Music legend Brandy Norwood is no stranger to putting up a fight.
Her 1998 song "The Boy Is Mine," with singer Monica, helped launch the child actor and musician into peak stardom. The song was No. 1 on the Billboard charts and spent 13 weeks at the top spot, sold 4.5 million copies, and even won a Grammy award. 26 years later, the song is timeless. But outside of her chart-topping music career, Brandy is now at the center of an A24 horror film called "The Front Room," which offers the perfect opportunity for a callback to her '90s legacy.
Returning to the horror genre after her role in "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" — released the same year as "The Boy Is Mine" — Brandy is the central focus of "The Front Room," playing a pregnant anthropology professor named Belinda who is at odds with her evil, racist stepmother-in-law played by Kathryn Hunter. Directed by Sam and Max Eggers ("The Witch," "The Lighthouse") the film saw its wide release on Friday, Sept. 6, but ramping up to that, A24 — known for its appeal to young cinephiles — has been playing off of Brandy's "The Boy Is Mine" in a clever way.
Here's how A24 and "The Front Room" have paid homage to Brandy's legendary music career:
The cultural significance of "The Boy Is Mine"
"The Boy Is Mine" grew to have a life of its own in the 26 years of its release. Originally inspired by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney's 1982 duet "The Girl Is Mine," the song tells the story of a young Brandy and Monica fighting over a boy. The pair played into the media and the general public's assumptions that there was a rivalry between the two singers.
However, the rivalry was not just all based on presumption. Brandy's brother, rapper Ray J, has gone on record saying, "That was 100% real."
The Root reported that the pair had a physical altercation backstage before they performed "The Boy Is Mine" at the 1998 MTV VMAs.
One of the producers of the hit song confirmed, “Before they could even get to the stage, Monica decked her in the face. Popped her in the face backstage and this was even before the performance. Monica never liked Brandy.”
But the pair dropped their boxing gloves during an Instagram Verzuz battle in 2020 that pulled in over 1.2 million viewers. They shared that they hadn't talked in eight years and cleared the air to show each other respect.
“I wanted to speak to you face to face,” Monica said at the time. “The more we’re talked about, the more it came to be difficult, unnecessarily. And I really am a straight shooter and I really do admire what you’ve done musically and what you’ve had to endure personally.”
In 2024, Ariana Grande released a song with the same name, sampling the original "The Boy Is Mine" on her album "Eternal Sunshine." A few months after the album's release, the pop star announced a remixed version of the song with legends Brandy and Monica. The pair even appeared in the star-studded music video.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Monica shared that working on this remixed version with Brandy helped heal their relationship following years of an alleged rift.
"We recognized that the key was to keep other people out of our relationship, both business and personal, and let it be between she and I, and that has changed everything. It’s changed the trajectory of it in its totality," Monica said.
She concluded, "My son was in the hospital the other day and she was who I was speaking to while he was there, so I think that is what Ariana has done that she may not even realize.”
Buzzy marketing for "The Front Room"
The marketing around "The Front Room" pulls no punches. In the trailer, Brandy as Belinda claims agency over her house and her unborn child against her mother-in-law. So in the film's marketing on social media, A24 captioned its post with "The House Is Mine."
The House Is Mine. Brandy returns to horror to face off against Kathryn Hunter, the wickedest mother-in-law of them all, in THE FRONT ROOM. See it with a crowd on September 6. pic.twitter.com/RtXRyYb9Ra
— A24 (@A24) June 20, 2024
People like singer SZA took to the comments to say, "I frequent this page a lot and this is one of the best round of comment sections." Others joined in with comments like, "The child is mine."
"Monica showing up 30 mins in like . . ." jokes another fan, sharing a GIF of the Brandy rival mouthing a lyric from their song together.
Monica showing up 30 mins in like: pic.twitter.com/agkwUXQiHV
— AH (@AngelHuracha) June 20, 2024
Other commenters were clever enough to do a callback to another one of Brandy's hits, "I Wanna Be Down," which came out in 1994.
"Brandy is about to act down in this," writes Jzon Azari in a post to X.
In further clever marketing that brings Brandy's musical past back into the present, she released a video ramping up to the film's release encouraging theatergoers to go against the rules in screenings and be as loud as they can, to enjoy the experience of watching the film more like a concert.
"Normally in these videos, you hear from people telling you to be quiet. Hush up. Don't talk during the movie. 'The Front Room' is a whole different experience," the singer and actor says. "I want you to scream, shout, clap . . . because I'm taking back my house. And you're taking back this theater."
It’s her house. Here are the rules.
— A24 (@A24) September 5, 2024
Sneak screenings for The Front Room starring @4everBrandy start tonight. https://t.co/tG6E35ysBZ pic.twitter.com/JdHDo3FIRR
The '90s are back. Don't get punched in the face over it . . . it's something to sing about.
