Due for delivery this November (and then December), Monica has confirmed that her eagerly awaited ‘New Life’ album has been delayed once again and is set to be completely re-worked.
Full story after the jump…
Writing on Twitter, the R&B maestra said:
I wanna thank u for your love, dedication & support.. RCA & I are restructuring the entire plan for the album & the entire movement.
I refuse to not give the music that those of you who have supported me deserve, creative things take time because they cant be planned
All is STILL IN MOTION…I Love u guys.. NEW LIFE coming soon, pls continue to request Until It’s Gone at radio & video outlets..Be Blessed
In an industry where many an album should never have seen the light of day, there, too, exists projects which are deserving of the right set-up. This being one of them.
Beyond Monica being an industry rarity (see: longevity, undeniable talent, and the like), it was clear that the album was being almost-too-overtly geared towards the annual “Holiday sales” rush. A point drilled home when listening to its material thus far. For, though solid, both lead singles ‘Anything to Find You’ and ‘Until It’s Gone’ struggle to meet the level of stellar established by even the album cuts on ‘Still Standing’.
Fortunately for Ms. Brown, that strong back catalogue, birthed a strong fanbase, many of who will excitedly await her new delivery until it arrives. Us included.
This is for the best. Neither of the songs she released made an impact. Until Its Gone is a good song but its no 1st/lead single to release and base an entire album off of. She needs to Missy to make her an R&B track…not that mess with Rick Ross but another So Gone or Everything type record. They make magic together when Missy is on some REAL MUSIC ish. But that Rick Ross track wasnt it. I liked it but again…it was no 1st single. This is a smart move on her and the labels part. it probably would have flopped bad
Monica we need you back in the game and brandy too. Too many seasonal generic dance, techno pop, trash nowadays. Our youth need help.
Nice PR perfect response from Monica. But NOBODY delays their album because of the “creative process”. That’s the PR spin. This album is going to be delayed because of the lukewarm response to the first 2 singles. The R&B core that still exists will be focused on Mary J. Blige in November. Too many reasons to flop going on. I hope she don’t put this new baby on a reality tv show…..or the NEW word for them a “docu-series”
Im sorry but i think Anything To Find You is one of the best R&B tracks i’ve heard all year hands down! The whole drama with Lil Kim not being on the track anymore may of hurt it a little as Rick Ross, Monica and Kim just made the track pure fire!!! as we all heard Kim on it, it made it feel like someone was missing when the track was released without her even though it stood very well on it’s own, problem is no stations wanna play real R&B anymore, Monica is a lone soldier flying that flag pretty much on her own (aside from Mary J recently who still ain’t gaining much play), and this time she is doing it without a reality TV show to push the promo, so rather than blame it on 2 great singles and trying to shut down quality songs, i think we need to look more at the marketing strategy difference between this project and the last one!
I love Monica and I want the album, but I think this is for the best, she needs to come back even bigger and make sure she plays her cards right, but I hope Until its Gone still does good!
No amount of stalling will change the inevitable. Artists and record labels are going to have to make peace with the fact that album sales are going down and just bite the bullet when it comes to releasing their s*** (Beyonce did, despite her s*** leaking a full 3weeks before release and despite the abysmal performance of RTW (Girls) ).
Unless Monica finds some creative ways in which to persuade those that still buy albums to buy her album when it does eventually drop, then her album is still going to flop.
S/N: I think that RIAA may have to lower their certifications, otherwise 95% of artists will only ever reach platinum after many, many years.
You should release music that you want people to hear, no matter how many people hear it. If pushing this album back was because of the response of the first two singles, I don’t think she’s making music that comes from the heart.
Music isn’t about popularity, it’s about quality and making music from the heart. That’s why I don’t like Katy Perry and Kesha etc. because all they want is number one singles. The music lacks soul and meaning.
I’m with DUNK on this one…Anything To Find You is one of the best R&B tracks to come out his year. It was a shame that Lil Kim was left off the track and I DO think that did hurt the success of the track. I must admit, I was a HUGE Monica fan back in the 90s early 2000s, but she sorta lost me with some of her latter releases. Anything To Find You has that urban, signature Monica sound and that song, alone, brought me back into the fold. At any rate, I love Monica and I’m certain the new material will be HOT!
plz what does PR stand for??? MON, plzz take all d time u want coz there is no point pputting out an Album that will not impress Ur Fans n NON Fans alike!
Rumour is she’s pregnant. So that could be one of the reasons the album is delayed
That’s a blessing in disguise.The singles are just not cutting it.They’re mediocre, even though I really liked ‘Anything’ in the beginning.I was right about RCA messing up (what a surprise! 🙄 ) and I can’t wait to listen to the reworked, revamped album 🙂 She should take her time and bring on something amazing, something different.And imo she needs to release one more single before the album, just to give people a bit of a taste 😉
Everybody keeps saying they want “real music” but when real music comes, nobody buys it. There is tons of good music out there, but stop waiting to hear it on the radio on see them on 106 and PArk or MTV. IT will NEVER happen! Those venues are about revenue and revenue only…quality is not a concern. Commercial music is now about how many peoples attention you can get, however you can get it. Sorta like what’s happened with TV. Reality shows took over because they are cheap and easy to produce…and everybody pays attention. The running dialogue in every entertainment executives head is “What’s gonna reach the most people, for the least amount of money”
Monica’s singles were killer! I don’t know what people are talking about. I think the main reason for the pushback is because of the big hype for MJB’s new CD…and even that is not getting what it should. We have to face it, R&B is just dead. I’m so mad about it but we just gotta keep going underground for the goodness.
I don’t know. The track sort a sounds fresh with Monica’s vocals, but I feel like the whole David Porter/Who shot Ya sample has been done to death. I think a big reason why the last LP was so successful was because Monica had a reality show tie-in as promo.
“I don’t know what people are talking about. I think the main reason for the pushback is because of the big hype for MJB’s new CD…and even that is not getting what it should.”
@Joey
True True. If you’re an R&B artist, you don’t want to release against Mary or Beyonce.
_______________________________________________________________
“plz what does PR stand for??? ”
@NI**AS in LOnDoN
PR = Public Relations
Get it right for us boo! Im buying.. They had to restructure All Eyes on Me and Still Standing, for the best- they are my fave albums
DAMNNNNNNNN I NEED SOME REAL R&B
BEYONCE IS WACK AND A COPYCAT @BEYONCE FLOP STAN
Why is she pushing back her album again & again? Her label should determine an album release date and THEN release her singles. I don’t want to have 4 singles out and the album still has no release date! ‘Anything’ and ‘Until It’s Gone’ are great songs, hell I would even say ‘Until It’s Gone’ is one of her best ballads since the 90’s, but if there’s no promotion, they flop.
‘Still Standing’ smashed because it was her big comeback album after ‘The Makings Of Me’ did bad and so she came back strong after her hiatus. Btw she had a huge reality tv show out at the same time, which showed her recording sessions, she had several performances and an upcoming tour etc.
But let’s not forget, ‘Still Standing’ was pushed back from 2008 til early 2010 and she still smashed 😉
It’s a shame when R&B artists have to be held to the same standards of a POP artists in order to be considered great! Monica is a singing chick period! She may not sell 1 million copies of a CD in its 1st week. We all know that record labels, iTUNES, Best Buy, & Amazon. com will not treat every artist as they do Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Rihanna etc. It sickens me that artists can’t just play their lane and succeed in this fake rigged as* music industry/media!
I look forward to her new CD and hope its “new direction” works for her!
i actually agree with majority of the comments…. the key here is PROMO…for this album she made 1 appearance on 106 & park, and stopped by 3 radio stations, and mentioned it on twitter 1nce WTF??? i know monica just got married, shes still basking in NEWLOVE and all that good stuff…but if ur gonna put an album out U NEED TO BE WILLING TO PUT IN THE WORK!! no half stepping. StillSTANDING era she was just ON IT!!! which is why it did well. i will say her reality show helped with letting ppl know she was on her way…but her album dropped like a yr & some after her show so idk. is it true that shes preggo?? cuz that could have played a major part in the push back also…hmmm. either way i love monica shes talented..ive preordered several copies of “new life” already. i just hope she gets it together & gives us a quality album
Those singles made no impact whatsoever causing them to push the project back. No one knows specifically who’s idea it was to do that…could have been Monica…could have been the label or a joint decision. If those singles were not making a big enough impact it completely makes sense to push the album back from a business point of view. Some of you all can say ” You should release music that you want people to hear, no matter how many people hear it,” and that “music isn’t about polarity,” but what sense does that make? Why would a label or anyone per se release a major album without at least making some sort of profit. It’s called return on investment folks. If you want that “music from the heart” stuff, ask Monica to release a mixtape. Lol
@truth I concur!
pushing an album back is a big f***** deal. This could go the way of The Emancipation of Mimi or the way of Ms. Kelly
I personally enjoyed both of the singles. However, if she and her management believe that the project should be restructured then so be it. But it has NOTHING to do with the QUALITY of the two songs because they are top notch.
It doesn’t matter. i’m buying it when it does drop.
i feel that this is a very difficult time for r&b music, sales have declined significantly, it seems as though r&b music is no longer mainstream, no one appreciates good music, both singles, give me jazmine sullivan type of a feel, great songs, but urban radio isn’t picking the songs up, i don’t expect pop radio stations to play it, but urban radio must keep real R&b music alive by playing real music, i think her album should be pushed back to early 2012, imo!! its gonna take lots of promotion tons of promotion, maybe another reality show, wendy williams, jimmy kimmel, bet specials, good morning america, today show, the view, monica got to hit the studio hard and blow those pipes and show the world, what a humble world class performer she really is!
i agree wit you joey cause MR WRONG killing the itunes chart rite now…. But i was ready to hear sum nw song from her . They need to do a tour together!!!!
i agree wit you joey cause MR WRONG killing the itunes chart rite now…. But i was ready to hear sum nw song from her . They need to do a tour together!!!!
love monica, but if i was in charge of her marketing the ‘until it’s gone’ video would have been completely different. She would have been under a spotlight with a nice dress sparkling on stage with the short black hair, speaking to her man in the audience with flashback clips. The song has that ‘classic’ vibe reminiscent of what whitney sang back in the day. And i would remove the cuss word in the first verse lol. This would expand her audience without compromising the loyal fan base she has. But i guess that’s what makes monica, the monica we know and love, miss thang.
I’m not sure, but reading the comments I get the feeling that people have already written ‘Until It’s Gone’ off.Even though it’s not strong enough to launch the album single handedly, it has just started climbing the urban chart.Noone can predict how it will fare.It might be a success for her granted that it got some airplay even before it was officially serviced to radio 😉
I love “Anything to Find You” and “Until its Gone” isn’t half bad either. As an avid Monica fan, I would by her music simply because she nearly slays everything she touches. However, I don’t think her inability to sell high numbers has anything to do with the music she puts out. “The Makings of Me” was a killer album, but it did poorly because Monica doesn’t have the marketing budget behind her that less talented stars like Rhianna have. Her video budgets are terrible, and Monica has to work her ass off to generate a buzz for her albums. This goes to show if you love good music, support your favorite artists or they won’t be around for long…SPREADDAWORD. COM
Well hell this b**** rushed the album so fast and now look where it got her ass!!!!!
Nxt time take your time Mo and lets be cute and keep it light & BRIGHT
I”m out.
Beyonce 877.000 albums sold with no number one single!! hew else? No pop gimmicks and vocal limits on this side. Maybe monica should go pop?
The RIAA should not change their album certifications. There are still many artists that go gold,platinum,multiplatinum. I don’t know what some of you are talking about. I think that Monica’s latest two singles are great. Some songs take longer to grow than others. They need to promote her properly. Even without a hit single, i could still see her doing around 125 to 150k. Monica has a loyal following. Mary’s album took alot of singles to take off before she found one that is just starting to work.
The push back may be for the better! I’m a true Monica fan but to me she is lazy! She needs to promo her albums more! She could really use another reality show.! Keep in mind that all of Keyshia Cole’s successful albums had a reality show backing them with promo! 😉 ***TEAM MO***
All i want is quality! Monica’s 2nd video gave me that, but songs defo gotta be on a STILL STANDING level or abit above it.
Not glad for the push back but think it is the right thing for her to do.
Body of work is Monica’s route and it needs to be a great representation of her and her power vocals
Lord Knows, When Monica Returns, She’s Going To Bring That Fire…! Even, The Devil Won’t Be Able, To Compete With It…,!
Great article, and extremely great journalism. “Until its gone” is a classic, and needs the spins and attention it deserves. Also, I read in other articles that RCA’s restructuring has been a problem for other artist. Kelly Clarkson, RCA label mate, was struggling with her lead single until recently.
Monica is not new to making smart choices and pausing album releases back in order to do what is right for her in the long run. It is a really smart way to do things. She has done it before with “All eyes on me” which morphed into the #1 debut album “After the storm.” I am glad Monica is a savvy and dedicated legend who knows her business and her fans. I know that whenever the next release comes out that it will be impressive. I do feel that Still standing had at least 5 singles and that effort could have still been going. Love MO no matter what.