Monica is eternally grateful to Ariana Grande for bringing her together and brandy for the remix of “The Boy Is Mine”.
Speaking with ET’s Denny Directo ahead of the release of the rework of Grande’s latest hit — which is inspired by Brandy, 45, and Monica, 43’s 1998 collaboration — the “So Gone” singer shared that while she’s historically been against remixes From her “sacred” project, Grande’s reimagining was something completely different for her.
“I always said music shouldn’t be played, right? And I said that because I felt like it didn’t need to be reworked into the idea of, let’s say, actually doing it exactly the way it was.” the GRAMMY-winning artist explained. “But Ariana and (producer) Max Martin — as soon as I heard that version, I fell in love with it.”
Of Grande, 30, Monica added: “What impresses me is her humility, her compassion. The day we recorded it, I received flowers and a note that came directly from her. chest and, for me, authenticity, humility, all of these things are fundamental.”
For Monica, this included FaceTime sessions with Grande while they worked on the song, which ended up including their family and helped her feel the “authenticity” of the collaboration and Grande’s interest in paying homage to her music.
She says it was the singer-songwriter’s enthusiasm that convinced her to get the band back together, not only for the long-awaited remix, but also for the recently released music video.
In the newly released visuals, Brandy and Monica make a surprise appearance while Grande, in character, prepares a love potion to make a fictional mayor, played by gossip GirlIt’s Penn Badgley, fall in love with her.
Before the music video officially takes off, however, the two ’90s singers grace the screen as Grande watches a news report about the city’s rat infestation on TV. The broadcast quickly cuts to the R&B duo as they perform the mayor’s segment.
Monica told ET that the process of bringing in the original singers for “The Boy Is Mine” began with the creator of “7 Rings” and that she couldn’t have been more humble and kind when it came to approaching the source material. Monica also says that, in a way, this helped build a bridge between her and her previous collaborator, who was rumored to have issues.
“The new collaboration process filled a lot of gaps,” said Monica. “When you communicate properly, something – you can find not only resolutions and solutions to problems – but sometimes you discover that there never were problems, just consistent miscommunications.”
She continued, “It made it so much easier to just talk.”
The original song “The Boy Is Mine” was a huge hit, but its popularity was also fueled by the rivalry rumors between the two singers. In 2020, ET caught up exclusively with the superstars after your Verzuz battle and they put an end to rumors of their tension online.
“It wasn’t something that I would say was anyone’s fault,” Monica told ET of the pair’s rocky relationship, admitting at the time, “We all contributed to it, and after a while, it became real.”
“It’s over now. And it took a very adult conversation. There’s no shame in saying that,” Monica later added. “We had to get to that place and that moment that we had that allowed us to sit here today. That had to happen first.”
In the new sit-down with ET, Monica repeated her previous statements and shared that while their relationship wasn’t fully healed at that time, working with Grande and coming together in new moments in their lives — no longer as children — made all the difference. for them, so much so that they have spoken more in the last few weeks than in the “last two decades”.
“We recognized that the key was to keep other people out of our relationship, both professional and personal, and let it be between her and me, and that changed everything. It changed his entire trajectory,” she said. “My son was in the hospital the other day and she was the one I was talking to while he was there, so I think that’s what Ariana did and she might not even realize it.”
Monica continued, “But this time, I thank God for the growth and the change and for me becoming a mother and experiencing a lot of what I have and learning to communicate properly.”
In February, ET I spoke to Monica at Clive Davis’ annual pre-GRAMMY gala and she joked that she would be more than willing to join the Moesha star if the situation seems right.
“I believe anything is possible. We are both grown women now who fully understand the business and how much we mean to it and how much it means when we are together,” she said at the time. “Anything is possible, anything. I say this from my heart.”
Fortunately, this collaboration has arrived. Monica says that while everyone is clearly ready to listen, she’s most excited to see the reactions from fans who have been patiently waiting for this kind of moment.
“I can’t wait for you all to hear it. You’re going to go crazy, I go crazy every time I hear this. I let my kids hear it this morning for the first time,” Monica shared.
Monica is the mother of three children, Laiyah, 10, Romelo, 16, and Rocko, 19, and stepmother to Ramone, 28, from her relationship with ex Rodney Hill. Her children gave the collaboration an emphatic seal of approval, with Monica telling ET, “My 19-year-old son, Rocko, was like, ‘This is hard.'”
Shout out to Queen Ari for working to make this! And for those hoping that Brandy and Monica will reunite in the future, Monica says anything is possible.
“There’s a chance, for sure,” she said, adding that they’re “very on board” for another project, music or otherwise. “It’s ‘The Boy Is Mine’ team today, tomorrow and for the last 25 years. We have a lot of catching up to do in terms of giving the public what they really wanted from us, even back then. find a way to do it then, but we’re finding a way to do it now.”
And for the singer who believes fan service is key, this remix is a way to finally bring his fanbase together.
“Over the years, one thing that Brandy and I have always had in common is that what we did, we did for people. It was never just about or for us. So it’s like she’s really bridging these two worlds that have never been brought together. in such a beautiful way and I hope it does the same for the fans,” Monica said. “I hope it finally allows people to see that you can love both or love one and not have to despise the other. It’s unbreakable at this point.”
She added that her hope is that fans “will have fun with this album because it really is the rebirth of ‘The Boy Is Mine’ in a very special way.”
Grande’s “The Boy Is Mine” remix featuring Brandy and Monica will be released on June 21.
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