Tuesday, January 10, 2006

My Babes List (#38)

#38 Monica

Monica (full name Monica Denise Arnold, born October 24, 1980), is an African-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 the year 2003.

Biography

Hailing from Atlanta, 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 prominenc'e in the R&B scene at the young age of fourteen in 1995, thanks to BET, MTV, and urban radio's support for her debut single, the sassy "Don't Take It Personal". 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 debut album, Miss Thang, became a urban success in America, thanks to the singles "Before You Walk Out Of My Life" and "Like This And Like That," which maintained Monica's popularity in hip-hop and on MTV through 1996.

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 Internationaly. The album's sixth single "Right Here Waiting" didn't feature a music video.

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.

In 2003, Monica returned with her third album, After The Storm. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, but quickly fell off the charts due to a lack of promotion. As of December 2005, the album has sold 975,554 according to Soundscan and is certified platinum. It spawned the single "So Gone", a Missy Elliott-produced hit that was a staple at urban radio and music video stations during the summer of 2003, 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 R&B chart, but the third single "U Should've Known Better" (originally written for the scrapped "All Eyez On Me" album) went on to become a hit more than a year after the album's release.

Monica and her fiancé, producer Rodney R. Hill Jr., welcomed a son, Rodney Ramon Hill III, into the world on May 21, 2005. Monica's fans will be patiently waiting for her next album which is set to drop early 2006.

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Voice

Monica, having a full dramatic soprano voice, is known for her sweet lower register and her booming head register. Monica is praised by some having one the best natural voice in r&b and pop music.

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Discography

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Albums

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Singles

Year Title Chart Positions Album
US Hot 100 US R&B/Hip-Hop UK Singles
1995 Don't Take It Personal 2 1 32 Miss Thang
1995 Like This And Like That - - 33 Miss Thang
1995 Before You Walk Out Of My Life 7 1 22 Miss Thang
1996 Why I Love You So Much 7 3 - Miss Thang
1996 Ain't Nobody
(featuring Treach of Naughty By Nature)		 9 3 - Miss Thang
1997 For You I Will 4 2 27 Space Jam (Soundtrack)
1998 The Boy is Mine
(with Brandy)		 1 1 2 The Boy Is Mine
1998 The First Night 1 1 6 The Boy Is Mine
1999 Angel of Mine 1 2 55 The Boy Is Mine
1999 Street Symphony - 50 - The Boy Is Mine
1999 Inside - - - The Boy Is Mine
1999 Right Here Waiting - - - The Boy Is Mine
2000 I've Got To Have It
(with Jermaine Dupri & 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
2002 Too Hood - - - 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 - 13 - After The Storm
2004 U Should've Known Better 19 6 - After The Storm
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Guest Appearances

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Soundtrack Appearances

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Filmography

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Television

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Awards

  • 1996 Billboard Music Awards: R&B Artist of the Year
  • 1998 MTV Music Awards: Rhythm & Blues Video of the Year for "The Boy is Mine" with Brandy
  • 1998 Billboard Music Awards: Top Dance Maxi Single for "The Boy is Mine" with Brandy
  • 1998 Billboard Music Awards: Top 100 Single Sales for "The Boy is Mine" with Brandy
  • 1998 Billboard Music Awards: Top R&B Sales for "The Boy is Mine" with Brandy
  • 1998 Billboard Music Video Awards: Best R&B/Urban Clip for "The Boy is Mine" with Brandy
  • 1998 Grammy Awards: Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "The Boy is Mine" with Brandy
  • 1999 BMI Awards: "The Boy is Mine" (indirect; songwriter award)
  • 2000 BMI Awards: "The Boy is Mine" (indirect; songwriter award)
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See also

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External links

posted by 2-7-79 @ 1:05 AM 

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