♫ Monica – Lesson Learned (Bonus Track)
Singer Monica is back with her sixth album “Still Standing” proving that her time off has made her a stronger, more introspective artist.
Although the music veteran’s voice is just as vocally strapping as her self-titled debut over ten years ago, Monica’s growth and apparent wisdom has translated into a much more powerful, heartfelt delivery. Assembling the likes of song-writers Bryan Michael Cox, Missy Elliott and Jazmine Sullivan “Still Standing” is just the quality R&B we’ve grown to expect from her.
Following the highs and lows of relationships the album stands out as concrete effort in that Monica is confident enough in her sound not to stray too far from her comfort zone. Led by the single “Everything to Me,” the Atlanta native tries her hand at sampling Deniece Williams’ famously high-pitched single “Silly.” Although she never reaches Williams’ elevated octaves Monica provides a new spin on an old school classic. Unlike the original, which finds a heartbroken and disheveled woman realizing her stupidity at the hands of an uninterested lover, “Everything to Me” illustrates the happiness in finding true love. Songs following the same pattern include “Love All Over Me,” and “Superman.”
The most obviously personal track on the album is “Still Standing” itself in which Monica depicts her climb to the top and how, despite breakable circumstances, she has maintained her balance. With a voice like hers, it would seem that singing ballads would be her strong point, but Monica’s ability to transfer the same conviction to her up-tempo tracks solidifies her place among some of R&B’s most talented. “Mirror Mirror,” and “If You Were My Man,” are decidedly more fast paced but just as appealing as the slow songs.
The album continuously straddles the lines between the good, bad and ugly of relationships but isn’t sappy where one may expect that it would be. She admits wrongdoing in “One In A Lifetime,” but then flips over and resiliently steps out of a bad relationship by way of “Stay or Go” and “Here I Am.” My only gripe is that there’s not enough material on the album. With a record that can play straight through it was surprising that only 10 tracks made the cut.
“Still Standing” is a sure bet because it’s Monica at her best thus far. Fans (like myself) that have grown up with her will be satisfied with the direction that her music has gone in, because she is still very comfortable in showcasing her maturity. New fans will also get a taste of what real R&B sounds like in a music age muddled with under-developed, over-sexed catchy tunes that hold no real substance. An artist secure in their gift doesn’t evolve with the times by throwing in random pairings and unoriginal tracks, just for the sake of having a hit single, and that’s just what Monica has done here. A move as that is as risky as it is admirable. As such, “Still Standing” may fall under the radar a bit but deserves its place in the spotlight.
Top Picks:
“Mirror Mirror”, “One in a Lifetime” & “Believing in Me”
I will ALWAYS support my girl Monica. She’s humble, confident, talented and beautiful from the inside to out.
PURCHASED FROM AMAZON THIS MORNING…I BELIEVE HER NUMBERS NEXT WEEK WILL BE GOOD. HOPEFULLY J RECORDS WILL GIVE HER MORE TIME AND ENERGY NOW!!!
“New fans will also get a taste of what real R&B sounds like in a music age muddled with under-developed, over-sexed catchy tunes that hold no real substance. “-Never been a more true statement on this site, I LOVE this CD and Im so proud of her
Jamming the new album and it gore HARD!!!!!! Five stars I suggest u go buy it will be sold out!!!!!!
@ 1 Me. COSIGN.
@ 1 Me. COSIGN. @ 3. Jeff. COSIGN.
love this album and Monica so much!!!! is a masterpiece!! and best r&b album in so many years!! i’ve bought several copies lol
The song is typical Monica. I’ve always loved her voice. Wow at “Latifah”. All the sideline dissing of other artist was unneccesary honey . That’s your OPINION of Monica’s music not everyones.
Love this album monica is definetly doing it.
This is an amazing album. LOVE HERE I AM!!!!!! LOVE ALL OVER ME is such a CLASSIC. Quality music at its best from a much deserved and talented artist. Great Job MONICA!!!!!!!!
@ NO. 3, couldn’t have said that better too. That statement is what these kids need to hear in an age of Beyonce and Lady Gaga shaking leaving their things out there for the world to see. Anyway, I am happy Monica is back again. Been waiting for so long to hear real R&B and she, as usual, never fails to deliver at the right time.
On a side note: Latifah, you made a lil’ grammatical error somewhere up there. You wrote “LEAD by the single….” instead of “LED by the single….” Could you please change that? Thanks.
Lovee Lovee Love Everything about this woman
This Album is Great. Hoping it doesn’t go underrated
Love All Over Me Is FIREE!! along with if you were my man giving a lil taste of that old school beat!
Get’em Monica!!
I see a lot of growth with this album and although she started out as a teen her career is still thriving and with her powerful voice she is still relevant today
Love this album from front to back… This is my definition of R&B. This is def. a grown up album and I feel her maturation and strenghth throughout the entire project. Can’t wait to pick up my 2nd copy of the album for the car Today. Love You Monica
Mo my girl I will support her. Her music str8 and it does her voice justice. She’s a sanger not an entertainer. I love her music,keyshia cole, mary j and j hudson. They sing will feeling.
THIS ALBUM IS SOOOOO GOOD!!!! IM SO HAPPY MONICA IS BACK!!!!!!!!!! HER VOICE CAN GIVE SOMEONE CHILLS AND YES THIS IS TRUE RnB not over sexy, SEX SONGS its relateable!!!!! YESS MONICA WORK!!!!
Love all over me is one of my favorites! I’m a fan of mo my only complaint is only 10 songs when still standing and one in a lifetime is pretty old now!
I’m going to check it out thanks for the review
A REAL SINGER ….singing bout life and love,….NO GIMMICKS, NO TRICKS, NO SHOCK VALUE…..I HAVE TO SUPPORT THIS…GETTIN MINE TODAY
Damn I mad that song ” Let Me Know” featuring Missy Elliott is not on the album wow
I love!
But “Here I am ” is my faovirte
I LOVE Monica!
Yessssss! Monica is back .Album will def be on repeat this week
Monica’s Album Still Standing In Stores Now! Available At iTunes ( http://itunes.apple.com/u...till-standing/id358633001 ) & Amazon.com ( http://www.amazon.com/Sti...ding-Monica/dp/B002LVGU78 ) !
A BRILLIANT CD, YALL NEED TO HEAR LOVE ALL OVER ME, HERE I AM, MIRROR + MY FAVE BELIEVING IN ME. SHE OUTDID HER OWN DAMN SELF I LOVE IT. HER VOICE IS MORE VERSATILE THAN EVER BEFORE THE BITCH GOT SUM RANGE ON HER PIPES
Very beautiful picture of Monica! I never knew Monica is so spiritual, it makes me appreciate her more!
LOVE Monica, but not the cd. what happened to the songs we heard during the tv show, like “Taxi” that was official. These songs except maybe three(Everything, one in a lifetime and still standing) sound like songs that didnt make Whitney’s last cd.
The CD is pretty good…worth the purchase. The CD only runs about 39 minutes but I’d rather have a 39-minute CD with good songs instead of a 70-minute CD that is filled with fluff just to make it longer. I’ve listened to the CD 3 times thus far and it gets better every time I listen to it.
Some serious bedroom songs!
The problem I have with this album was i had already heard 7 out of the 10 songs I know leaking is a huge problem in the music industry but when ur whole album pratically leaked months before it was releaseled u basically have no new material to offer, the fact that still standing has been around since at least early 2008 is good indicator that it shouldnt have been included on the album, but I still showed love and supported her. I really wish some of the music I heard on the show was included because those were the songs that really motivated me to actually purchase the cd. Love all over me is that song!!!!!
I LOVE THIS CD!!!!!!!! ONLY ONE THING THAT I HATE ABOUT THE ALBUM: IT DOESN’T HAVE “INFINITI” ON IT. THAT WAS MY FAVORITE SONG FROM THE SHOW! IT’S OK THOUGH, THE REST OF THE ALBUM MAKES UP FOR IT.
I love this CD! Monica this was worth the wait. God kept this woman despite her trials, she is a true testimony that you can go through and make it on the other side. Songs like Here I Am, Love All Over Me, Stay or Go, Superman, and Mirror are my favorite and now Lesson Learned! Get it Monica!
*TEAM MONICA*
@stillstanding_1 on twitter get @ me all Monica fans!
I KNOW ITS ONLY MARCH BUT this is the BEST ALBUM this year THUS FAR. Monica strongly delivers the songs with such conviction you can’t help but feel every single pain, triumpth, joy, and sadness in her voice. Monica is indeed one of the most renowned voices of our generation and she stands completely up to meet the challenges of todays music industry. Many people are complaining that its ‘too short’ or ‘not enough material’ however I’ll take a 10track solid album, with each track potentially selected for a single’ than a 25 track weak album that has 2-3 songs worthy of single selection. WELL DONE MO’ I brought 2 COPIES – 1 FOR THE CAR AND 1 FOR THE HOUSE …
Thats my Mo-Mo!!
This woman has left me speechless. FINALLY a true R&B album with depth and soul. MONICA’s vocals on this record are top notch. She DELIVERED!!!!!!!
Monica is back at her best. AMAZING. I bought 3 copies.
After almost 4 years, thats all she can come up with? This album is not good.
IBEDABADDEST is the f’ing worst. You a hater #thatisall
This album is amazing. With there being little to no R&B or urban music out there right now ebcause everyone wants to sing dance-pop/electro and be #1 since Lady Gaga hit the scene and it worked for her it’s time some real music come back out. Rihanna is an example of fast food music. She makes music to go #1. Her writers don’t write substance music that’s appealing and capable of a hit. Sure she has a few songs that hit you but “Hard” is a no as well as singles like “S.O.S.” “Wait Your Turn” and so are the rest of her forgettable tunes “Good Girl Gone Bad” album excluded but this is not about her it’s about an artist who deserves her shine. Monica hit the scene while being a teen and sounded like a grown woman. Monica worked with writers and the wrote material that was real that she and her fans could relate to instead of playing off of a rocky relationship like Rihanna did with “Rated R” and her relationship with Chris Brown. Monica is true talent like Brandy, Aaliyah, and Beyonce. It’s about time someone has shown the world that R&B too can evolve and it can be succsessful when talking about more than sex (see Trey Songz who can’t leave the topic alone and has finally reached gold after three album releases and six, yes six sex filled singles from the “Ready” album. That being his only album certified by the RIAA it’ll be interesting to see how he follows up. Monica has paved the way for artists like fellow Atlanta native Keri Hilson and another ATLien Ciara. While Ciara may have changed her style to compete with a certain Bajan beauty Keri Hilson has done both Pop and R&B nicely, not making music just to get hits but simply doing quality music. Her album was mostly R&B and when it went pop it was still R&B influenced. Chris Brown has done the same as Keri Hilson. No true R&B artist changes their style up completely and Ms. Monica Arnold has shown that. This album is amazing from beginning to end. She and her writers clearly mesh well together and we’re able to deliver an amazing project and she knows what she wants and what fits her. Aaliyah did the same and delivered every time. This is true talent! It’s vocals at it’s best! Not too much (which Beyonce does at times) and not too little. She delivered just right. The artwork is beautiful. The album is just right. I agree that there could have been a few more tracks but the bonus tracks are decent. The ten tracks that made the album (because the label J Records gave her a ten song cap because her last album failed, which was their fault trying to make her Ciara instead of Monica, “Everytime Tha Beat Drop” was a perfect example of that. They spent money on ten songs and ten only because albums are exspensive to make and since they failed last time they didn’t want to lose a load of money again so to avoid that they put a budget down and I must say the ten tracks chosen should garner Monica a Grammy award for “Best R&B Album” and two others for “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance” for “Everything To Me” and “Best R&B Song” for “Everything To Me”. It’s about time true talent reign once again and that “rihanna reign” finally lets up because it’s getting old having models pose as singers. Singers need to sing, models need to models, actors need to act, dancers need to dance. If you can do more than one great but make sure you’re good at it. Talent needs to rule the industry and not image and it needs to become permanent. Now sure Chris Brown and Keri Hilson don’t have the strongest vocals but can deliver solid performances and albums and Chris can dance well, and Keri can write well. My post was about Monica and true talent needing to rule the industry again. It’s about more than just being able to sing it’s about being able to sing and stand out. Without uniqueness you’re nothing. This album is kick ass and it’s time to kick corny, fast food, no talent, gimmick, image over everything artists out of the music industry and when I say that I mean people like Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Ke$ha, Cassie, & Aubrey O’Day. Let true talent like Keyshia Cole (who has had her share of scratchy performances but good nonetheless) Melanie Fiona, and Maxwell run this industry. Forget the talentless people! Call me whatever you’d like after this post, but I said what I had to say because I’m tired of TV and Radio being filled with crap! Quality music is what it’s all about. I know my post is alot but it’s my opinion which is why this comment board is here. I know it may be all over the place but it’s how I feel and I know I’m not the only one. Real talent please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By the way “Here I Am” should be serviced to radio asap! It’s the best song on the album to me. It’s all but too ready for radio. It’s definitely single quality and worthy of being a hit. It’s going to become one. Wait and see. It’s my favorite but it will also be a hit.
I need a moment of silence! Monica’s cd has left me speechless. I’m in my late 20’s & i remember the 90’s with, Boyz to Men, EnVogue, Anita Baker, Luther V…voices that made you sit & listen. Flashforward to 2010 – radio today don’t play this music anymore. All it is..is sex, non-singers, studio enhanced vocals, autotune, shake my booty music…all pop & no substance. This cd right here is a MASTERPIECE! I had no clue Monica’s vocals were like this. I knew she could sing…but, SANG, SANG, SANG is what she did w/ this cd. Easily the purest R&B soul cd we have received in YEARS!!
And another things, before everyone jumps on me for dissing and yes I said dissing because I did it and with good reason, no hate in me, but I BASE EVERYTHING ABOUT WHAT I SAY ABOUT ARTISTS AND WHAT I SAID IN MY POST ON LIVE PERFORMANCE WHICH IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT, NOT ABOUT JUST THE ALBUM WHICH IS MADE IN THE STUDIO, IT’S THE LIVE PEFORMANCES TO SUPPORT THE ALBUM AND MONICA’S VOCALS DO JUST THAT. THEY SUPPORT WHAT SHE DOES AND ROCK YOUR WORLD! AS WELL AS ONE OF THE WRITERS ON HER ALBUM, MS. JAZMINE SULLIVAN.
I never bought a monica album until this morning and it was worth every single penny. SOmething about watching that show made me so anxious for this album. Im a little upset that song “infinity” wasnt on there. but this a great collection and i can play this straight through. my fav’s are ‘Here I Am’ ‘Love All Over Me’ and ‘Believing in Me’ I hope this tops the charts next week! that was the longest album review Ive ever seen on concrete loop lol. GO MO!!!!!
I loved this album, every song is amazing. I didn’t watch the show (kinda boring) so I haven’t hear the majority of the album. This album is very mature, and I think its going to sell. I’m glad she shed that persona she was putting on with her previous album.
Yes Yes Yes Yes!!!!!! I love it I love her!!!! I am a true fan I do agree that more songs could have been added to the album maybe now J records will show her the love they show other artists!! I can listen to this straight through I’m always gonna hold Mo down she is the TRUTH!!!
AT I KNOW, IT IS OBVIOUS YOU ARE APART OF MONICA CAMP, SO GO SIT DOWN YALL NOT FOOLING NOBODY!
If I were apart of the Monica “camp” I’d not be foolish enough to be on a blog lol
By the way Chrisette Michele is amazing as well and deserves all of her success!
she has a beautiful voice, but i find her music boring
JUST LISTEN…OMG… THIS ALBUM IS AMAZING (so good that it’s kinda scary)… CANT DENY TALENT IN THIS EQUATION: MONICA = STILL STANDING…
Monica is just simply awesome, she’s always been a consistent artist we dont have many like her. I’ve been a fan of Monica since waayyyy back and she delivers on every album.
Yay for Monica! Been a fave of mine since “Miss Thang”. Mmmhmm, she is STILL Miss Thang and she’s got the pipes to prove it. I wish her all the success in the world. The girl can SANG.
i love it!!
J Records is straight garbage. First they didn’t put enough records in the stores (i.e. Best Buy and Target were sold out at 11am). Second, they are not promoting Monica as they should. Monica needs to find her another label when her contract is up. BTW, I did get the album and it’s awesome! “Lesson Learned” should’ve been on the album.
Ya”ll just reaching ! I love Monica’s voice but the” best album of the year “? GTFOH .I only like about 2 songs, and the album is nothing different than most songs out today . She’s still making ghetto ass music . I tried to be nice with my first post but it’s out of hand in here . Where the h*ll did you people come from ? Moinca sent you ?! I wish I would buy two and three albums from any artist .Even the chick who wrote the music review for the day is a damn stan. Pathetic
People will always hate… However like most people who are AMAZING, they will get haters. You haters can’t stop the tide now… Monica’s fans are out in full force. So, deal with it. THIS ALBUM IS A HIT… PEOPLE ARE LOVING IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@divainva
Um Sit down you’re done!!!! ghetto music i don’t hear anything ghetto on this album please GET REAL!!! U are the one thats pathetic u have no life you come out with an album and lets see how people judge you i bet they call you straight TRASH!!!!
This discussion is dismissed and so are you
Lmao @100 % Im sitting honey .Why would I be standing on the laptop? You mad huh? Guess what ? Im still going to say what I want , so deal with it ! EVL
Monica’s new album is so good. I pre ordered it from i tunes and got a bonus track called “Blackberry” which I like. I grew up listening to Monica when I was little, and I’m glad she is still here to cater to the true R&B sound, and to the fans that love her and that style of music. The whole album is good, but Stay or Go and Love all Over Me are my favorites.
EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THEIR FREE OPINION.
&& MINES IS THAT THIS ALBUM IS SOO DOPE!!!!
INDEED MONICA SHOWED HER VOCALS OFF &
THE LYRICAL CONTENT IS MATURE & REFRESHING.
IM DEF COPED THIS ALBUM && PRE-ORDERED 1
WITH BONUS TRACK,
P.S THIS ALBUM ACTUALLY HAS 13 SONGS.
BONUS TRACKS ARE, “BLACKBERRY”,”LESSONS LEARNED”, & “ALL I KNOW”
SO I HAVE A FULL MONICA ALBUM, THAT WAS WELL WORTH THE WAIT..