Songfacts®:

• Pop Evil lead singer Leigh Kakaty was dealing with some issues with his father when he wrote this with the songwriter David Bassett. The title "Monster You Made" implies it is a vituperative attack on the man who made him, but the song is actually more of a tribute to Kakaty's dad and an effort to look inside himself to take control of his life and move in a positive direction.
  
  Kakaty was very close to his father, who died in 2011 while they were working on the War of Angels album. His parents came to America from India and gave Leigh the opportunity to do what he loved, supporting his decision to become a rock singer.
  
  In our 2015 interview with Kakaty, he said of writing this song: "That was my first step in trying to overcome the loss of my dad, but it's taken about two years to finally find peace. The success of that song, and to see the fans embrace that song and have it become a part of their healing, really helped in a cool, weird way. It helped me recover. I was always terrified to play that song on stage live, because I don't want to think about that. But now, having it be successful, and the song having done what it's done, it's been very instrumental to my healing."
• The song is about being responsible for your actions and your well-being even when times get tough. Leigh Kakaty told us: "We got into this thing to make a difference, and to help. It wasn't just writing a bunch of words that sounded cool together to get some high fives with your buddies. We want to make a difference, and we want to write songs that could be a part of people's lives and stand the test of time.
  
  'Monster You Made' was a reflection of that: 'Take a good look in the mirror. Do you still recognize me, or are you still that monster and living with those demons?' It was like, put the negative away."
• The video presents a different interpretation of the song, with a guy losing the girl he loves because of his drinking problem. In the end, he doesn't get the girl back, but looks in the mirror (literally) and starts getting his life back together. The video was directed by Robby Starbuck, whose other clients include Asking Alexandria and Silverstein.