You Might've Missed This Detail In Shawn Mendes & Justin Bieber's "Monster" Video
Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber's new collaboration is one of the better things to happen in 2020. The singers released their song, "Monster," on Friday, Nov. 20, and listeners can't get enough. The song is a slow track that's really honest about how fame has affected the two artists. Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber's "Monster" video has the same vibe as the song itself, and there's one little detail that makes it even better: it appears to be shot all in one take.
Mendes announced the collab with Bieber, which is his latest single off his upcoming album, Wonder, on Nov. 16, just four days before the tune was set to be released. Alongside the announcement, which he made on both Instagram and Twitter, Mendes shared a 13-second teaser of the song set to a dark-lit background video, which, obviously, got fans talking. Even celebs couldn't contain their excitement for the collab, with Niall Horan commenting, "The boyos ! Tuuune," on Mendes' post. Benny Blanco also added a comment that read: "I'm screaming."
Bieber didn't give any additional information about the collab away, but teased the song on his Instagram page to hype it up. Now that the track, and the visuals for it, are here, Bieber and Mendes' loyal fanbases are living for it.
Check out the music video below.
The video is decidedly simple, with Mendes walking through a forest in a plain, white T-shirt with his (iconic) hair falling over his face. He walks to a large cube — confusing, but somehow makes sense — and sings from the top, where Bieber joins him during his verse. Bieber also sports a straightforward look in a beige T and orange beanie. The entire video takes place on top of the cube, with the camera panning across to Mendes and Bieber during their respective verses. The video seems like it was entirely shot in one take, or at least edited together to look that way.
The whole music video feels grim, which fits in with the lyrics to the song. The men sing about fame and the negative that can come with it. Mendes sings in his verse:
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 nothing left/Rearrange the pieces just to fit me with the rest, yeah.
Similarly, Bieber sings in his verse:
I was fifteen when the world put mе on a pedestal/I had big dreams of doin' shows and making memories/Made some bad moves tryna act cool, upset by their jealousy/Lifting me up (Lifting me up), lifting me up (Yeah)/And tearing me down (Down), tearing me down (Down, down)/I'll take responsibility for everything I've done (Yeah)/Holding it against me (Yeah) like you're the holy one (Yeah).
Personally, "Monster" isn't what I expected out of a collaboration between these two artists, but I'm pleasantly surprised.
