About

"Monster" is a 2006 indie rock song by the American rock band Meg & Dia. After a version of the song remixed by LUM!X gained popularity on TikTok in early 2018, both the remix and the original version have occasionally emerged in various meme formats on the app. In May 2021, an exploitable video of a cartoon face singing the song gained popularity on YouTube.

Origin

On June 27th, 2006, American indie rock band Meg & Dia, formed by sisters Meg and Dia Frampton, released an EP titled What Is It? A Fender Bender.^[1] The EP consisted of four tracks, including "Monster," later released on the band's 2006 album Something Real. In 2007, a music video for Monster was released^[2] (shown below).

Monster,
How should I feel?
Creatures lie here,
Looking through the windows

According to Meg Frampton, the song is a reference to the 1952 novel East of Eden by John Steinbeck.^[3]

LUM!X & Gabry Ponte Remix

On November 9th, 2017, Austrian producer LUM!X released a remixed version of the song featuring Eiffel 65's Gabry Ponte. The song received over 1.33 million streams on Soundcloud^[4] and 161.5 million streams on Spotify^[5] in four years.

A music video for the song (shown below), released on May 9th, 2019, received over 50 million views on YouTube^[6] in two years.

Spread

Initial Use

On August 31st, 2011, producer DotEXE posted a remix of the song to YouTube^[23] (shown below), where it gained over 16.5 million views in ten years, with an October 2011 reupload^[24] gaining additional 135 million views in the same period.

Prior to early 2018, the song did not see active use in memes. One notable example is a Five Nights at Freddy's fan animation video uploaded by YouTube^[7] user Sky The.Reaper on April 27th, 2016. The video (shown below) features a remixed version of the song and received over 128,000 vies in five years.

Shuffle Dance Videos (2018)

On January 24th, 2018, YouTube^[8] channel ELEMENTS posted a video in which several dancers performed shuffle dance to the LUM!X remix of "Monster." The video (shown below, left) received over 18 million views in three years. In the following months, the remixed version of the song was used in a TikTok^[9] trend participants of which performed shuffle dance moves to the song (compilation video shown below, right).

Following the trend, the remixed version of the song was used for miscellaneous TikToks in the following years. As of June 7th, 2021, over 384,000 videos using the remix were posted on TikTok.^[10]

Fake Challenges (2020)

On June 2nd, 2018, TikTok^[21] user ensaralyuzz first posted a TikTok using the original version of the song.

Starting in late June 2020, the original version of the song gained popularity on TikTok in fake challenge memes. On June 30th, 2020, TikToker^[11] _itsnate posted one of the first known videos within the trend which gained over 493,000 likes in one year (shown below, left). In July and August 2020, TikToker^[12][13] itsmacdoogle, known for Hidden Talent of Mine meme, used the song in several of his videos, further promoting its popularity (example shown below, center).

As of June 7th, 2021, over 252,800 clips using the original version of the song were posted to TikTok.^[22]

Green Screen Face (2021)

On April 12th, 2021, TikTok^[14] user kendrasworld3_9 posted a green screen template that featured an animated face singing the original version of the song (shown below), with the template being a development of the earlier Green Screen Eyes trend.^[15] The post received over and 82,000 views and 7,100 likes in two months. On the same day, kendrasworld3_9 reposted the template as a reply to TikTok^[16] user @gojira041, with the repost gaining over 1.4 million views and 144,600 likes in two months.

In the following weeks, the exploitable gained notable popularity as source material for edits. On April 24th, 2021, YouTube^[17] user Pokemon oc posted the earliest found viral edit that used kendrasworld3_9's template, applying it to various people and cartoon characters (shown below, left). The edit received over 884,700 views in two months.

On April 26th, YouTube^[18] user Mcstabler reposted the template to YouTube, with the video gaining over 2.6 million views in two months.

In May and June 2021, multiple viral versions of the meme were posted by users on YouTube. For example, a version posted by YouTube^[19] user M Rafa on May 1st garnered over 768,000 views in one month (shown below, right).

On June 5th, 2021, YouTuber^[20] Lessons in Meme Culture posted a video about the meme.

Various Examples

Template

Search Interest

External References