Songoftheday 5/29/21 - Boy, this evening was it only me feeling completely down to be open, down to be open for some satisfaction didn't wanna say yes 'fraid of your reaction...

 

 

"The First Night" - Monica

from the album The Boy Is Mine (1998)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (five weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 23

 

Today's song of the day comes from R&B singer Monica, who along with frenemy Brandy dominated the summer of 1998 with their #1 hit "The Boy Is Mine".  The second single from her album The Boy Is Mine would be the disco reinvention of "The First Night". Incorporating the instrumental to Diana Ross' 1976 club classic "Love Hangover" written by Pam Sawyer and Marilyn McLeod, the song from Tamara Savage and producer Jermaine Dupri has Monica pondering whether to give it up on the first date. It does have her more worried on how he'd think if she said yes than her own wants or regrets, but Monica was only eighteen years old when this was released, so a very young person in that position naturally would have those thoughts. By the end of the song, it's unsure whether they'll have a second date, but at least she's talked herself out of giving it up in the beginning...

"The First Night" followed "The Boy Is Mine" to #1 on the American pop chart in October of 1998. The song also spent six week on top of Billboard magazine's R&B chart, while the remixes of the track helped her land her first #1 on their Dance Club Play chart. Internationally, the single reached the top ten in the UK (#6), Belgium (#8F/#31W), and Canada (#9), while making the top-40 in New Zealand (#15), The Netherlands (#22), Iceland (#29), Australia (#30), and Ireland (#30). 

(7/10)

(Click below to see the rest of the post)

Here's the extended remix from Booker T that helped the song top Billboard's Dance chart...

Next up, Monica with a live band on The Tonight Show...

and lastly, another TV appearance where she sings live to track but gets her dance groove on...

Up tomorrow: A "sharp" soul group comes to expectations.