Monster (Exo song)
"Monster" is a song by South Korean–Chinese boy band Exo, released on June 9, 2016, as the second single from their third studio album Ex'Act. It was released in both Korean and Chinese versions by their label SM Entertainment.
"Monster" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Exo | ||||
from the album Ex'Act | ||||
Released | June 9, 2016 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:41 | |||
Label | SM | |||
Songwriter(s) | Kenzie, LDN Noise, Rodnae `Chikk` Bell | |||
Producer(s) | Kenzie, LDN Noise, Rodnae `Chikk` Bell | |||
Exo Korean and Chinese singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Monster" (Korean Ver.) on YouTube | ||||
"Monster" (Chinese Ver.) on YouTube |
Background and release
Written and composed by Kenzie LDN Noise, and Rodnae "Chikk" Bell "Monster" is described as a "dark and intense" medium-tempo dance song with lyrics about a man's "excessive fixation on his lover".[1] The song served as one of the "double title tracks" for Ex'Act, the other being "Lucky One", and was released together with the album on June 9, 2016. Exo began performing the song on South Korean music TV shows on the same day.
Music videos
The Korean and Chinese music videos for "Monster" were released one hour after the song itself. Apart from Exo's performances of the song at various settings, the videos also depict the members as rebels that were eventually captured but ultimately released from a prisoner transport vehicle by Baekhyun, who has been disguised as the driver. The Korean version was the fourth most-watched K-pop music video on YouTube in 2016.[2] An additional music video exclusively showcasing the song's choreography was released on June 15, 2016.
On June 8, 2018, the Korean music video exceeded 200 million views on YouTube, and on November 13, 2019 it exceeded 300 million, becoming their first music video to achieve both milestones.[3][4]
Reception
"Monster" topped both South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart and the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, becoming Exo's first number one on the latter.[5][6] The song won first place nine times in total on South Korean weekly music TV shows, and was the most awarded song by a boy group in 2016. It was nominated for Song of the Year at the 18th Mnet Asian Music Awards, and was named the second and third best K-pop songs of 2016 by Dazed and Billboard respectively.[7][8]
Charts
Awards
Program | Network | Date |
---|---|---|
Show Champion | MBC M | June 22, 2016 |
M Countdown | Mnet | June 16, 2016 |
June 23, 2016 | ||
June 30, 2016 | ||
Music Bank | KBS | June 17, 2016 |
June 24, 2016 | ||
July 1, 2016 | ||
Inkigayo | SBS | June 19, 2016 |
June 26, 2016 |
Critic/Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Billboard | The 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2016 | 3 | [14] |
Fuse | The 20 Best Songs of 2016 | 2 | [15] |
Dazed | The 20 best K-Pop tracks of the year | 2 | [16] |
Soompi | 15 Of The Biggest K-Pop Hits From 2016 | N/A | [17] |
KultScene | 50 Best Korean Songs of 2016 | 25 | [18] |
Release history
Region | Date | Format | Label |
---|---|---|---|
South Korea | June 9, 2016 |
| |
Worldwide | S.M. Entertainment |
References
- Jung Eun-jin (June 8, 2016). "EXO returns as 'Monster'". Korea Herald. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- "2016년 전 세계에서 가장 많이 본 K-Pop 뮤직비디오 Top10은?". 인터넷판 (in Korean). December 21, 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
- "엑소 '몬스터' MV, 조회수 2억 돌파". Ten Asia. June 8, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
- "엑소(EXO), "몬스터" 뮤직비디오 3억 뷰 돌파". 100Korea. November 13, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
- "Gaon Digital Chart – Week 24, 2015". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- Benjamin, Jeff (June 14, 2016). "EXO Earns First No. 1 on World Digital Songs With 'Monster'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- Glasby, Taylor (December 14, 2016). "The 20 best K-Pop tracks of the year". Dazed. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
- Benjamin, Jeff (December 22, 2016). "20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2016: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
- "Billboard Japan Hot 100 – June 27, 2016". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- "Billboard Spotify Velocity – July 2, 2016". Billboard. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
- "Gaon Digital Chart – 2016". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
- "Gaon Download Chart – 2016". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
- "EXO's 'Obsession' Leads K-Pop Group to Fourth Billboard 200 Entry, No. 1 on World Digital Song Sales Chart". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
- Benjamin, Jeff; Oak, Jessica (December 22, 2016). "The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2016: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
- "THE 20 BEST SONGS OF 2016". Fuse. December 5, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
- Glasby, Taylor (December 13, 2016). "The 20 best K-Pop tracks of the year". Dazed. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
- Dong, Michelle (January 11, 2017). "15 Of The Biggest K-Pop Hits From 2016". Soompi. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- "50 Best Korean Songs of 2016: Part 2". Kultscene. December 23, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2019.