The entire nation of Canada is smiling right now because Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber have finally collaborated on a song. What was once thought impossible – especially since Justin, 26, married Shawn’s ex, Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin) – became reality on Nov. 20, as Shawn, 22, continued to roll out new music ahead of his new album, Wonder. One such song was “Monster”, a track on which Shawn and Justin take a long and hard look at themselves and wonder: if they “trip” or “fall” from their “pedestals,” does that make them the “monster”?
The song appeared to send a message about the scorn that has accompanied Shawn and Justin’s icon statuses, as Justin admits he made some “bad moves” since he was “upset” by the “jealousy” he’s had to deal with from critics since ascending to fame in his teens. For the music video, Shawn and Justin make this message about standing on a “pedestal” quite literal by climbing on a blank white building together while taking turns to deliver their emotional verses. Before the music video dropped, the collaborators also filmed a live stream together, which you can watch below.
Shawn and Justin first sparked speculation of a collaboration in August, when Biebs and Hailey, 23, were seen visiting Shawn’s home studio on Aug. 20. Even though the situation could have been awkward since Hailey and Shawn used to date – they famously attended the 2018 Met Gala together as a couple – things were really good between Justin and Shawn. Biebs “knows Shawn’s talent and would be happy to work with him on future collaborations and also be his friend,” a source told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY.
However, the appearance only sent the boys’ respective fandoms into overdrive over this possible collaboration. When Shawn appeared on Britain’s Capital FM Breakfast with Roman Kemp on Oct. 6, the host asked Shawn if it was true that he “turned down” a chance to work with Justin on a song. Shawn did his best to step around the question. “Is this you trying to get me to confirm that I have a collaboration with Justin Bieber? That I didn’t last month, is that what you’re saying?” Shawn replied, slyly. “If I turned one down, that would be insane considering he’s been one of my favorite artists since I was like nine-years-old.”
“I cannot confirm or deny,” said Shawn, before adding that In the last six months he and Justin “definitely become a lot closer. It’s really cool to have him has a mentor in a lot of ways, just to kind of talk through stuff a little bit cause there’s not many people who do this type of stuff.”
#MONSTER CDs available now.
Exclusive cover on my store https://t.co/PTNcAZrjoK pic.twitter.com/gYJ9zl41Db— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) November 18, 2020
There was a time when there was a perceived rivalry between Shawn and Justin. Some fans thought that Justin’s line on DJ Khaled’s “No Brainer” (“Him or me, be for real, baby, it’s a no brainer”) was shade against Shawn, since Justin rekindled his romance with Hailey weeks after she and Mendes called it quits. A year later, Justin joked around after The Observer Magazine dubbed Shawn the “Prince of Pop.” Biebs took umbrage at this crowning and responded like a good Hoser. “Hmm ‘Gonna have to break a few more records to dethrone my title there bud (canadian voice)… but if you want we can play hockey for it but I heard you’re a real bender on the ice we could just drop the buckets and tilt for it,” wrote Justin.
Before anyone got twisted about it, Justin added, “There is no competition and it as a playful joke people relax… there’s no sides we’re all just here to make dope music. I’m just competitive as is he so it was just a little playful jargon.” As for the Hockey challenge, Shawn responded with, “LOL any time any day you just let me know!!!!!!”