Beautiful Liar (Monsta X song)

"Beautiful Liar"
Single by Monsta X
from the album Reason
Language	Korean
Released	January 9, 2023
Recorded	2022
Studio	Ingrid Studio Klang Studio
Genre	K-pop hip hop punk-rock glam metal dance-pop
Length	3:03
Label	Starship Kakao
Composer(s)	Ryan S. Jhun Marc Sibley Nathan Cunningham Josh Cumbee SLAY AVIN Lauren Aquilina Marcus Andersson
Lyricist(s)	Joohoney Hyungwon I.M Brother Su Kim Eung-ju
Producer(s)	Ryan S. Jhun Space Primates
Monsta X singles chronology
"Love" (2022) "Beautiful Liar" (2023)
Music video
"Beautiful Liar" on YouTube

"Beautiful Liar" is a song recorded by the South Korean boy group Monsta X for their twelfth extended play Reason. It was released as the EP's lead single by Starship Entertainment and Kakao Entertainment on January 9, 2023.

Background and release

In December 2022, Monsta X announced their comeback by releasing the coming soon image of their twelfth EP Reason through their official SNS, in an intense black image and the release date announced on January 9, 2023.^[1]

On December 20, the track listing was released, with "Beautiful Liar" confirmed as the lead single.^[2]

Joohoney, Hyungwon, and I.M participated in writing its Korean lyrics, alongside Brother Su and Kim Eung-ju.^[3]

The choreography's killing point expresses the feeling of a "snake" ruling the whole body, through the movement that seems to control the mouth from the arm,^[4] accompanied by choreography of covering the entire face with one hand, and in which everyone leans their heads and bodies back.^[5]

Composition

"Beautiful Liar" is a rhythmical and powerful punk rock-style song that sings the reason for love found in the most extreme and dangerous relationship, with a highly addictive beat and high-quality vocals and performance, providing a more intense sense of immersion.^[6] It can also be described as a hip-hop- and dance-based track with irresistible punk-rock influences, which give the song its earworm quality, a gorgeous blend of sonic intensity and sauciness.^[7]

Music video

On January 5, Monsta X released the first teaser of the music video through their official SNS. The video begins with a tense scene, in which unknown people run in droves with a rhythmic beat. Led by I.M, who appears exuding a strong presence in a red leather outfit, the members walk towards somewhere, creating a sandstorm. Then, the video ends with the two members, being put in a confrontation situation and running towards each other as if attacking.^[8] On January 6, the second teaser of the music video was released, which begins with an intense beat and sound. In the concert hall lit up with colorful lights, Monsta X is on the main stage and is receiving cheers from many people, and the performance made by the members is revealed little by little in the scene passing by with a sense of speed. At the end of the video, few of I.M's unique and attractive bass notes are revealed.^[9]

The music video, directed by Highqualityfish, was released alongside the song, through Starship Entertainment and 1theK's YouTube channels on January 9, 2023. It portrays their powerful performance from an abandoned warehouse as it catches on fire. Elsewhere in the video, it can be seen that, they stumble through a faceless crowd, as they reckon with their conflicting emotions.^[10][11] Tapping into the dangerous nature of love, the music video features the members performing in arena set ablaze, clad in leather ensembles, which capture the track's sonic potency in sleek choreographed moves and rebellious expressions.^[7] The music video shows the members of Monsta X take the stage in front of a crowd full of mysterious people dressed in all black, features imagery of chains and a horse in a red tent.^[12]

Promotion

On January 10, their comeback showcase was held to commemorate the release of their twelfth EP Reason, including "Beautiful Liar", through Naver Now,^[13] along the release of the global K-pop rhythm game SuperStar Starship's limited-themed digital card for "Beautiful Liar".^[14] Monsta X also subsequently appeared on several music programs, including Mnet's M Countdown on January 12,^[15] KBS2's Music Bank on January 13,^[16] MBC's Show! Music Core on January 14,^[17] and SBS' Inkigayo on January 15.^[18]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
IZM	[19]

Jang Jun-hwan of IZM described "Beautiful Liar" as an "elegant pop grammar with various colors". Jang also added that "the sharp electric guitar and heavy drums, which seem to have been inspired by Kanye West's "Black Skinhead", have produced the existing wild beauty, but they did not miss the sense of creating the "killing part" which they learned from All About Luv and The Dreaming". Jang emphasized "I.M and Jooheon's raps, which alternately use power, draw tension over and over again, and Hyungwon's hook injects sweetness in the right place, that despite its light composition, the song still penetrates the ears excellently and announces its presence".^[19]

Taylor Glasby, writing for Dazed, said that as a curveball, it "dissects and reassembles its structure with steely precision", giving "heady and hypnotic, a teasing, persistent spiral of sound", which makes it a "slithery banger".^[20]

Listicles

Name of critic or publication, name of listicle and rank

Critic/Publication	List	Rank	Ref.
Dazed	The 50 Best K-pop Tracks of 2023	17	[20]

Commercial performance

Upon the release, it topped the iTunes Top Song Single Chart and iTunes Top K-pop Song Chart. The music video also ranked on YouTube's Rapidly Rising Video and topped the Music videos trending worldwide,^[21] as well as placing at number 5 on YouTube Korea popular music video, for the week of January 6 to 12, with 505,341 views.^[22]

"Beautiful Liar" succeeded in charting on South Korea's major music sites such as Melon, Bugs!, and Genie.^[21][23] It charted at number 15 on Circle Digital Chart, for the week of January 8 to 14, with 9,878,778 digital points,^[24] as well as at number 8 on Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart, for the week of January 6 to 12.^[25] The track also charted at number 75 on Circle Digital Chart, for the month of January, with 18,775,422 digital points.^[26]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Melon.^[27]

• Monsta X – vocals
• Joohoney – lyrics
• Hyungwon – lyrics
• I.M – lyrics
• Brother Su – lyrics
• Kim Eung-ju – lyrics
• Ryan S. Jhun – composition, arrangement
• Marc Sibley – composition
• Nathan Cunningham – composition
• Josh Cumbee – composition
• SLAY – composition
• AVIN – composition
• Lauren Aquilina – composition
• Marcus Andersson – composition
• Space Primates – arrangement

Charts

Weekly charts Chart performance for "Beautiful Liar" Chart (2023) Peak position South Korea (Circle)[24] 15 US World Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[25] 8

Monthly chart Chart performance for "Beautiful Liar" Chart (2023) Peak position South Korea (Circle)[26] 75

Accolades

Music program award for "Beautiful Liar"

Program	Date	Ref.
Music Bank	January 20, 2023	[28][29]

Release history

Release history and formats for "Beautiful Liar"

Region	Date	Format	Label
South Korea	January 9, 2023	Digital download streaming	Starship Entertainment Kakao Entertainment
Various

See also

• List of K-pop songs on the Billboard charts
• List of K-pop songs on the World Digital Song Sales chart
• List of Music Bank Chart winners (2023)

References

1. Lee, Yoo-na (December 12, 2022). 몬스타엑스, 내년 1월 9일 컴백...신보 'REASON' 발매 [MONSTA X, comeback on January 9 next year... new album 'REASON' release]. YTN (in Korean). Retrieved January 4, 2023 – via Naver.
2. Kim, Ji-hye (December 21, 2022). 몬스타엑스, 새 앨범 '리즌' 트랙리스트 오픈..타이틀곡='Beautiful Liar' [Monsta X, new album 'Reason' track list open.. Title song = 'Beautiful Liar']. K-pop Herald (in Korean). Retrieved January 5, 2023 – via Naver.
3. Kwak, Hyun-soo (January 3, 2023). 몬스타엑스 신보 '리즌', 형원·주헌·아이엠 프로듀싱 참여 [MONSTA X's new album 'Reason' participated in the production of Hyungwon, Jooheon, and I.M.]. YTN (in Korean). Retrieved January 4, 2023 – via Naver.
4. Jeong, Jin-ah (January 12, 2023). 몬스타엑스, 오늘 음방 출격…포인트, 뱀이 온몸을 지배하는 듯한 안무 [Monsta X, today's music show... Point, choreography as if a snake dominates the whole body]. Newsis (in Korean). Retrieved January 12, 2023 – via Naver.
5. Kim, Su-jin (January 18, 2023). 몬스타엑스, 미니 12집 'REASON' 타이틀곡 'Beautiful Liar' 안무 영상 공개 [MONSTA X, 12th mini album 'REASON' title song 'Beautiful Liar' choreography video released]. Star News (in Korean). Retrieved January 18, 2023 – via Naver.
6. Lee, Min-ji (December 24, 2022). '컴백' 몬스타엑스, 신보 'REASON' 이미지 티저…흑백 카리스마 [Comeback' Monsta X, new album 'REASON' image teaser... black and white charisma]. Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved January 5, 2023 – via Naver.
7. Dongre, Divyansha (January 9, 2023). "Monsta X Make a Powerful Comeback with 'Beautiful Liar'". Rolling Stone India. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
8. Hwang, Hye-jin (January 6, 2023). 몬스타엑스 'Beautiful Liar' MV 티저 공개…믿고 듣는 기현 목소리 [MONSTA X 'Beautiful Liar' MV teaser released... Trust and listen to Kihyun's voice]. Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved January 6, 2023.
9. Ahn, Tae-hyun (January 7, 2023). 몬스타엑스, '뷰티풀 라이어' MV 2차 티저 공개…믿고 보는 퍼포먼스 [MONSTA X unveils the 2nd teaser for 'Beautiful Liar' MV... performance to believe in]. news1 (in Korean). Retrieved January 7, 2023 – via Naver.
10. "Monsta X - Beautiful Liar M/V". Highqualityfish. January 9, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Instagram.
11. Yeo, Gladys (January 9, 2023). "MONSTA X drop new mini-album 'Reason' and fiery visual for lead single 'Beautiful Liar'". NME. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
12. Martin, Annie (January 9, 2023). "Monsta X release 'Reason' EP, 'Beautiful Liar' music video". UPI. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
13. Ji, Min-kyung (January 10, 2023). 몬스타엑스, 오늘(10일) 네이버 NOW. 컴백쇼 진행..수록곡 무대 최초 공개 [Monsta X, today (10th) Naver NOW. Comeback show progress..B-side song stage first release]. OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved January 10, 2023 – via Naver.
14. Kim, Bong-hyun (January 12, 2023). SuperStar STARSHIP, 몬스타엑스 컴백 기념 미니 앨범 'REASON' 신곡 업데이트 [SuperStar STARSHIP, MONSTA X comeback commemorative mini album 'REASON' new song update]. Games Chosun (in Korean). Retrieved January 12, 2023.
15. Hwang, Hyo-i (January 12, 2023). 몬스타엑스, 오늘 '엠카' 출격…'Beautiful Liar' 첫 공개 [Monsta X, today's 'M Countdown' sortie... First release of 'Beautiful Liar']. Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). Retrieved January 12, 2023 – via Naver.
16. Shin, Ah-ram (January 13, 2023). '뮤직뱅크' 오늘(13일) 몬스타엑스·SF9·에이티즈·우아!·에스페로·최수환·TO1 ['Music Bank' today (13th) Monsta X · SF9 · ATEEZ · Wooa! · Espero · Choi Soo-hwan · TO1]. Celuv Media (in Korean). Retrieved January 13, 2023.
17. Jeon, Ye-seul (January 14, 2023). '쇼 음악중심' 오늘(14일) 몬스타엑스·SF9·이지영 컴백…민혁·주헌 스페셜MC ['Show! Music Core' today (14th) Monsta X, SF9, Lee Ji-young's comeback... Minhyuk and Jooheon Special MCs]. Celuv Media (in Korean). Retrieved January 14, 2023.
18. Kim, Min-seo (January 15, 2023). [인기가요 라인업] 몬스타엑스·SF9·뉴진스·에이티즈·문빈&산하·TO1·아일리원 등 [[Inkigayo Lineup] Monsta X·SF9·New Jeans·Ateez·Moonbin&Sanha·TO1·Ili One, etc.]. Media Pen (in Korean). Retrieved January 15, 2023.
19. Jang, Jun-hwan (February 25, 2023). "Neo Music Communication IZM" 몬스타엑스(MONSTA X) 'Beautiful Liar' (2023). IZM (in Korean). Retrieved February 25, 2023.
20. Glasby, Taylor (December 15, 2023). "The 50 Best K-pop Tracks of 2023". Dazed. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
21. Park, Sang-hoo (January 10, 2023). 몬스타엑스, 전 세계 차트 최정상 석권… 글로벌 파워 증명 [Monsta X, topped the charts around the world... proof of global power]. JTBC (in Korean). Retrieved January 10, 2023 – via Naver.
22. Kim, Seong-hee (January 15, 2023). [유튜브인기뮤비] 뉴진스의 'Ditto' 2주차 1위, 뉴진스·임영웅·몬스타엑스 TOP5…5곡 이상 진입은 뉴진스·임영웅·김호중 [[YouTube Popular Music Video] New Jeans' 'Ditto' 2nd week, top 5 New Jeans, Lim Young-woong, Monsta X... Entering 5 or more songs is New Jeans, Lim Young-woong, Kim Ho-joong]. Top Star News (in Korean). Retrieved January 15, 2023.
23. Ryu, Ji-yoon (January 16, 2023). [D:가요 뷰] 음원차트서 실종됐던 보이그룹의 복귀…NCT 드림·몬스타엑스, 걸그룹 사이서 존재감 [[D: Gayo View] The return of a boy group that disappeared from the music charts... NCT Dream·Monsta X, presence among girl groups]. Dailyian (in Korean). Retrieved January 16, 2023 – via Naver.
24. "Week 2 of 2023 Digital Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). January 8–14, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
25. "Monsta X Chart History (World Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
26. "January 2023 Digital Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved February 9, 2023.
27. "Beautiful Liar - song details". Melon (in Korean). Retrieved January 9, 2023.
28. Kim, Hye-mi (January 20, 2023). 몬스타엑스 '뷰티풀 라이어', '뮤직뱅크' 1위 "사랑한다 몬베베" [Monsta X's 'Beautiful Liar', 'Music Bank' No. 1 "I love you Monbebe"]. News Inside (in Korean). Retrieved January 20, 2023.
29. Oh, Yoon-joo (January 20, 2023). '뮤뱅' 몬스타엑스 1위 "사랑한다!"…뉴진스, 민지 MC 데뷔→심쿵 무대 [종합] ['Mubang' Monsta X won 1st place "I love you!"... New Jeans, Minji MC debut → heart-thumping stage [Comprehensive]]. My Daily (in Korean). Retrieved January 20, 2023 – via Naver.