"Ronald" is a song by American rock band Falling in Reverse, featuring American rapper Tech N9ne and Russian singer

Alex Terrible Slaughter to Prevail is a Russian deathcore band originally from Yekaterinburg, and based in Orlando, Florida. The group debuted with an EP titled ''Chapters of Misery'' in 2015 and followed up two years later with a full-length album, ''Misery S ...

, of Slaughter to Prevail. It was released on May 7, 2024, through

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...

, as the lead single from the band's fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'' Popular Monster''.

Promotion and release

Unlike their previous singles, the band did not promote the song in advance. On May 7, 2024, the single was suddenly released under the name "Ronald" which is the real name of vocalist Ronnie Radke. The song features American rapper Tech N9ne and Slaughter to Prevail's Alex Terrible. On the same day as the single's release, the band announced they would be releasing their fifth studio album called '' Popular Monster'' which was originally supposed to be released on July 26, 2024, however it got pushed back to August 16, 2024. The band also announced "The Popular MonsTour II" in the United States, alongside Dance Gavin Dance,

Black Veil Brides Black Veil Brides is an American rock band based in Hollywood, California. The group formed in 2006 in Cincinnati, Ohio and is currently composed of lead vocalist Andy Biersack, rhythm guitarist and violinist Jinxx, lead guitarist Jake Pitts, ...

, Tech N9ne, Jeris Johnson and Nathan James as headliners. After six years, the band also announced that they will perform outside the United States, headlining the "We Missed Ourselves Fest" in Mexico.

Composition and lyrics

The song was written by vocalist Ronnie Radke, Tyler Smyth, All That Remains guitarist Jason Richardson, Tech N9ne and drummer Luke Holland and was composed by Ronnie Radke and Tyler Smyth. It was again produced by Tyler Smyth, Ronnie Radke and

Charles Kallaghan Massabo Charles Massabo, also known as Kallaghan, is a French record producer, songwriter and musician, based in Los Angeles, California, United States, best known for his work with Falling in Reverse, Metro Station and other projects, such as Ronnie Ra ...

. According to an article about the song by Fresh Flow Nation, "Ronald" dives "into the transition from innocence to the harsh realities of adult life. It's as a blunt outcry against the world's darkness, underlined by a recognition of inner demons and societal evils. This song isn't just a tune; it's a bold wake-up call to the chilling truths that surround us." The song makes use of deathcore influences in keeping with featured vocalist Alex Terrible's style, such as breakdowns,

screaming A scream is a loud speech production, vocalization in which air is passed through the vocal cords with greater force than is used in regular or close-distance vocalisation. This can be performed by any creature possessing lungs, including human ...

, and death growls; Tech N9ne's verse features electronic trap production. Tech N9ne received some backlash for the lyrics "Sex change could get you caught up in death's range/He pled sane but really imitating Ed Gein", which were seen by some listeners as transphobic; he later explained on Instagram about the conversely, in which these lines were meant to raise awareness of trans individuals being murdered.

Commercial performance

The song entered the Top 100 of YouTube Top Songs Charts in the United States for the first time, debuting at No. 74. The music video became number one on YouTube's trending page in the United States, and already has more than 33 million streams in digital platforms.

Music video

The music video was again directed by Jensen Noen, who is acclaimed for his work on other music videos. The music video is a continuation of the video for the single "Watch the World Burn", beginning with Ronnie Radke waking up in an ambulance and attacking the paramedics, who are wearing the same suit as in the previous video. Radke finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world, fleeing from demons and a S.W.A.T team, before appearing with Tech N9ne, who is shown to be God, and sends Radke to hell. He confronts the Devil, who is shown to be Alex Terrible; the video ends with the two fighting, without knowing who was the winner of the fight.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Genius. Falling in Reverse * Ronnie Radke – lead vocals, programming, producer, writer, composer, keyboards * Max Georgiev – lead guitar * Christian Thompson – rhythm guitar * Luke Holland – drums, percussion, writer, composer * Tyler Burgess – bass Additional personnel * Tech N9ne – guest vocals, writer *

– guest vocals *

Tyler Smyth Dangerkids (stylised as DangerKids or dangerkids) is an American metalcore band formed in Dayton, Ohio, in 2012. The band's line-up consists of dual vocalists Andy Bane and Tyler Smyth, guitarist Alex Asch, bassist Jake Bonham and drummer Kati ...

– producer, strings, additional writer, recording, mixing, mastering, programming, engineered *

– producer, vocal producer, engineerd, beat instrumental * Jason Richardson – writer, guitar composer

Charts

References

{{Tech N9ne 2024 singles 2024 songs Falling in Reverse songs Tech N9ne songs Songs written by Ronnie Radke Rap metal songs Metalcore songs Epitaph Records singles