Posted by Emily Exton on 02/23/2012 at 10:05 AM News

The Popdust Files: brandy, monica, upcoming tours

Credit Brandy and Monica’s 1998 collaboration “The Boy Is Mine” with being one of the first pop culture instances were “Team X” or “Team Y” came into play. Sorry, Twilight. It was not only the lyrical content that told the story of fictional female adversaries, but rumors that the two singers didn’t get along all too well that helped propel listeners’ need to choose sides between the two teenage singers, and ultimately hindered what could have been an even bigger hit. “We just did not give ‘The Boy Is Mine’ what we should have,” Monica explained in a radio interview with Hartford’s 93.7 host Jenny Boom Boom. “It was a big song, but we never even performed it. We performed it once in 1998 at MTV Music Awards, we never toured together, we never even took time out to perform the song because we could barely stay in the room long enough with one another.” While Monica to this day cannot pinpoint a specific reason for disliking Brandy at the time, she cites age, personality differences, their surrounding “cliques” and the influence of the press as factors that helped fuel their so-called “feud.”

But time is on our side, and the two singers have buried the hatchet (see above photo for proof) and recently collaborated on “It All Belongs To Me,” with hopes for upcoming live shows. “We’re working on that now and trying to find different sponsors and people that will get us in the cities we feel like we should be in, so it’s not just as easy as saying it, but we’re actually putting forth the effort to try and make sure it happens,” Monica said, stressing that plans are in the very early stages. Along with their latest duet, each artist has an upcoming album in the works: Monica’s New Life is scheduled for an April 10 release, while Brandy’s untitled debut album with RCA/Chameleon will be out in May. A successful live run together could prove that two powerful women are able to be friends and partners, without any drama. In the spirit of optimism, let’s all consider forgiving the girl we spent too much time hating during our younger years, be it Regina George, Sarah Jaxheimer or Shannon Shiny Hair McPerfect. If Taylor Swift can do it, so can you! Besides, that whole “Girl Power” thing was due for a resurgence right about now.

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