Monica raised the roof with her powerful pipes during a performance for The BoomBox as part of AOL Sessions. The 31-year-old singer ran through new material off her seventh album New Life including a solo version of her Brandy duet “It All Belongs to Me,” the Missy Elliott-produced “Anything (To Find You),” and Rico Love-helmed “Man Who Has Everything.” She also took it back with her R&B classics “Angel of Mine” and “So Gone.”
“This album New Life is really a continuation of my 2008 LP Still Standing,” explained Monica. “I don’t live in yesterday anymore, so New Life is just my way of saying to every person that listens, embrace all that can come into your life.”
Monica is plotting a joint tour with Brandy this summer. “We’ve sat down and talked about the way that it would go and us co-headlining and being able to take walks through the past and go through both of our first albums,” she said. “Something very special so that the audience can feel like they’re having a full experience of both of us as individual artists, but also us in this newfound group we’ve become after reuniting after 14 years.”
The church-raised singer plans to return to her gospel roots in the future. “I realized that I’m kinda transitioning. It hasn’t happened quite yet because I still have a lot of self-work I should do before I cross over into that genre. But I definitely would do that. That will definitely be how my story probably ends.”
Brandy and Monica got intimate in Atlanta during a two-hour interview and performance for V103’s Conversation/Soul Session. The R&B divas chatted with host Egypt and performed stirring sets in front of a star-studded audience including T.I., Tiny, Kandi Burruss, Toya Wright, Polow Da Don, and Jazze Pha.
But the highlight was when they paid tribute to their idol Whitney Houston. Monica delivered a rousing rendition of “You Give Good Love,” while a visibly shaken Brandy stood behind her. During her sit-down interview, Brandy gave the audience chills with a cover of “I Will Always Love You,” but was too emotional to do the entire song. The ladies also dueted on their 1998 hit “The Boy Is Mine” and their latest “It All Belongs to Me.”
During their whirlwind promo tour last week, Brandy and Monica stopped by “Sway in the Morning” on SiriusXM for a quick chat. The ladies once again explained how their duet “It All Belongs to Me” came together and opened up about their own lives.
Brandy shared her excitement about being back on TV on “The Game,” growing up in the spotlight, and touring with Monica later this year. After some coaxing from Sway, she started singing her 1995 single “Sittin’ Up in My Room,” but couldn’t remember all the words.
Monica, whose New Life album drops April 10, gushed about her husband, Phoenix Suns star Shannon Brown, and married life in Arizona. Also check out the big rock that her hubby gave her.
All eyes are on Monica on the newly unveiled cover for the deluxe edition of her seventh album New Life. Due April 10, the extended version features four additional tracks including the Missy Elliott-produced “Anything (To Find You)” with Rick Ross. The follow-up to 2010’s Still Standing also boasts collaborations with Brandy (“It All Belongs to Me”) and Wale (“Take a Chance”), plus contributions from Rico Love, Polow Da Don, Jermaine Dupri, Jazmine Sullivan, and Mary J. Blige, who appears on the intro.
What do you think of Monica’s artwork? Sound off below.
Now married with two children, Monica embarks on her New Life with her seventh album. Due April 10, the 12-track standard edition features her duet with Brandy (“It All Belongs to Me”) and a collaboration with Wale (“Take a Chance”), plus contributions from Rico Love, Polow Da Don, Salaam Remi, Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott, Jazmine Sullivan, and Mary J. Blige, who appears on the intro. The Rick Ross-assisted buzz single “Anything (To Find You)” will be included on the deluxe version.
“I talk about a lot of different subjects, whether it’s love, heartache, happiness, family,” said the R&B songstress of the follow-up to 2010’s Still Standing. “The music will be a lot like Still Standing in the sense that it’s real and really about things that I’ve experienced, but it’s also from a very mature place.”
See the tracklisting and production credits below.
Brandy and Monica were in for a rude awakening when they stopped by Power 105.1’s “The Breakfast Club” to promote their new single “It All Belongs to Me.” The prodding hosts replayed Ray J’s infamous tirade against Fabolous as Brandy closed her ears. Charlamagne also grilled the singer-actress about her relationship with Kim Kardashian, the fatal car accident she was involved in, and made a comment about her mouth that made her uncomfortable. “I’ve never been this nervous a day in my life,” said Brandy.
But that wasn’t all. The invasive conversation turned to Whitney Houston’s death, their financial situation, Monica’s Twitter stalker, past relationships, and cyber bullying.
The ladies also hit up VH1’s “Big Morning Buzz Live” where they played a game inspired by “It All Belongs to Me.” They picked items out of a box and said which of them it belonged to. Monica held a photo of her cousin Ludacris and Brandy grabbed a copy of her favorite video game “World of Warcraft.”
Brandy and Monica continued their reunion tour with a visit to “106 & Park” on Monday. Before premiering the video for “It All Belongs to Me,” the R&B divas sat down with hosts Terrence and Rocsi to discuss why it took 14 years for them to come back together, a potential tour, and the late Whitney Houston.
Motherhood and maturity helped them put their differences aside and rekindle a friendship. “We realized that we did more together than separately,” said Monica. “We never won Grammys apart, we did it together. We never got a chance to reach the masses of people apart. It happened together.”
The Atlanta songstress also called for other artists to show solidarity. “I’m so sick of people divided and this lack of unity in music—I don’t care if you’re rappers or whatever—uniting for this music and the cause allows these kids to see that there’s strength in numbers.”
The ladies reflected on the loss of their idol Houston. “Devastating is almost an understatement. Even before her death, every night on stage I did tributes to her because I would always remind her that you are the greatest, no matter what place your life is in,” shared Mo. “I think it’s time that people ease up on these entertainers and recognize we’re human beings outside of what we do.”
Brandy added, “I just can’t believe she’s gone. I don’t understand. I don’t think I ever will, but I can only go forward just trying to make her proud.”
In the backstage interview, they traded stories about motherhood, their romantic relationships, and revealed which song of the others is their favorite.
Fourteen years after topping the charts with their Grammy-winning hit “The Boy Is Mine,” Brandy and Monica are back and better than ever in the Chris Robinson-directed video for “It All Belongs to Me,” dedicated to the late Whitney Houston.
But they’re no longer the feuding teenagers from the ’90s. The divas join forces to kick their no-good men to the curb, reclaiming their pricey possessions including cars, clothes, and computers. And they look damn good doing it—dressed in designer wardrobes as they haul their stuff out of a fancy crib before blowing up a vintage Porsche.
“It is not anything like ‘The Boy Is Mine,’” Monica told Atlanta’s V-103. “At this point, this is where you’re taking your power back and we gon’ come together. This is totally different than that era and I hope it speaks to all the people who are making diss tracks and going hard on each other. Come together and watch the numbers move.”
The Rico Love-produced duet will appear on Monica’s seventh album New Life, due April 10, and Brandy’s RCA/Chameleon debut Two Eleven, coming this June.
