Brandy in August 2024; Monica in January 2025; Ariana Grande in January 2025.Photo:Stewart Cook/Getty; Prince Williams/WireImage; Dave Benett/Getty
Stewart Cook/Getty; Prince Williams/WireImage; Dave Benett/Getty
Next week,BrandyandMonicacould potentially take home their secondGrammy Awardfor a song called “The Boy Is Mine.”
The new collaboration, released on an extended version of Grande’sEternal Sunshinealbum, is now up for best pop duo/group performance at the 2025 Grammy Awards. It’s safe to say getting Brandy, 45, and Monica, 44, back together was a success, and they agree.
“It was nothing short of a blessing for Brandy and I not only to reconnect, but to reconnect and do something as special as this innovative version of ‘The Boy Is Mine,'” Monica tells PEOPLE. “She and I had not seen each other for many years, so it gave us the opportunity to talk not just about the song, but life as a whole.”
Brandy similarly felt the reunion was about “more than just music,” as she says the experience “transported us back to that period of our lives and our careers — such a transformative and explosive time.”
Both artists felt Grande, 31, was extremely hands-on throughout the creative process for her fresh take on “The Boy Is Mine,” and they all spent ample time on the phone and FaceTime while in the studio. Monica says theWickedactress ensured “her personal gratitude was felt,” which “meant a lot” to her.
Monica and Brandy at the 1999 Grammy Awards.Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect
Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect
“I love the fact that she did not try to remake it in the form that both Brandy and I made it in, but she created something that’s her own and she used nostalgic moments from the record. That’s what made it such a no-brainer for me because it felt good,” she says.
The “beautiful” experience of recording the new version led the three vocalists to “just hit it off,” explains Brandy. “Ariana is truly such a kind and talented soul, there is no one that does what she does with more grace and appreciation.”
When the2025 Grammy nominationswere announced in November, Monica found out they were up for an award from her children and initially “had a chance to just celebrate with them” while taking it all in.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
“For this record to still be acknowledged in the way that it is and for a completely different generation to be singing a version of it the way that this song has contributed to them doing is unbelievable,” she says of the nod. “I was extremely shocked, but filled with so much gratitude, so happy, so ecstatic and shocked.”
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Before winning the first time around, Monica recalls telling Brandy “that just being nominated is an honor in itself,” and she feels the same today.
“I try not to put too much focus on what some would consider a win because I believe it’s a win that people are still singing a song that we created at 18 and 17 years old,” she says. “It would be an amazing thing to be able to say that we created this body of work and a version of it has won again, but I feel like we’ve already won.”
Mirroring the same sentiment, Brandy says of their new nomination, “In so many ways, both versions of ‘The Boy Is Mine’ have brought unimaginable love, light, honor, gratitude, opportunities, and joy to my life. So truly, that’s already more than I could ever ask for.”
Monica and Brandy in Los Angeles in February 2011.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
In between the two versions of “The Boy Is Mine,” Brandy and Monica rejoined forces in 2012 for another duet,“It All Belongs to Me.“With the resurgence and hype surrounding the collaboration with Grande, many fans are itching to know if the R&B icons would consider recording another original song together.
“Absolutely,” declares Monica.
Brandy is also down to create another joint. “It’s like magic when Monica and I get together,” she says. “Who knows what could be in store for us?”
The 2025 Grammy Awards air live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Feb. 2 via CBS and will stream on Paramount+.
source: people.com
