"Beautiful Monster" is a song by American singer

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

from his fourth studio album, ''

Libra Scale ''Libra Scale'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. It was released on October 27, 2010 in Japan, followed by a release in the United Kingdom on October 29, as well as a release in the United States on November 22, 201 ...

''. The song was released to

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as the album's first single on June 8, 2010 by

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

. The song was written by Ne-Yo, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen and

Sandy Wilhelm Sandy Julien Wilhelm (born 22 April 1975) better known by his stage name Sandy Vee, is a French music producer and songwriter. He gained much commercial and critical recognition for co-producing Rihanna's "Only Girl (In the World)", Katy Perry's ...

, and it was produced by Stargate and Sandy Vee. It has received a positive reception, with Ne-Yo's vocals being compared to the vocal styling of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Background

"Beautiful Monster"'s original cover art was revealed online on May 21, 2010, which was a close-up of Ne-Yo's profile with a mysterious woman lurking in a forest in the background. Although another cover art was revealed with the forest background altered to a city including buildings and a flashing car light, the original cover with the forest background was eventually selected as the official cover art. The song was written by Ne-Yo and produced by longtime collaborators

Stargate ''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the Stargate (film), film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien E ...

, responsible for producing some of his biggest hits such as "

So Sick "So Sick" is a song by American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo, written alongside Norwegian production duo Stargate for Ne-Yo's debut studio album, ''In My Own Words'' (2006). The song was released as the second single from the album on November 21, 20 ...

", "

Because of You Because of You may refer to: Music Albums * ''Because of You'' (James Darren album), 2001 * ''Because of You'' (Ne-Yo album), 2007, and the title song (see below) * ''Because of You'' (Tony Bennett album), 1952, and the title song, a cover ...

", and " Closer". The remix features Brooklyn hip-hop artist Israel The ILLa Real. "Beautiful Monster" premiered online on May 25, 2010.

Composition

"Beautiful Monster" is an uptempo

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

song, containing

new rave New rave (also typeset as nu-rave, nu rave or neu rave) is a genre of music described by ''The Guardian'' as "an in-yer-face, DIY disco riposte to the sensitive indie rock touted by bands like Bloc Party." It is most commonly applied to a British ...

and

Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

influences, featuring Ne-Yo's R&B vocals over "strobing dancefloor beats." "Beautiful Monster", a pop piece, features a

Eurodisco Eurodisco (also spelled as Euro disco) is the variety of European forms of electronic dance music that evolved from disco in the late 1970s, incorporating elements of pop and rock into a disco-like continuous dance atmosphere. Many Eurodisco ...

feel, described as "spookily anthemic", having "big filler sweeps",

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

beats, and "decimated snare builds" of '90s

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

. The song has been compared to the sound of

, specifically Ne-Yo's "backing vocals and audible breath intake" according to Bill Lamb of

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

. Alistair Dickinson of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' said "Ne-Yo’s Michael Jackson-esque wails and screams are still in full effect". The song is composed of "out-of-tranc-y keyboard lines" and a "throbbing drumbeat." "Beautiful Monster" consists lyrically about being attracted to a dangerous woman. August Brown of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' compared the "topical and sonic" content of the song to

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

's work on ''

The Fame Monster ''The Fame Monster'' is a reissue of American singer Lady Gaga's debut studio album, ''The Fame'' (2008), and was released on November 18, 2009, through Interscope Records. Initially planned solely as a deluxe edition reissue of ''The Fame'', ...

'', specifically the lyrical basis of "

Bad Romance "Bad Romance" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third extended play (EP), ''The Fame Monster'' (2009)—the reissue of her debut studio album, ''The Fame'' (2008). Gaga wrote and produced the song with RedOne. Following an illegal ...

" and "

Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

". The song is written in common time with a maintaining tempo of 125 beats per minute, written in

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

, and Ne-Yo's vocals range two octaves from F₄ to B₅. Meanwhile, Ne-Yo himself described the lyrical background to the song to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis - Assistant Editor of

Blues & Soul ''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as ''NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a r ...

- thus: "The song itself is a small piece of a much larger puzzle. In that the album it comes from - Libra Scale - is based upon this short story that I wrote, which basically follows these three characters who are forced to choose between money-power-and-fame versus love... And the song 'Beautiful Monster' actually represents the mind-state of the man in the story whenever he comes into contact with his love interest-slash-nemesis. Whose name is Diamond Eye, and who really is best described as 'a beautiful monster'! You know, she's forbidden fruit; she's that girl who you know is gonna be nothing but trouble... But - because she's so intriguing - even if it literally might cost you your life, you still cannot resist her aura. Which is where the hook 'She's a monster, a beautiful monster; But I don't mind' comes from!"

Critical reception

August Brown of the ''

'' complimented the song, calling "his most evocative effort" and Ne-Yo's vocals, stating, "no male pop singer short of T-Pain can stack harmonies better right now, and when he peels off those runs of "I don't mind" after the choruses". However Brown commented that, "Ne-Yo is better at writing dark edges into songs than performing them himself; he's just too put-together to truly do the freakily possessed lover act." Bill Lamb of

favored the track's "burbling Eurodisco feel", and commented, "It also always feels like the ghost of

is never far away in the music of Ne-Yo." Alistair Dickinson of ''

'' also gave the song a positive review, comparing it to Michael Jackson. Brad Wete of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' compared the song to Ne-Yo's previous hit " Closer", stating, "Ne-Yo’s brand of progressive R&B has been a winner so far. 'Monster' should be a beast, too." Although Mariel Concepcion of ''

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 ...

'' said the song did not boast the lyricism of Ne-Yo's past songs, she said, "the beat's thumping bassline and the singer/songwriter's smooth voice make for a perfect combination on this summer hit in the making."

Chart performance

"Beautiful Monster" was most successful in the United Kingdom, where it became Ne-Yo's third single to top the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

after "

" in March 2006 and " Closer" in June 2008, and reached the top ten in Korea and Italy, becoming Ne-Yo's highest peak there. It was certified Platinum in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

for sales over 30,000 units. In the U.S., however, it didn't even crack the top 50 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number fifty three. It failed to match the success of the lead singles from his previous three albums, "So Sick", "

" and "Closer", which all reached the top 10. The song, however, did top the

Hot Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart, making it his second number one there after 2008's " Closer".

Music video

The video for "Beautiful Monster" premiered on July 14, 2010, along with the video for " Champagne Life". The video begins with Ne-Yo stumbling through an alley (possibly intoxicated) and causing havoc with his supernatural powers. These powers were demonstrated in the music video for "One in a Million" where he levitates a rose to a woman to court her and stops a moving taxi to keep her from ignoring him. After throwing a car and causing an explosion, Ne-Yo encounters two men with long dreadlocks and white suits that drop from the sky to fight him. Both men have glowing, white, right eyes that represent the "Beautiful Monster's" influence over them. After choreographed fighting, Ne-Yo defeats the two men and quickly arrives at a red carpet event. He then walks into a club where all of a sudden, everyone freezes mid-action. Some of these clubbers start dancing (all with the glowing white eye) and send Ne-Yo into another room where the "Beautiful Monster" waited. After a heated struggle, the Monster flashes both her silver, glowing eyes at Ne-Yo. For the rest of the video, Ne-Yo has his hat over his right eye and dances with other people in white suits, showing that the "Beautiful Monster" had won and he was now hers. This video is the last video in a series that Ne-Yo created. The first music video in the series is "Champagne Life" where it shows Ne-Yo to be a part of a crime fighting group that's living the life with money, women and fame. The second video of the series is "One in a Million" where Ne-Yo has his pick of the women but spends his entire time trying to court a seemingly uninterested girl. His supernatural powers are demonstrated in this video for the first time. The third and final music video of the series is "Beautiful Monster" where it shows that the Monster who leads to Ne-Yo's demise is actually the uninterested girl from the previous video.

Promotion

Ne-Yo performed the song for the first time in Brooklyn on June 14, 2010. He also performed the song on ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

'' on July 1, 2010, on the Brazilian TV show ''

Altas Horas ''Altas Horas'' is a Brazilian television program broadcast by Rede Globo since 2000. It is hosted by Serginho Groisman. External links

* Rede Globo original programming Brazilian television talk shows Portuguese-language television s ...

'', on August 14, 2010, and on German talent show '' Popstars: Girls forever'' on September 23, 2010.

Track listing

* Digital download # "Beautiful Monster" – 4:11 * German CD single # "Beautiful Monster" (Album Version) – 4:12 # "Beautiful Monster" (Mixin Marc & Tony Svejda Remix Edit) – 4:11 * Digital download (The Remixes) # "Beautiful Monster" (Mixin Marc & Tony Svejda Remix Edit) – 4:11 # "Beautiful Monster" (

Tony Moran Anthony "Tony" Moran is a DJ, record producer, remixer, singer and songwriter known for remixing popular songs. In 2007, he hit number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart twice with " Walk Away" featuring Kristine W and "Kee ...

& Warren Rigg Save The Soul Edit) – 4:33 # "Beautiful Monster" (Low Sunday Terrified Edit) – 4:24 # "Beautiful Monster" (Mixin Marc & Tony Svejda Remix Extended) – 6:36 # "Beautiful Monster" (

& Warren Rigg Save The Soul Club) – 9:43 # "Beautiful Monster" (Low Sunday Terrified Club) – 7:22 # "Beautiful Monster" (Mixin Marc & Tony Svejda Remix Instrumental) – 6:36 # "Beautiful Monster" (

& Warren Rigg Save The Soul Anthem Dub) – 9:43 # "Beautiful Monster" (Low Sunday Terrified Dub) – 8:00

Personnel

Songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

–

Shaffer Smith Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Sandy Wilhelm, K.E. *

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

–

, Sandy Vee *

Recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

– Mikkel S. Eriksen * Mixing – Sandy Vee,

Phil Tan Phil Tan is a Malaysian-American music and audio engineer. Early life and education Tan was born in Malaysia. He attended Full Sail University in Florida in the U.S., where he attained a degree in Recording Arts in 1990. Afterwards he moved to Atla ...

* Additional engineering – Carlos Oyandel, Damien Lewis *Mixing assistant – Josh Houghkirk *

Instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...

– Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Sandy Vee *

Vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

–

Source:

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Radio adds

Purchaseable release

References

{{authority control 2010 singles Ne-Yo songs Songs written by Ne-Yo Song recordings produced by Stargate (record producers) UK Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Sandy Vee Dance-pop songs Def Jam Recordings singles Music videos directed by Wayne Isham Song recordings produced by Sandy Vee 2010 songs Songs written by Tor Erik Hermansen Songs written by Mikkel Storleer Eriksen Number-one singles in Israel Songs about monsters