# Popular Monster (song)

"Popular Monster" is a song by American rock band Falling in Reverse. It was released on November 20, 2019. The song was ranked number four in late 2019 on the US Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and number one on the US Mainstream Rock chart. As of 2023, the song has over 300 million streams on Spotify. The song was released as a standalone single and was later included as the title track on band's fifth studio album, Popular Monster.

## Promotion and release

The song was released in November 2019. On October 23, 2020, Swedish duo DJs Galantis and American DJ Nghtmre released a remix version of the song. At the end of 2020, the song was ranked number one on Octane Sirius XM as the most played rock song on the radio in the United States. On May 7, 2024 the band released the single "Ronald" and after 7 years of the release of their fourth studio album Coming Home, the band finally announced that they would be releasing their fifth studio album called Popular Monster and it will be released on August 16, 2024.

## Composition and lyrics

The song was composed and written by Ronnie Radke, Cody Quistad of Wage War, and Tyler Smyth of DangerKids. It talks about Ronnie Radke exploring his demons, particularly that of his depression and accusations made against him throughout his life, and eventually transforming into a werewolf. Ronnie Radke says about the song:
   "'Popular Monster' is the voice inside my head, waiting for you to hear it. It is the story of a hero who has been falsely accused and destroyed by society. Show what happens when you've been pushed too hard. You become exactly what they say, you are exactly what they want you to be, a monster."
When writing the song, Ronnie Radke drew inspiration from the 2019 film Joker.
Radke continues to experiment with rap, notably with the first and second verses of the song. However, the band does not leave aside its rock roots since the pre-chorus and the choruses feature a heavy metal sound, resemblant of rap metal or nu metal. The song features a metalcore breakdown which marks that the band remains faithful to their original sound.

## Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Jensen Noen. The music video depicts Ronnie Radke exploring his demons in which he eventually transforms into a werewolf. This is the last music video to feature rhythm guitarist Derek Jones, who died in April 2020.

## Commercial performance

The song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, number 15 on the Rock Airplay chart, and number one on the Mainstream Rock chart. On the Billboard Canada Rock chart, the song peaked at number 38, while on the UK Rock & Metal Singles chart, it peaked at number 17, the song debuted at number 33 in Hungary. In June 2020, Billboard introduced two new rock charts, with "Popular Monster" becoming the first song to top the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart and peaking at number 11 on the Hot Alternative Songs chart. On December 10, 2024, the song was certified 3x Platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) equivalent to 3,000,000 units. Later they obtained their first platinum record and has since gone triple-platinum.

## Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.
Falling in Reverse
* Ronnie Radke – lead vocals, programming, producer, additional guitar
* Derek Jones – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
* Tyler Burgess – bass, backing vocals
* Max Georgiev – lead guitar, backing vocals
* Johnny Mele – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Additional personnel
* Tyler Smyth – production, strings, additional writing, recording, mastering, programming, engineered
* Cody Quistad – additional writing, guitars
* Kevin Ellis Moore – cover art
* Charles Kallaghan Massabo – co-producer, programming, engineer, beat instrumental

## Certifications

Certifications for "Popular Monster" :
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Australia (ARIA) | 3× Platinum | 210,000$^‡$ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | Gold | 15,000$^‡$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Silver | 200,000$^‡$ |
| United States (RIAA) | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000$^‡$ |
| $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |||

## Covers

The song has been covered by 5 other artists, as of 7 May 2023.
| Artist | Song Title | Release Date | Genre |
| 8 Bit Arcade | Popular Monster (8-Bit Falling in Reverse Emultation | December 22, 2019 | Electronic / Dance |
| Chiptune Punks | Popular Monster (8-Bit Computer Game Cover Version of Falling in Reverse) | 7 August 2022 | Electronic / Dance |
| Galantis and Nghtmre | Popular Monster - NGHTMRE & Galantis Remix | 23 October 2020 | Electronic / Dance |
| Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star | Popular Monster | 6 November 2020 | Easy Listening |
| Halocene and Lauren Babic | Popular Monster | 19 March 2021 | Rock / Pop |

## In popular culture

The song began to gain popularity on the TikTok video platform, several users began to use the song for their videos, this also helped the song continue to trend. The song is the entrance theme of British wrestler Zak Zodiac brother of AEW wrestler, Saraya (known as Paige in WWE), who works for different independent wrestling companies. In 2020, the song was included in a DLC of the video game Rock Band 4.