Brandy & Monica’s ‘Verzuz’ Battle Surpasses 1.2 Million View Milestone

Brandy and Monica have cemented themselves as R&B icons on Verzuz, with a performance that garnered the webcast series with more than 1.2 million views on Instagram Live alone. Their collaboration brought the attention and praise of fellow artists and prominent politicians alike, while also squashing nearly a decade of feud rumors.

Timbaland and Swizz Beatz initially conceived of Verzuz in March of this year, so as to capitalize on a growing social media engagement trend due mainly in part thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the project’s ambitious goals brought the attention of Twitter and Apple, it was the producers’ shared notoriety in the music world that attracted their fellow stars. Notable support came from the likes of Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Ludacris, T-Pain, Alicia Keys and Nelly, all of whom would appear on episodes of the show. The star power alone brings the show a viewership that routinely breaks its own records, with the episode titled Brandy vs. Monica being only the latest entry in the trend. 

Brandy and Monica had not been seen together since their 2012 Music Video It All Belongs To Me, which fueled rumors of the two not getting along, a theory with roots reaching as early on as their 1998 collaboration The Boy is Mine. Much of it resulted from the rivalries between their fans and record labels rather than personal animosity between them. The two stars were seen giving credence to the gossip and were even found interacting amicably with each other backstage.

While Verzuz artists usually interact via Instagram Live, Brandy and Monica were hosted in the Atlanta-based Tyler Perry Studios. Viewership of their renditions of their hit songs included the former First Lady Michele Obama and fellow musician Tyler the Creator. Before they began, the two even paid homage to the late actor Chadwick Boseman, who passed away due to colon cancer late last month. They then allowed Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris to urge their audience to vote in the coming elections.