Brandy may have scored the first hit with the infectious catfight "The Boy Is Mine", but make no mistake: Monica owns that song. In the battle of the cute teenage soul songbirds, Monica Arnold wins hands down because she can sing her ass off and because she has better songs. Monica's corner includes the vastly underrated producer Dallas Austin, who kicks in with edgy, moody cuts like "Street Symphony", a cautionary tale set to an orchestral groove, and "Ring da Bell", which plain-out flows. Unfortunately, this being the big-bucks world of 1990s R&B, Monica is also saddled with de rigueur Diane Warren-David Foster exercises in ersatz soul and overwrought hokum. Why anyone would want to remake Richard Marx's "Right Here Waiting" is a mystery, but let's just say that Monica also has the smarts to cover Dorothy Moore's classic remake of the adult ballad "Misty Blue", thereby evening the score a bit. It's a tribute to Monica's voice, a womanly alto of real shading and substance, that she can transform schlock into something that comes close to emotion. All of which makes The Boy Is Mine easy on the ears and secures Monica's further ascension. --Amy Linden