via Reuters
NEW YORK (Billboard) – At first "Monica: Still Standing" sounds a little dull -- a reality show that doesn't focus on catfights and drunken outbursts, but instead features R&B singer Monica Arnold performing in church, having a quiet dinner with her fiance and celebrating her album release with her family and the mayor of Atlanta. But the 29-year-old is banking on her recent BET success to help launch her first album in four years and cement her place as a mature, family-oriented woman capable of speaking to other middle-class African-Americans.
"I originally didn't think it'd be a good idea -- I assumed it would be what you usually see on reality TV," says Monica, who uses just her given name professionally. "But they told me it wouldn't be scripted -- it would just be me. If they would've gotten me 12 years ago, they would've gotten a lot of drama. That's just not the life I'm living anymore."
Monica has taken a few years off to focus on raising her two sons, 4-year-old Rodney "Lil Rocko" III and 2-year-old Romelo, with her fiance, rapper Rodney "Rocko" Hill Jr. Her last album was 2006's "The Making of Me," which has sold 323,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
She's preparing to release a new album, "Still Standing," March 23 through J Records, and the singer says she's "back full throttle." Monica also will continue to work on her reality show; the series' first season just wrapped on BET, and she's in negotiations to film a second go-round.
Read the full article here:
Reuters - Singer Monica "Still Standing" after trying times
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