20 Years of ‘The Boy Is Mine’ (the Album)
Today in 1998, Monica released her sophomore album, The Boy Is Mine, named after her iconic duet with Brandy. Deep down, I know Brandy hates the fact that Monica chose to name her album after their song, especially when you consider that it was technically a Brandy song first — she co-wrote, co-produced and even recorded the song before she had the idea of making it a duet. Brandy, being the petty woman she seems to have become, alluded to the song being hers at her Essence Fest performance last weekend.
But anyways, back to the album. With over two million copies sold in the US alone, The Boy Is Mine is Monica’s biggest commercial success to date. And while those sales figures aren’t particularly impressive (especially considering that this was in the late ’90s when people actually bought albums), it produced three No. 1 singles: the title track, “The First Night” and “Angel of Mine.”
Unlike Brandy, who got involved with songwriting from her very first album, Monica wasn’t a part of the creative process at this point in her career. However, with the help of Dallas Austin (credited on five of the album’s 13 tracks), Jermaine Dupri and Diane Warren, among others, she gave us an album so good that it’s hard to believe she was only 17 when it dropped.
My favorite song on The Boy Is Mine is her cover of Wilma Burgess’ “Misty Blue.” It was an album cut, so enjoy the audio below.
Throwback Thursday: Brandy & Monica - "The Boy Is Mine" (Live at the 1998 VMAs) - No Hipsters Allowed
Posted at 21:30h, 22 August[…] would become the lead single from both singers’ sophomore albums — Never Say Never and The Boy Is Mine — and would go on to become one of the longest-running No. 1 hits in the history of the […]