SM’s “Monster Mania”: A Quick Ranking of Every “Monster” (So Far)

Super Junior, EXO, Henry, Red Velvet, SuperM: SM Entertainment loves a good Monster. Over the last 11 years, artists from the second to fourth generation of K-pop at SM have been victims of the agency’s “Monster Mania”, releasing tracks of the same name with different results across the board. With SuperM’s own “Monster’s” arrival as well as the hybrid track “One (Monster & Infinity)” many fans have joked about SM’s obsession with the title. But how does it fare against the ones that came before it? In this post, I rank them all (so far) from kind of good to best:

5 – Henry Lau’s “Monster” Goodbye

Henry Lau is one of the most talented artists that SM has had the pleasure to have in their agency: not only is he a talented vocalist and dancer, he is also one of the most gifted music players in the K-pop industry. First rejected by Super Junior’s Korean fanbase as an addition to the original lineup, later a member of Super Junior-M and a soloist, despite becoming a regular in Korean variety shows and beloved by the general public, his solo career never had a direction that matched his talents. In 2018, after a few hits and misses and some difficulties, he said goodbye to SM Entertainment with a very solid R&B track in “Monster”. It is not a bad song by any means, but knowing what Henry can do, it is slightly underwhelming and that’s why it ranks last on the list.

4 – The Original “Monster”: Super Junior’s

New K-pop fans often overlook Super Junior’s “Monster” when they make the joke about SM’s repetitive song title, possibly because it goes under the radar if you only know Super Junior by their lead singles or simply if you have gotten into K-pop during the third or fourth generations (which I’ve done, but I also really love Super Junior). But SM’s first “Monster” is not a hidden gem for fans Super Junior’s 3rd album Sorry, Sorry. The 2009 track is a clear example of a classic late-2000s boyband K-pop song. A good precedent for the Monsters that would come after it, no doubt.

3- Irene & Seulgi’s Sexy “Monster”

This year Red Velvet’s Irene & Seulgi were the first women daring enough not only to tackle the monster, but to become the monster. Their “Monster” is dangerous, dark and a little scary. The song is a killer from the start, attacking your ears with a diabolic nursery rhyme. The dubstep-infused dance beat slowly creeps into your brain exactly like Irene and Seulgi describe they are going to do to you, and soon you find yourself enthralled by the harmonies in the chorus and hitting replay. Irene and Seulgi’s “Monster” is sexy and a welcome change from the male-dominated songs about taking over your thoughts.

2 – SuperM’s “One (Monster & Infinity)”

SuperM’s most recent comeback, “One (Monster & Infinity)” combines two tracks in their first full album Super One. This kind of track is not groundbreaking from SM, we can find it before in the iconic “Sherlock (Clue+Note)” from SHINee. On its own, SuperM’s “Monster” would have ranked third on this list:

“Monster” has almost everything to make it an incredible song: powerful verses, an amazing pre-chorus and even the perfect bridge, but the main chorus seems to lack something, which is where “Infinity” comes in. If it was intentional for these songs to go in different directions from what you expected only for “One” to feel like an unified, complete track, then they delivered. “Infinity’s” chorus, straight out of The Avengers soundtrack (which makes absolute sense now that SuperM and Marvel have announced a collaboration that has been in the works for ages) gives “Monster” the last punch to take it to another level. The result is a hybrid track that strikes as disjointed upon first listen, but ends up growing on you and becoming addictive. If you didn’t like the song at first, consider giving it a second try:

1- EXO’s Ultimate “Monster”

Back when EXO’s “Monster” came out in 2016, many dared to call it “unoriginal” or “more of the same” for the group. However, time has proven that “Monster” was the culmination of EXO’s definitive sound. “Monster” is the one EXO song stans and antis can agree is just that good. Its dark sound to match its, frankly disturbing, lyrics throws you into a complete experience from the very beginning, with Baekhyun’s sexy vocals immediately drawing you into the first verse. An unforgettable pre-chorus, a vocally driven chorus that’s unequivocally EXO and an excellent rap section make it an absolute winner. It is hard to tell what will be the song’s longevity, but four years later it does not sound dated at all and it is not difficult to find its influence in other groups, including SM’s own. There was never any doubt: EXO’s “Monster” is the definition of iconic, and it takes the crown for SM’s most outstanding “Monster”, so far.