"Ain't Nobody" ft. Treach (1996) Miss Thang
Hot 100 peak: #9
Overall score: 6.66 High score: 10 (1x)/Low score: 2 (1x)
Both a double A-side single with "Why I Love You So Much" and a promo release from the Nutty Professor soundtrack, "Ain't Nobody" is sort of a hip-hop soul companion piece to "Love You" (they have almost identical refrains), with the added bonus of a guest turn by Treach from Naughty by Nature. Monica's forays into hip-hop clearly did not play well with voters, as this is already her third such song to be eliminated.
I had almost forgotten about this song, until I skimmed through my music files and found it. I'm just happy it's not any of her well-known hits that is getting the boot, though.
"It All Belongs to Me" with Brandy (2012) New Life/Two Eleven
Hot 100 peak: —
Overall score: 6.79 High score: 10 (3x)/Low score: 1 (1x)
Perhaps the most divisive song in the rate (nearly half its votes were above an 8; another third were a 4 or below), your response to "It All Belongs to Me"—the follow-up to Brandy and Monica's smash '90s collaboration "The Boy Is Mine"—probably rested on whether or not you bought into its camp appeal. (And with lines like "That Macbook, that **** belongs to me/So log off your Facebook," how could you not?)
"Everytime tha Beat Drop" ft. Dem Franchize Boyz (2006) The Makings of Me
Hot 100 peak: #48
Overall score: 5.05 High score: 8 (3x)/Low score: 0 (2x)
At the height of urban music's mid-aughties dominance, as the crunk movement was making its final reverberations of influence felt on the Hot 100, Monica released this uninspired "snap" single that incorporates beats from Nelly's #1 hit "Grillz" and a guest spot from one-trick ponies Dem Franchize Boyz. Audiences were not here for the song, and neither were voters in this rate, who dropped "Beat" all the way to the bottom of the countdown, more than a point behind its closest competitor.
I was one of the 0's so I'm happy to see this go. A 5.05 seems a bit high though.
Apart from "Get It Off" I'm pleased with these eliminations. I'd like to see "Bland All Over Me", "U Don't Know Me (Like U Used To)" and "Right Here (Departed)" go next.
"U Don't Know Me (Like U Used To)" (1999) Never Say Never
Hot 100 peak: #79
Overall score: 7.17 High score: 10 (2x)/Low score: 4 (1x)
The first Brandy song to bite the dust is "U Don't Know Me (Like U Used To)," an oddly claustrophobic Darkchild production that served as the final American single from Never Say Never. With its limp beat and low energy, the track failed to set the charts ablaze, and voters were equally unenthused (over half of its scores were in the 7 range).
"All Eyez On Me" (2002) All Eyez On Me
Hot 100 peak: #64
Overall score: 7.24 High score: 10 (3x)/Low score: 2 (1x)
This catchy dance track, which samples Michael Jackson's classic "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)," served as the lead single for Monica's unreleased album All Eyez on Me. After the song flopped and the album leaked on the Internet (due to its availability in Japan and Europe), Eyez was scrapped and retooled as After the Storm. "Eyez" received a decidedly mixed response, placing low on the countdown despite earning scores of 9 or above from a third of voters—better than many songs that finished higher on the list.