Monica Denise Arnold is an American singer, rapper and actress. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, she began performing as a child and became part of a traveling gospel choir at the age of ten. Monica signed with record producer Dallas Austin through his label Rowdy Records in 1993, and gained prominence following the release of her debut studio album,
Miss Thang (1995). Her follow up releases were met with further commercial success; her second,
The Boy Is Mine (1998) remains her best-selling album and spawned three singles that peaked atop the
Billboard Hot 100: "The Boy Is Mine", "The First Night", "Angel of Mine".