Monica and Brandy are reuniting for Verzuz, over 20 years after releasing their hit song “The Boy is Mine.”
The two singers are facing off on Aug. 31, where the highly-acclaimed track will surely be played. Still, “The Boy is Mine” brings its own baggage: the duet between the singers is about two women competing for the same man—and its music video shows the two singers in adjacent apartments, fighting over who warrants his attention.
“When we did the song, we didn't overthink it,” Monica told ET. However, as the song gained popularity, the fake feud between Monica and Brandy led to enduring tensions. “It was not something that I would say was anyone's fault,” Monica said. “We all added to it and after a while it became real.”
As the singers have gotten older, Monica said, “it gets a little bit frustrating for both she and I when it becomes, ‘No, I like her better. Well, I like her better.’” Now, they’re less concerned about entertaining their beef. “We don't have to do that [now].”
Even though they teamed up for the 2012 song “It All Belongs to Me,” that still didn’t cool off the rumors. Monica added that she doesn’t like “the idea of our issues overshadowing how great of a song it really was and how much of a blessing it was for both of us to be a part of it.”
Monica believes that with the Verzuz battle, their feud will finally see its end. “We've long removed ourselves from the dramatics of it but we're gonna have a very in-depth conversation that may possibly be shared even with the audience because there's a lot that happens, the fans have no idea what really took place, what really caused the initial friction,” she explained.
After Monica and Brandy have a private conversation, then they will determine what they want to share with their fans. Monica said that she hopes “we'll share some things with you guys.”
Monica added, “Hopefully, we can help some of the younger artists avoid doing the same thing because we did a whole lot more together than we did apart.”
