Monica (singer)
Monica Denise Arnold (born
October 24 1980), professionally known as
Monica, is a
Grammy Award winning
American R&B singer who first attained commercial success in the 1990s and, after a relatively unsuccessful period during the early 2000s, saw her career experience a second wind in 2003 and has gone one to sell over 14 million singles and albums in the U.S alone.
Early success
Born in
Atlanta, Georgia, Monica is the daughter of divorced parents and has one brother named Montez. She began singing at an early age in the church like her mother. Monica later achieved prominence in the
R&B scene at the young age of fourteen in 1995, thanks to producer
Dallas Austin,
BET,
MTV, and
urban radio's support for her debut single, the sassy "Don't Take It Personal", which reached #2 on the U.S. charts. Almost immediately, the media drew comparisons between Monica and
Brandy who had also emerged as a teen female R&B vocalist just a year earlier. Monica's
Rowdy Records debut album,
Miss Thang, became a triple platinum success, thanks to the singles "Before You Walk out of My Life," and "Why I Love You So Much," which maintained Monica's popularity in hip-hop and on MTV through 1996.
The Boy Is Mine
Monica's mainstream success was boosted in early 1997, when "For You I Will," from the
Space Jam movie soundtrack, became a top 10 pop hit. The following year, "
The Boy Is Mine," Monica's duet with Brandy and the first single off of both of their sophomore albums, became the biggest hit of the summer and the biggest hit of 1998 in general in America, spending a total of 13 weeks atop the
Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and garnering
multi-platinum sales of the single. To date, it remains as one of the top ten most successful American singles in history based on
Billboard chart success.
Monica maintained her mainstream commercial success with the followup singles "The First Night" and "Angel Of Mine," both of which became number one pop hits in the U.S. and TRL video favorites on MTV. The album's fourth single, "Street Symphony," failed to chart or sell notably in America. Its video received only minor airplay. The album's fifth single "Inside", was not released in the U.S., only Internationally. The album's sixth single "Right Here Waiting" didn't feature a music video.
Personal and Career Struggles
Monica's career saw troubles between the years 2000 and 2003, during which time she dealt with more personal tribulations including the suicide of her boyfriend. She released some soundtrack singles during this time which failed to take off. She planned to release her third album
All Eyez on Me in 2002, but the album was never released in the U.S.; it was only released in Japan. J records stated that the album was not released due to heavy bootlegging of the album. However, some fans believe that the album was pushed back because the title track "All Eyez on Me" failed to become a hit single.
After the Storm
In June 2003, Monica returned with her third album,
After the Storm, the new-titled and re-recorded version of her partially scrapped 2002 release
All Eyez On Me. It became Monica's most critically-acclaimed album to date, featuring collaborations with
Kanye West,
Jermaine Dupri,
Darkchild,
Jazze Pha and executive producer
Missy Elliott. The album debuted at number one on the U.S.
Billboard 200 chart, but sales fell off rapidly, although it was certified gold by the RIAA in honour of selling over 500,000 copies in the United States. Due to a lack of promotional appearances
After the Storm saw minor success abroad.
The album spawned four singles, including its first "
So Gone", a Missy Elliott-produced hit that was a staple at urban radio and music video stations during the summer of 2003 and that peaked at #10 on Billboard's
Hot 100, becoming Monica's first top ten hit since 1999 and ending up as the most-played song at urban radio for 2003. The second single off the album, "
Knock Knock", failed to crack the top 20 of the charts, while simultaneously released "
Get It Off" managed to peak at #13 on the
Hot Dance Club Play chart. The album's fourth single "U Should've Known Better" (originally written for the scrapped
All Eyez on Me album) went on to become another hit more than a year after the album's release.
On
May 21,
2005, Monica and her fiancè, producer Rodney "Rock" Hill Jr. welcomed a son into the world. The couple named the bundle of joy Rodney Ramone Hill III, after his father.
The Makings of Me
Monica's next album's title has recently changed from
Street Butterfly,
Raw, and
A Dozen Roses. The album is now officially titled
The Makings of Me and will hit stores on
September 26,
2006 (in the
U.S.). The album is said to feature productions by
Bryan Michael Cox,
Dallas Austin,
Sean Garrett,
Dre & Vidal,
Missy Elliott and
The Underdogs and guest vocals by
Keyshia Cole,
Young Jeezy,
Twista,
Akon and
Mannie Fresh. The album's lead single, the
Jermaine Dupri produced "
Everytime Tha Beat Drop" features
Dem Franchize Boys; has been released to radio on
July 24. The second single from The Makings of Me will be "
Dozen Roses", a Missy Elliott produced song that samples Curtis Mayfield's
The Makings of You.
Recently, Moncia and her record label released a new version of "Everytime Tha Beat Drops." The track still featuers Dem Franchize Boys, however is edited differently than the original version. The new version of the single was released to Rhythmic format stations.[
1] [
2] [
3] [
4]
Albums
Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100U.S. R&BUK singlesU.S Sales Certification| Album | | 1995 | "Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)" | 2 | 1 | 32 | Platinum | Miss Thang | | 1995 | "Before You Walk Out of My Life" / "Like This and Like That" | 7 | 1 | 22 | Platinum | Miss Thang | | 1996 | "Why I Love You So Much" / "Ain't Nobody" | 9 | 3 | - | Gold | Miss Thang / Nutty Professor (Soundtrack) | | 1997 | "For You I Will" | 4 | 2 | 27 | Platinum | Space Jam (Soundtrack) | | 1998 | "The Boy Is Mine" (with Brandy) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2x Platinum | The Boy Is Mine | | 1998 | "The First Night" | 1 | 1 | 6 | Platinum | The Boy Is Mine | | 1999 | "Angel of Mine" | 1 | 2 | 55 | Platinum | The Boy Is Mine | | 1999 | "Street Symphony" | - | 50 | - | - | The Boy Is Mine | | 1999 | "Inside" (released in Europe) | - | - | - | - | The Boy Is Mine | | 2000 | "I've Got To Have It" (with Jermaine Dupri and Nas) | - | 67 | - | - | Big Momma's House (Soundtrack) | | 2001 | "Just Another Girl" | 64 | 34 | - | - | Down to Earth (Soundtrack) | | 2002 | "All Eyez on Me" | 69 | 34 | - | - | All Eyez on Me | | 2003 | "So Gone" | 10 | 1 | 77 | - | After the Storm | | 2003 | "Knock Knock" | 75 | 24 | - | - | After the Storm | | 2003 | "Get It Off" | - | - | - | - | After the Storm | | 2004 | "U Should've Known Better" | 19 | 6 | - | - | After the Storm | | 2006 | "Everytime tha Beat Drop" (featuring Dem Franchize Boys) | 94 | 27 | TBD | TBD | The Makings of Me | | 2006 | "Dozen Roses" (confirmed) | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | The Makings of Me | | | | |
Featured appearances
* 1997: "Slow Jam" (with
Usher Raymond; from
My Way)
* 1998: "The Boy Is Mine" (with
Brandy; from
Never Say Never)
* 2003: "Don't Be Cruel" (with
Missy Elliott &
Beenie Man; from
This Is Not A Test!)
* 2003: "Class Reunion" (with
Wyclef Jean; from
The Preacher's Son)
* 2004: "Don't Gotta Go Home" (with
DMX; from
Grand Champ)
Soundtrack appearances
Fled ("Missing You", 1996)
Space Jam ("For You I Will", 1997)
Love Song ("What My Heart Says", 2000)
Platinum Christmas ("Grown Up Christmas List", 2000)
Wings of The Crow ("
Angel of Mine", 2000)
Big Momma's House ("I've Got To Have It" with
JD &
Bow Wow, 2001)
Down To Earth ("Just Another Girl", 2001)
Drumline ("Uh Oh", 2002)
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights ("Can I Walk By" with
Jazze Pha, 2004)
Diary of a Mad Black Woman ("Sick & Tired", 2005)
Films
Love Song (2000) (TV)
Boys & Girls (2000)
ATL (2006)
Television
Living Single playing "Marissa" in episode: "Kiss of the Spider Man"
Felicity playing "Sarah Robinson" in episode: "Miss Conception"
American Dreams playing "
Mary Wells" in episode: "R-E-S-P-E-C-T"
*1996 Billboard Music Awards: R&B Artist of the Year
*1998 MTV Video Music Awards: Best R&B Video for "The Boy Is Mine"
*1999 Grammy Award: Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for "The Boy Is Mine"
*1999 BMI Awards: "The Boy is Mine" (indirect; songwriter award)
*2000 BMI Awards: "The Boy is Mine" (indirect; songwriter award)
*
List of number-one hits (United States)*
List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)*
List of number-one dance hits (United States)*
List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart*
Official site*
Monica at Rock on the Net
