerably lower

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

for the song. Hanna uses the lyrics to explore the theme of losing friendships—which she blames herself for—and "self-analysis". She uses the

imagery Imagery is visual symbolism, or figurative language that evokes a mental image or other kinds of sense impressions, especially in a literary work, but also in other activities such as psychotherapy. Forms There are five major types of sensory ima ...

of a scared little girl with "a monster under erbed", and also mentions her multiple origins in the line "Really they don't know what I'm made of". Hanna further elaborated on the message of "Monster":

I feel like ever since I was a child, whether it's family or groups of friends or being bullied or relationships, it feels like it's a revolving door. At the time when I was writing this song, it didn't feel like that's a normal part of life, and thankfully since then, I've realized that is a part of life. Sometimes relationships just don't work out because they don't work out. It's not my fault, and it's not your fault, it's both of us together that just doesn't work.

Internet meme

In early December 2018, Hanna became the center of a

due to an interview with Genius for their Verified series she conducted in the November of that year. There, she belted the song's

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

with "voracity"; Hanna retrospectively explained: "Before I scream 'monster', they use the

boom mic A boom operator (or First Assistant Sound) is a core role in the sound department of a film production, who works with the production sound mixer and utility sound technician. The principal responsibility of the boom operator is microphone p ...

that was directly above me, and for the part where I yell, they use the audio from, I believe, the camera. So it sounded not meshed". This caused several users to create short

clips in which the singer's vocals were replaced by "high-pitched squeal or the "

vintage Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

launch sound effect", among others. Hanna "fully embraced the craze", changing her

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

display name to "monsTEeeEeRRRRR" and uploading a video on her YouTube as an "official response". She has since released merchandise—including shirts and pop-sockets—displaying her face while singing, which was met with mixed reactions.

Music video

An accompanying double music video for "Monster" and "Monster (Reborn)" was uploaded to Hanna's YouTube channel on October 26, 2018, which was directed and edited by Ryan Parma. ''Note: Open description for credits.'' The clip's first part begins with Hanna in the woods, lying on the ground in front of a house at night. Subsequently, she takes matches out of her jacket's pocket and strikes them as a little girl runs by. However, as the two make eye contact, she runs away and Hanna chases the girl as she enters the aforementioned house. The singer explores the house and peruses objects in the rooms, including pictures and a teddy bear. She finally finds the seemingly scared child in a bed and leans down to stroke her face. Hanna subsequently steps back, revealing a bloody wound on her chest which permeated through her white shirt, and the camera cuts back to the girl, who has now transformed into a monster. Hanna runs away and spreads

around the house to set it on fire. Interspersed shots show her in a room, singing to the lyrics, as well as either destroying or lighting up objects in the house. During the video's second part, Hanna sits alone in a burned shell of the house. Crying, she douses herself in gasoline and strikes a match. The video subsequently cuts to black as a woosh sound is heard, hinting at her suicide. In April 2021, Hanna accused American singer Bebe Rexha's music video for "

Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

" (2021) of plagiarism, showing side-by-side frames of the latter and her "Monster" clip via her Twitter account. Rexha responded, however citing

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

and

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

's " Love the Way You Lie" (2010) as an inspiration rather than "Monster".

Track listing

*"Monster" #"Monster" – 2:49 *"Monster (Reborn)" #"Monster (Reborn)" – 1:16

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2018 singles 2018 songs Gabbie Hanna songs Internet memes introduced in 2018