The Boy Is Mine
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| "The Boy Is Mine" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by Brandy & Monica | ||
| from the album Never Say Never and The Boy Is Mine |
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| Released | May 19, 1998 | |
| Format | Vinyl single, cassette single, CD single | |
| Recorded | Los Angeles, California; Atlanta, Georgia; 1998 |
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| Genre | R&B | |
| Length | 4:54 (album version) 4:03 (radio version) |
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| Label | Atlantic, Arista | |
| Writer(s) | Brandy Norwood, LaShawn Daniels, Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III | |
| Producer(s) | Rodney Jerkins, Dallas Austin | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Brandy singles chronology | ||
| "Missing You" (1996) |
"The Boy Is Mine" (1998) |
"Top of the World" (1998) |
| Monica singles chronology | ||
| "For You I Will" (1997) |
"The Boy Is Mine" (1998) |
"The First Night" (1998) |
"The Boy Is Mine" is an R&B song recorded by singers Brandy and Monica, written by LaShawn Daniels, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Brandy Norwood, and Fred Jerkins III for Norwood's second studio album Never Say Never (1998). Produced by Jerkins, the song was released as the first single off of both singers' sophomore albums in the second quarter of 1998 (see 1998 in music). The song's lyrics tell a story about two women disputing the love of a man and were inspired by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson's 1982 duet "The Girl Is Mine".
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[edit] Song information
At the time, rumors were circulating of mutual dislike between Brandy and Monica. Both denied the rumors, and Brandy stated, "We took the song and brought humor to a situation that people had tried to make so serious." Although Monica had visited Brandy in Los Angeles to record the song together with producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, the joint recording was felt to be a failure. She returned to Atlanta and recorded her vocals separately with help from Dallas Austin.
The song was also referenced in the chorus of the 1999 song "It's Mine", by Mobb Deep. There is a musical interpolation as well as lyrics that are clearly intended to match the chorus of "The Boy Is Mine".
[edit] Music Video
The video begins with the girls in their apartments, watching television. Brandy watches the "The Jerry Springer Show" but then Monica accidentally turns Brandy's TV to a romantic movie, in which Monica is watching on her own TV set. Whenever Brandy or Monica turns the channel, the other's TV stays on that channel and they grow sick of it. They then give up and start to sing. The next scene shows Brandy and Monica discussing their problem with their separate groups of friends. The "boy" himself (played by Mekhi Phifer, who played Brandy's boyfriend in the movie I Still Know What You Did Last Summer) then appears at a nightclub, where all the girls seem to want him. The girls are in pajamas next, and then each one calls the man over to choose. After Brandy and Monica fight with words, the man comes to the apartment, frustrated over who to choose. The door opens, and only Brandy is shown. Then it swings a little wider and Monica comes. The man gets a startled expression, and we are left hanging.
[edit] Chart performance
"The Boy Is Mine" topped the U.S. Hot 100 for thirteen weeks and the Canadian Singles Chart for fifteen weeks, which made it one of the biggest singles of the 1990s, selling over two million copies. The song became the first significant European success for Brandy and Monica and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart at at number three on the Swedish Singles Chart. "The Boy Is Mine" also charted at number three on the Australian Singles Chart. In the U.S. it ascended twenty-two positions from number twenty-three to number one the week of June 6, 1998, and became one of the biggest jumps to number one in the history of the Billboard Hot 100.
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
Weeks at peak |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 3 | 3 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 6 | 4 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 | 15 |
| Dutch Mega Top 50 Singles Chart | 1 | 2 |
| Dutch Top 40 Singles Chart | 1 | 3 |
| European Singles Chart | 1 | 17 |
| French Singles Chart | 2 | 1 |
| German Singles Chart | 5 | |
| J-Wave Tokio Hot 100 | 1 | 3 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 2 | |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 2 | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 3 | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 3 | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart | 2 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 | 13 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 3 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 1 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales | 1 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay | 1 | |
| U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Contemporary | 1 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales | 1 | |
| United World Chart | 1 | 11 |
| Preceded by "My All" by Mariah Carey |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single June 6, 1998- August 29, 1998 |
Succeeded by "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith |
| Preceded by "I Get Lonely" by Janet featuring Blackstreet |
Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks number one single June 6, 1998 |
Succeeded by "Friend of Mine" by Kelly Price |
