It’s been nearly a decade and a half since Brandy Norwood and Monica Arnold squared off on the #1 smash “The Boy Is Mine.” Back then, the two were teen idols. The fact that they’re able to reunite at this point in the game and still create something newsworthy, speaks to the talent of both women.
However, while I can’t deny that Brandy and Monica are both gifted, I can also say that this reunion could have resulted in something a bit more musically substantial. “It All Belongs to Me,” the song, is well-sung, but also dead-boring, and the ladies are going to regret referencing Macbooks (and possibly even Facebook) when both things are obsolete ten years from now and they still have to sing this song. I do respect the fact that this song isn’t “The Boy Is Mine” part II, but that’s pretty much where my praise ends.
The video is a typical big-budget affair with a (not totally) surprising ending. The ladies look fantastic, but I’ve also got to shake my head at the manufactured sista-girl neck-snapping attitude displayed in the video (and not played for comic effect like, say, Jill Scott’s “Gettin’ In The Way” video.) I guess I just hate when people reform to stereotypes. That said, I probably wouldn’t mind it as much if the song was decent.
Of course, the cynical part of me also wonders if the reunion wasn’t a record-company decision designed to shoot some life into the careers of both artists-Brandy’s last album, Human, underperformed (and it can be argued that even her significantly less talented brother Ray J. gets more press than her these days.) While Monica’s last album, Still Standing, restored her commercial standing in the marketplace (assisted by a hit reality show,) her upcoming album, New Life, has been dogged for half a year by delays resulting from the inability of any of the already-released songs to catch fire.
Maybe they’ll come up with something better in another fifteen or so years.
Monica’s New Life (which will feature this song) gets released (maybe) on April 10th.