"The Monster" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his eighth studio album The Marshall Mathers LP 2. It was released as the album's fourth and final single on October 29, 2013. The song features vocals by Barbadian singer Rihanna, making it the fourth collaboration between the two artists following "Love the Way You Lie" (2010), its sequel "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)" (2010), and "Numb" (2012). The lyrics present Rihanna coming to grips with her inner demons, while Eminem ponders the negative effects of his fame.
"The Monster" received positive reviews upon release, charting at number one in the United States and in eleven other countries. It also marks Eminem's first number one on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and has reached the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Italy and Spain. The two artists performed the song live at the 2014 MTV Movie Awards, and won a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in the ceremony's 57th annual year.
Background[]
Eminem and Rihanna first collaborated on "Love the Way You Lie," released as a single off of Eminem's Recovery, which was a critical and commercial success and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for seven consecutive weeks. The sequel song "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)" was released as part of Rihanna's fifth studio album Loud; it mainly views matters from the female protagonist perspective. In November 2012, Eminem and Rihanna collaborated again on "Numb," which was included on Rihanna's seventh studio album Unapologetic.
The song was produced by Frequency, who has worked with other notable artists, including Ja Rule and Slaughterhouse.
Reception[]
Reviews[]
The Monster received positive reviews. Writing for the IBTimes, Tarun Mazumdar reacted positively to it, praising its "memorable lines" and Rihanna's "soulful" vocals and rating it 3.5 out of 5. Amy Sciaretto of PopCrush gave it the same rating and noted that "it's not nearly as powerful or affective as the previous partnership, but it's not supposed to be." Allan Raible of ABC News also enjoyed the song, calling it a "a career highlight" and a "personal rhyme about his history." About.com's Bill Lamb had similar thoughts, opining that Eminem's introspection "lends the song engaging power" while also praising Rihanna's vocals.
Commercial[]
"The Monster" first entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number three, on November 6, 2013, marking Eminem's third best entry following "Not Afraid" (No. 1, 2010) and "Love the Way You Lie" also featuring Rihanna (No. 2, 2010). This ties "Berzerk", which also debuted at number three on the Hot 100. The entry gave Rihanna her 25th top ten on the chart, equaling Elvis Presley for the eighth-most top tens in the chart's history. This achievement also earned the singer the honor of being the fastest women to accumulate the top ten tally (with eight years and four months since her first single), besting Madonna by three months. Furthermore, the debut marked Rihanna's 45th overall chart entry, tying Mariah Carey for the eighth most chart appearances among women.
Accolades[]
| Year | Ceremony | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | BET Hip Hop Awards | Best Collabo, Duo or Group | Nominated |
| Billboard Music Award | Top Rap Song | ||
| iHeartRadio Awards | Song of The Year | ||
| Best Collaboration | |||
| MTV Video Music Awards | Best Male Video | ||
| Best Collaboration | |||
| Best Direction | |||
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Song | ||
| 2015 | Grammy Awards | Best Rap/Sung Collaboration | Won |
Music video[]
The music video was directed by Rich Lee, which depicts Rihanna as Eminem's therapist. It features references to other music videos that Eminem has released, including "My Name Is," "Lose Yourself," "The Way I Am," and the 2001 Grammy Awards performance of "Stan" with Elton John, including a brief moment of 3 a.m. and Stan on the television at the start and the voice of the demon in "My Darling". On October 23, 2025, the video was reported of surpassing one billion views.[1]
| Video | Information | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | December 17, 2013 | |
| Director | Rich Lee | |
| Prod. Company | DNA | |
| Cinematographer | Omer Ganai | |
| Editor | David Checel | |
| Colorist | Dave Hussey | |
| Length | 5:18 | |
Personnel[]
- Aaron "Aalias" Kleinstub – writing, co-production
- Andre "Dre. Dre" Young – mixing
- Bebe Rexha – background vocals, writing
- Bryan "Frequency" Fryzel – writing, production
- Jonathan "Jon" Bellion – writing
- Joseph "Joe" Strange – recording
- Luis Resto – additional keyboards
- Maki Athanasiou – writing, additional instrumentation
- Mauricio "Veto" Iragorri – recording, mixing
- Michael "Mike" Strange – recording
- Marshall "Eminem" Mathers – lead vocals, writing
- RJ Colston – mixing assistance
- Robyn "Rihanna" Fenty – featured vocals, writing
- Tony Campana – recording
Audio[]
Lyrics[]
[Intro: Rihanna]
I'm friends with the monster
That's under my bed
Get along with the voices
Inside of my head
You're tryin' to save me
Stop holdin' your breath
And you think I'm crazy
Yeah, you think I'm crazy
[Verse 1: Eminem]
I wanted the fame but not the cover of Newsweek
Oh well, guess beggars can't be choosey
Wanted to receive attention for my music
Wanted to be left alone in public, excuse me
For wantin' my cake, and eat it too, and wantin' it both ways
Fame made me a balloon 'cause my ego inflated
When I blew, see, but it was confusing
'Cause all I wanted to do's be the Bruce Lee of loose leaf
Abused ink, used it as a tool when I blew steam
Woo! Hit the lottery, ooh-wee
But with what I gave up to get it was bittersweet
It was like winnin' a used mink
Ironic 'cause I think I'm gettin' so huge I need a shrink
I'm beginnin' to lose sleep: one sheep, two sheep
Goin' coo-coo and kooky as Kool Keith
But I'm actually weirder than you think, 'cause I'm—
[Chorus: Rihanna, Rihanna + Bebe Rexha]
I'm friends with the monster
That's under my bed
Get along with the voices
Inside of my head
You're tryin' to save me
Stop holdin' your breath
And you think I'm crazy
Yeah, you think I'm crazy
Well, that's nothin'
[Post-Chorus: Rihanna, Bebe Rexha]
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
Well, that's nothin'
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
[Verse 2: Eminem, Bebe Rexha]
Now, I ain't much of a poet
But I know somebody once told me to seize the moment
And don't squander it 'cause you never know when it
All could be over tomorrow, so I keep conjurin'
Sometimes, I wonder where these thoughts spawn from
Yeah, ponderin'll do you wonders, no wonder
You're losin' your mind, the way it wanders
(New-hoo, ooh-hoo) Yodel-odel-ay-hee-hoo!
I think it went wanderin' off down
Yonder and stumbled onto Jeff VanVonderen
'Cause I need an interventionist
To intervene between me and this monster
And save me from myself and all this conflict
'Cause the very thing that I love's killin' me and I can't conquer it
My OCD's conkin' me in the head, keep knockin'
Nobody's home, I'm sleepwalkin'
I'm just relayin' what the voice in my head's sayin'
Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just friends with the—
[Chorus: Rihanna, Rihanna + Bebe Rexha]
I'm friends with the monster
That's under my bed
Get along with the voices
Inside of my head
You're tryin' to save me
Stop holdin' your breath
And you think I'm crazy
Yeah, you think I'm crazy
Well, that's nothin'
[Post-Chorus: Rihanna, Bebe Rexha]
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
Well, that's nothin'
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
[Verse 3: Eminem]
Call me crazy, but I have this vision, one day that
I'll walk amongst you a regular civilian
But until then, drums get killed and I'm comin' straight at
MCs, blood gets spilled then I'll
Take you back to the days that I'd get on a Dre track
Give every kid who got played that pumped-up feelin'
And shit to say back to the kids who played him
I ain't here to save the fuckin' children, but if one kid
Out of a hundred million who are goin' through a
Struggle feels it and relates, that's great
It's payback, Russell Wilson fallin' way back
In the draft turn nothin' into somethin'
Still can make that straw into gold, chump, I will spin
Rumpelstiltskin in a haystack
Maybe I need a straightjacket, face facts:
I am nuts for real, but I'm okay with that
It's nothin', I'm still friends with the—
[Chorus: Rihanna, Eminem, Both]
I'm friends with the monster
That's under my bed
Get along with the voices
Inside of my head
You're tryin' to save me
Stop holdin' your breath
And you think I'm crazy
Yeah, you think I'm crazy
I'm friends with the monster
That's under my bed (Get along with)
Get along with the voices
Inside of my head (You're tryin' to)
You're tryin' to save me
Stop holdin' your breath (And you think I'm)
And you think I'm crazy
Yeah, you think I'm crazy
Well, that's nothin'
[Post-Chorus: Rihanna + Eminem, Bebe Rexha]
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
Well, that's nothin'
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
New-hoo, ooh-hoo
Charts[]
Weekly[]
| Chart (2013–2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 6 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 2 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 4 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 8 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 4 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 2 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 3 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 30 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 2 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 5 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 20 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 2 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 3 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 17 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 7 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 58 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 9 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 11 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 22 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 22 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 23 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 1 |
Year-end[]
| Chart (2013) | Position |
|---|---|
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 24 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 61 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 15 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 97 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 61 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 55 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 87 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 52 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 35 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 30 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 64 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 41 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 66 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 26 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 42 |
| Chart (2014) | Position |
|---|---|
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 72 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 53 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 10 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 69 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 52 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 16 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 39 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 105 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 77 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 84 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 41 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 34 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 45 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 20 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 98 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 33 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 51 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 93 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 66 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 16 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 5 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 13 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 4 |
Decade-end[]
| Chart (2010–2019) | Position |
|---|---|
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 70 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 42 |
Certifications[]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 11× Platinum | 770,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 15,000* | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Diamond | 250,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 2× Platinum | 160,000* | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 15,000** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 3× Gold | 450,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 3× Platinum | 150,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Platinum | 60,000* | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 4× Platinum | 120,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 10,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 5× Platinum | 200,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Platinum | 30,000** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 3× Platinum | 1,800,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 8× Platinum | 8,000,000*** | |
| Streaming | ||
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 3× Platinum | 5,400,000† | |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
References[]
- ↑ Dailey, Hannah (October 23, 2025). "Eminem ft. Rihanna - The Monster". Billboard.
External links[]
The Monster on Apple Music- The Monster on YouTube
- The Monster on SoundCloud
- The Monster on Internet Movie Database
- The Monster on Spotify
- The Monster on Pandora
- The Monster on Tidal
- The Monster on TikTok
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