"Everything to Me" is a song by American recording artist

Monica Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...

. It was written by fellow singer

Jazmine Sullivan Jazmine Marie Sullivan (born April 9, 1987) is an American R&B and soul singer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, her debut album, ''Fearless'' was released in 2008. The record topped ''Billboards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certifie ...

and co-produced by

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

and Cainon Lamb for her sixth studio album '' Still Standing'' (2010), incorporating a sample of the 1981 recording " Silly" as penned by Fritz Baskett,

Clarence McDonald Clarence "Mac" McDonald (1944 or 1945 – July 21, 2021) was a Los Angeles-based American pianist, composer, arranger, and producer. McDonald was known for his musical diversity, enduring melodies and signature groove. His most famous composition ...

, and June Deniece Williams and performed by

Deniece Williams Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1951) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs " Free", " Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two ''Bill ...

. Recorded during initially unplanned, additional recording sessions for the album, "Everything to Me" was released as the lead single from ''Still Standing'' in the United States on February 9, 2010 following a request campaign by fans on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. The song garnered generally positive reviews by music critics, who noted it the album's standout track. Monica's first solo release in over three years, the song has peaked at number forty-four on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and number-one on the

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chart, becoming her first chart-topper in over seven years. The track was nominated for

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards ...

at the

53rd Annual Grammy Awards The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights prio ...

Background and release

"Everything to Me" was one out of several tracks resulting from additional recording sessions with longtime contributor

, Monica set up following a disagreement over the album's leading single with her label

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Gro ...

in summer 2008. Penned by Elliott's

protégé Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

and fellow R&B singer

, it was recorded within three hours only. Incorporating elements of

' 1981 recording classic " Silly", the track saw the pair basically reprising the formula of previous successes such as "

So Gone "So Gone" is a song by American R&B recording artist Monica. It was one out of several tracks rapper-producer Missy Elliott wrote and produced along with Kenneth Cunningham and Jamahl Rye from production duo Spike & Jamahl for Monica's fourth st ...

" and "

A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me) "A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me)" is a song by American singer Monica taken from her fifth studio album ''The Makings of Me'' (2006). It was written by rapper-producer Missy Elliott and Corte Ellis, with production helmed by the former along with ...

," featuring music that has "an older feel," according to the singer. Prior to the release of "Everything to Me" several songs were announced to lead '' Still Standing''. Despite initial reports that uptempo record "Nothing Like", a collaboration with T-Pain, and

Ester Dean Esther Renay Dean (born April 15, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, music producer and actress. Dean has also written songs for many artists, with numerous Top 10 hits, including No. 1 hits for Rihanna and Katy Perry, earning the name " ...

-penned ballad " Here I Am", both being produced by

Polow da Don Jamal Fincher Jones (born October 15, 1977, or 1978), professionally known as Polow da Don, is an American record producer and rapper. Jones has produced a variety of singles for a multitude of artists including "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj (2014) ...

, would be released as a dual single before 2010, neither song was released in time for the new year as "some of the legal issues ..didn't get cleared," Monica confirmed on

in December 2009. Instead, the album's A&R manager Larry Jackson announced on December 18, that the Los Da Mystro-produced "One in a Lifetime" and "

Love All Over Me "Love All Over Me" is a song by American singer Monica. It was written by Crystal Johnson, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox for her sixth studio album '' Still Standing'' (2010), while production was helmed by Dupri, with Cox credited as co-p ...

", produced by

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

, were being released instead as a dual single for 2010. It was not until January 7, 2010, however, that it was confirmed that "Everything to Me" had replaced both songs as the album's first single following a campaign by fans on

. On

decision to change the single due to fan's request, Monica commented: "It just made me realize that people want authentic Monica. They don't want me to keep up with all the different gimmicks and trends that are taking place. So that's why we picked the new single because it's just me singing." A two-minute cut of the song was leaked onto the internet on January 8, 2010, and by January 27 the extended single version of "Everything to Me" had been released. An official remix, also produced by Missy Elliott, featuring herself and the late

Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

, and was leaked via Internet on April 22, 2010. The remix samples the instrumental from "I Love You More" by

René & Angela René & Angela were an American R&B duo consisting of musical artists and producers René Moore and Angela Winbush. They formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1986. They are most remembered for their 1985 song "I'll Be Good". Career They recorded ...

. B.I.G.'s verse is taken from his song, "I Love the Dough" which utilized a similar sample, off his second and final studio album, ''

Life After Death The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

'' (1997).

Reception

Critical reception

The song garnered generally positive reviews by critics, with

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

's Mark Edward Nero declaring "Everything to Me" the "album's standout track ..as solid as a brick house; great singing, great lyrics, great production, just a great all-around song." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' reviewer Sarah Godrey declared the track one of the album's "catchiest inclusions," and further added: 'Everything to Me' borrows so much of Deniece Williams's 'Silly' that it almost feels accurate to call it a remake/rewrite of the original, but it's still sounds fresh." Ryan Brockington of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' was less emphatic, calling it a "flat out copy" of "

And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (also known in short as just "And I Am Telling You") is a torch song from the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls'', with lyrics by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger. In the context of the musical, "And I Am Tell ...

" from the musical ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,Gro ...

''.

Chart performance

"Everything to Me" instantly debuted at number sixty-one on the US ''

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart after only two days of airplay, Monica's highest debut for a single on this chart so far. Afterwards it jumped to number thirty-one on that particular chart, entering the top thirty, it eventually becoming her sixth number one hit. The song remained seven weeks atop, becoming Monica's long-running solo number-one to date, and made her the first artist to have chart-toppers in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. The song also atop the ''Billboard'' Hot Adult R&B Airplay and Mediabase Urban Adult Contemporary charts. The song also debuted at number eighty-two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on February 18, 2010. The song fell to number ninety the following week but eventually rebounded to reach a peak of number forty-four, her highest-charting peak since 2004's "

U Should've Known Better "U Should've Known Better" is a song by American recording artist Monica (singer), Monica. It was written in collaboration with Harold Lilly (songwriter), Harold Lilly and Jermaine Dupri, and produced by the latter along with frequent co-produce ...

." In addition, the record reached number twenty-three on the

Hot 100 Airplay (Radio Songs) The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acr ...

chart and number twenty-one on the

Hot Ringtones The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the '' ...

chart.

Awards and nominations

The track was nominated for

at the

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Everything to Me" was shot by director

Benny Boom Benny Douglas (born July 22, 1971), professionally known as Benny Boom, is an American director who has worked in music, television, and film. His most commercially successful film was the 2017 Tupac Shakur biopic ''All Eyez on Me''. Career Do ...

and was filmed in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

on February 8, 2010. Based on a treatment by Boom and fellow director Chris Robinson, it was loosely inspired by the plot of the 2009 thriller '' Obsessed''. The video features former

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

wide receiver

Chad Johnson Chad Ochocinco Johnson (born Chad Javon Johnson; January 9, 1978), known from 2008 to 2012 as Chad Ochocinco, is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football for Santa Monica College and Oregon State University, and pl ...

as Monica's love interest, the focus and victim of a stalker, while the singer herself plays his loving then outraged wife. The clip was dedicated to the memory of the late

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashion ...

, a fashion designer who Monica admired and whose gowns and other pieces appear in the video. McQueen was found dead at his

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

apartment three days before the video shooting.

Reception

After airing a behind the scenes promo video on February 22, 2010, the video made its world premiere on February 23, 2010 on

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

and on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

's video-chart countdown program, ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

'', the day after, at a peak position of number one for several weeks.

Live performances

Monica performed the song on ''

Lopez Tonight ''Lopez Tonight'' is an American late-night television talk show that was hosted by the comedian George Lopez. The hour-long program premiered on November 9, 2009, on cable network TBS. Lopez was the first Mexican-American to host a late-night ...

'' on April 14, 2010 with the Lopez band, Michael Bearden and the Ese Vato's. It was received as one of her best performances in her career. She performed it live on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' on April 5, 2010, ''

Chelsea Lately ''Chelsea Lately'' is an American Late night television, late night Television comedy, comedy talk show created by Brody Stevens and hosted by comedian Chelsea Handler which was broadcast on E! The show debuted on July 16, 2007, and was produced ...

'' on May 6, 2010, and ''

The Mo'Nique Show ''The Mo'Nique Show'' is an American talk show hosted by comedian and actress Mo'Nique. Aired on BET, the series began October 5, 2009. The show's second and final season premiered on Monday, October 4, 2010. Overview The show ran all-new episod ...

'' on May 5, 2010, along with a medley of her previous hits "

Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days) "Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)" is a song by American recording artist Monica. It was written by Dallas Austin, Willie James Baker, and Derrick Simmons for her debut album, ''Miss Thang'' (1995), while production was helmed by t ...

", "

", and "

Before You Walk Out of My Life "Before You Walk Out of My Life" is a song by American R&B singer Monica. It was written by Andrea Martin, Carsten Schack, and Kenneth Karlin, with production helmed by Schack and Karlin under their production moniker Soulshock & Karlin. Initiall ...

". Monica also performed the song on the 2010 BET Awards with

. Other performance was

Fox 5 Atlanta WAGA-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, airing programming from the Fox network. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains studios and transmitter facili ...

's ''Good Day Atlanta'' and ''

The Wendy Williams Show ''The Wendy Williams Show'' (often shortened to ''Wendy'') is an American syndicated talk show created and hosted by Wendy Williams, and produced by Wendy Williams Productions, along with Perler Productions. The show is distributed by Debmar-Me ...

''.

Track listing

*Digital download # "Everything to Me" – 3:17

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

Monica - Everything To Me Video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Everything to Me (Monica Song) 2010 singles Monica (singer) songs Music videos directed by Benny Boom Music videos directed by Chris Robinson (director) Songs written by Missy Elliott Songs written by Jazmine Sullivan 2009 songs J Records singles Songs written by Clarence McDonald Songs written by Cainon Lamb

Background and release

Reception

Critical reception

Chart performance

Awards and nominations

Music video

Reception

Live performances

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

See also

References

External links