Person · Female
Monica
US R&B singer
- From
- Atlanta, United States
- Since
- 1980–present
- Rating
- ★ 3
- Releases
- 39
- pop
- hip hop
- contemporary r&b
- r&b
- soul
About
Monica Denise Arnold (born October 24, 1980) is an American singer, 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".
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She then parted ways with Arista and Rowdy Records in favor of Clive Davis's J Records upon the label's launch in 2000. 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, with more than eight million of those in the United States alone. In 2000, Billboard ranked her tenth its list of the Top Female Solo Artists of the 1990s. 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. 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.
Discography
Albums
Singles
-
Trusting God
-
Friends Apple Music
-
Pink
-
TRENCHES
-
Commitment
-
Me + You Apple Music
-
It All Belongs to Me
-
Until It’s Gone
-
Everytime tha Beat Drop
-
U Should’ve Known Better
-
So Gone Apple Music
-
Get It Off
-
All Eyez on Me
-
The First Night
-
Street Symphony
-
Angel of Mine Apple Music
-
The Boy Is Mine Apple Music
-
The First Time
-
For You I Will
-
Ain't Nobody
-
Before You Walk Out of My Life
-
Before You Walk Out of My Life & Like This and Like That
-
Like This and Like That Apple Music
-
Don’t Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)
-
Why I Love You So Much / Ain’t Nobody
-
Freedom / Sunny
Compilations
Links
Listen
Official
Concerts
Collaboration
Instrumental supporting musician
Also known as
Monica Arnold · Monica Brown · Monica Denise Arnold
Identifiers
- MusicBrainz
- af84073d-3b6d-4390-9d3f-bf65a91c824f
- ISNI
- 0000000055154972
Data from MusicBrainz, saved 15 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.