As it turns out, there are plenty of folks who are “Down” with Brandy and Monica.
The Grammy-winning R&B powerhouses, who are currently touring together on The Boy Is Mine Tour, were visited by a star-studded group of concertgoers for their sold-out show at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, on Sunday, Nov. 9.
Hip-hop power couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z were in attendance. Beyoncé‘s Destiny’s Child bandmate, Kelly Rowland, performed as a supporting act alongside singers Muni Long and Jamal Roberts.
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Other famous faces at the concert included pop star and beauty mogul Rihanna, rapper and actress Queen Latifah, pop singer Rita Ora, actresses Wendy Raquel Robinson and Jenifer Lewis, rapper Blxst and “Insecure” star Yvonne Orji.
That their reunion came 27 years after the dominance of “The Boy Is Mine” made the evening even sweeter. The audience, brimming with millennials, finally got to witness what a tour that should have taken place decades ago could be. And it was worth the wait. The differences between Brandy and Monica were distinct – the former a student of ’90s pop, leaning heavily on choreography and spectacle; the latter with a poised approach, a regal figure content with standing in place while belting a ballad – yet their performance styles never felt at odds. They staged the show as something of a callback to their Verzuz battle, emerging together in an elevator car before taking seats on either side of the stage, trading off songs: Brandy with “What About Us?” and “I Wanna Be Down,” Monica with “Knock Knock” and “Don’t Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days).”
The show teetered between artists – Brandy with three songs here, Monica with two there – making for a ceaseless conveyor belt of hits and many, many costume changes. It was the type of show where you’d declare the song being performed is your favorite, only to reassess that, no, this other song is actually your favorite. Brandy dug deep in the archives with “Baby” and “Best Friend,” and performed somewhat deeper album cuts like “Afrodisiac” and “Angel in Disguise.” Monica did the same, singing “Before You Walk Out of My Life” and “Like This and Like That,” calling back to “So Gone” and “Everytime tha Beat Drop.”
They broke up the evening with a few guest appearances – LL Cool J treated the crowd to “Luv U Better” and “Doin’ It,” while Mario sang “Let Me Love You,” O.T. Genasis performed “Cut It” and Blxst made a brief cameo for “Chosen.” But the co-headliners remained the nucleus of the show, not a single note wasted. The penultimate song of the night, fittingly, was a rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” an artist who had a significant impact on each of them, as they both got signed off of auditions with “The Greatest Love of All” and had close relationships with the late singer.
Before drawing the performance to a close with the tour’s namesake song, Brandy and Monica united one last time to do what we’d all come to see: celebrate each other in the ways that we’ve always celebrated them. “It’s both an honor and a pleasure to be on stage with you now after 27 long years,” Monica told Brandy. “You have a voice that transcends time, and we all love you from the bottom of our hearts. Today, tomorrow, forever.” “And we love you,” responded Brandy. “I am honored to be on stage with you, you are an icon. You make me better. I am so glad you did ‘The Boy Is Mine.’ The song would not have been what it was if you were not on it. And it’s brought us together 27 years later.”
In the end, all of the talk of bad blood and rumors led towards this one moment. And it begged the question: Who won in the great Brandy and Monica wars? All of us, apparently.
The star power at Brandy and Monica’s show wasn’t just limited to the stands. The singers brought out a series of surprise guest performers, including rappers LL Cool J and O.T. Genasis and R&B crooner Mario.
Brandy and Monica, who first collaborated on the 1998 hit “The Boy Is Mine,” kicked off their joint tour on Oct. 16 in Cincinnati. The pair is scheduled to conclude the 32-date U.S. trek in Jacksonville, Florida, on Dec. 14.
“The Boy Is Mine,” a duet that made light of a rumored feud between Brandy and Monica, peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 13 weeks and earned the singers a Grammy award for best R&B performance by a duo or group.
Brandy and Monica revisited the track’s pop cultural legacy in 2024 when they appeared on a remix of Ariana Grande’s song “The Boy Is Mine,” which reimagined the R&B classic. The song was nominated for best pop duo/group performance at the 67th annual Grammy Awards in February.
Brandy, Monica thank celebrity pals for attending LA show in emotional tributes
Hollywood turned out for Brandy and Monica, and the singers were feeling all the love.
Following their celebrity-packed Los Angeles concert, the singers took to Instagram to give thanks to their A-list pals who came to see their show.
Brandy gave a heartfelt shout-out to Rihanna, sharing a photo of the women posing together backstage.
“Oh RiRi, what a surprise!” Brandy wrote. “I love you and thank you for sharing your love and light with us last night. ✨”
Monica similarly paid tribute in her own post, which included a carousel featuring Rihanna, Queen Latifah, actress and producer Lena Waithe, Jenifer Lewis and LL Cool J.
“LA…. Thank you for the overwhelming amount of (love). Brandy and I had another sold-out show,” Monica wrote. “Thank You Father God, you’ve exceeded my desires and blessed me with more than I could dream of…..”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brandy and Monica’s LA concert draws star-studded crowd of Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Rihanna, more
