"Monster" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Paramore. It was released on June 7, 2011 for digital download. It is also the second single from the ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' OST, which was released on June 14, 2011. It is the first song to not feature former band members

Josh Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive (hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to: People A–J * "Josh", an early pseudonym of S ...

and

Zac Zac is a masculine given name, often a short form (hypocorism) of Zachary or Zechariah. It may refer to: People: * Zac Alexander (born 1989), Australian professional squash player * Zac Brooks (born 1993), American National Football League playe ...

Farro, who separated from the band in 2010. A sneak peek of the song surfaced when lead singer Hayley Williams posted lyrics on the band's Official Fan Club. An audio video for the song was posted on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and 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 Google, and is the second mo ...

on June 2, 2011. The video itself achieved over 1 million views in the first three days of posting. The song won Choice Rock Track at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards. On March 24, 2016, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for sales exceeding 500,000.

Taylor York Taylor Benjamin York (born December 17, 1989) is an American musician who is the guitarist of rock band Paramore. His brother Justin was a touring member of Relient K and was a touring guitarist for Paramore until 2022. Biography York was born ...

performed the drum parts for the track.

Composition and release

James Montgomery of MTV noted the number of times that the word "you" is used in the lyrics of "Monster" because of its subjectivity. He suggested that the song is about former members of the group

and

Zac Farro Zachary Wayne Farro (born June 4, 1990) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Paramore. He is the younger brother of Josh Farro, who is Paramore's former lead guitarist and backing vocalist. After he and his bro ...

, since they left the band in 2010 and it is the first track without them. According to Jon Blistein of '' Billboard'', the song has elements of grunge, such as loud-soft dynamics, big vocals, and loud, crunchy guitars. Around the release of "Monster", Williams commented on the track: "We're back for the attack! And we are so excited to be a part of the Transformers album. Tell your friends… Paramore is still a band." The song impacted radio on June 21, 2011. A video companion to "Monster" was recorded in

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and was uploaded to YouTube on July 18 . The single cover was described by Becky Bain, as containing the three members of Paramore, Hayley Williams,

Jeremy Davis Jeremiah Clayton "Jeremy" Davis (born February 8, 1985), also known as Jerm, is an American musician, songwriter, and rapper. He was the bassist for the rock band Paramore until his departure in December 2015. Early life In 2002, at the age of ...

and

, standing in a dark tunnel where a light at the end faces the band.

Music video

The music video was directed by

Shane Drake Shane C. Drake is an American music video director and producer originally from Redding, California. He has directed videos for many artists, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Avril Lavigne, Trivium, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Panic! a ...

, who has directed some of Paramore's previous music videos. On July 15, the band's official website posted a video via YouTube of a 19-second clip previewing the music video. It was premiered on MTV.com July 18 at 12:00 Midnight and at 6am on MTV 2. The video opens with Hayley, Taylor and Jeremy unconscious and floating on water. Hayley opens her eyes and begins to sing as the video cuts to the band performing in a concrete room while kicking and punching the walls. Other scenes show each of the band members alone and wandering through an abandoned hospital building. The kicking and punching from the band performing causes violent explosions around the members in the hospital and all three proceed to run away. The three eventually meet up in a foyer and continue running away together before ducking into the concrete room in which they were performing earlier. The video was shot in an abandoned hospital called "Linda Vista" in Los Angeles, California. Linda Vista Hospital is known for its many appearances on ghost-hunting television shows. According to Hayley Williams "It was not just good acting, it was fear. Genuine fear." As of May 2021, the song has 75 million views on

Commercial performance

Its first appearance was week 24/2011 in the UK Singles Top 75 and New Zealand Top 40. Its peak position was number 21, on the UK Singles Top 75, it stayed there for 1 week, and 23 in New Zealand Top 40. "Monster" also debuted and peaked at #36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2011 singles 2011 songs Paramore songs Fueled by Ramen singles Warner Records singles Rock ballads Songs written by Hayley Williams Music videos directed by Shane Drake Songs written by Taylor York Songs from Transformers (film series)