WHAT HAPPENED TO MONICA?

What happened to Monica?

Written By LT. Dinwiddie

Monica Arnold burst onto the music scene in 1995 with her smash hit singles “Don’t Take It Personal (Just One of Those Days)” and “Before You Walk out My Life”. She was an instant success garnering huge record sales, she was on the cover of numerous magazines, and recieved praise from such musical legends like Whitney Houston, Chaka Kahn, and Gladys Knight. At the tender age of 14 when Monica’s first single dropped her voice proved to be flawless. She demonstrated right from the start that she was a powerhouse with poise, grace and a deep sense of maturity way beyond her years. One of the things that made Monica stand out was her soulful and full-grown vocal ability. Her first album “Ms. Thang” was a major success selling over 3 million copies.

Monica’s mainstream success was boosted in 1997 with the hit single “For You I Will” from the Space Jam Soundtrack. 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.

With Monica’s consistent success the stage seemed to be set for her to become to the new Whitney Houston. The one thing Monica had over Brandy, Aaliyah. and other female R&B singers was a timeless voice. With the right songs, and the right marketing, Monica could have gone all the way to the top, but when tragedy struck in Monica’s personal life 2002 (her boyfriend killed himself), she decided to re-record her scrapped album “All Eyez On Me”, and with the help of Kanye West, Missy Elliot, Jazzy Phae, and Jermaine Dupri “After The Storm” was released. 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 good success abroad.

Though Monica gets more mature with age, her career seems to be some what stagnant. Her latest single “Every time The Beat Drops” featuring Dem Franchize Boyz is proving to be more of a flop then a hit. Currently “Every time The Beat Drops” is number 95 on Billboard’s Hot 100, and number 25 on Hip-Hop and R&B. Her newest album “The Making of Me” is set to be released on September 19th 2006, and I hope that she is capable of recapturing the essence and sound we all came to love. While other artists like Beyonce, Christina, and Ciara continue to shine and more importantly sell, Monica seems to have her work cut out for her if she is to regain the momentum of her somewhat stalled career. MONICA'S "OFFICIAL" WEBSITE