Monica (singer)

Monica Denise Arnold (formerly Brown; born October 24, 1980)^[1] is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and actress. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, she began performing as a child and joined a traveling gospel choir by the age of ten. Monica signed with record producer Dallas Austin's label Rowdy Records in 1993, and gained prominence following the release of her debut studio album, Miss Thang (1995). Her follow-up albums were met with continued success; her second, The Boy Is Mine (1998) remains her best-selling album and spawned three Billboard Hot 100-number one singles: "The Boy Is Mine" (with Brandy), "The First Night " and "Angel of Mine".

She then parted ways with Arista and Rowdy Records in favor of Clive Davis's J Records upon the label's launch in 2000.^[2] Her Japan-exclusive third album, All Eyez on Me (2002), was met with a steep critical and commercial decline, although its partial re-issue, After the Storm (2003), served as her fourth album and became her first to debut atop the US Billboard 200. Its lead single, "So Gone", peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. Her fifth and sixth albums, The Makings of Me (2006) and Still Standing (2010), debuted at numbers eight and two on the Billboard 200, respectively; the latter received two Grammy Award nominations. Her seventh, New Life (2012) debuted at number four on the chart despite unfavorable critical response; her eighth album, Code Red (2015) marked her final release with RCA.

Monica's popularity translated into an acting career, with television roles in Living Single (1996), Felicity (2001), and American Dreams (2003), and film roles including Boys and Girls (2000), Love Song (2000), and Pastor Brown (2009). In 2008, she served as an advisor for the NBC competition series The Voice. The recording of her 2008 single, "Still Standing" (featuring Ludacris) along with her personal life resulted in her receiving a reality television series, Monica: Still Standing on BET.

Monica has sold over 25 million records worldwide,^[3] with more than five million of those in the United States alone.^[4] In 2000, Billboard ranked her tenth its list of the Top Female Solo Artists of the 1990s.^[5] In 2010, the magazine listed her 24th on its list of the Top 50 R&B and Hip-Hop Artists of the past 25 years.^[6] A five-time nominee, she won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "The Boy Is Mine" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards. Her other accolades include a Billboard Music Video Award, a BET Award, and a Soul Train Music Award. In 2009, she received the Lady of Soul Honor.