In 1991, at the age of eleven, Monica was discovered by music producer Dallas Austin at the Center Stage auditorium in Atlanta performing Whitney Houston 1986's Greatest Love of All. Amazed by her voice, Dallas offered her a record deal with his Arista Records-distributed label Rowdy Records and consulted rapper Queen Latifah to work as Monica's first manager. Shortly afterwards Dallas and then staff producers Tim & Bob entered the studio with Monica to start writing and producing her debut Miss Thang which was eventually released in July 1995 and scored number thirty-six on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number seven on the Top R&B Albums chart. It was certified triple platinum by the RIAA for more than three million store-shipped copies and produced three top ten singles, including debut single Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days) and Before You Walk out of My Life both of which made Monica the youngest artist ever to have two consecutive chart-topping hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. Miss Thang subsequently won Monica a Billboard Music Award and garnered her an American Music Award nomination in the Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist category.
After a label change to Clive Davis's Arista Records, Monica mainstream success was boosted, when Diane Warren-written For You I Will, from the Space Jam soundtrack, became her next top ten pop hit. The following year she was asked to team up with singer Brandy and producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins to record The Boy Is Mine, the first single from both of their second albums. Released in May 1998, surrounding highly publicized rumors about a real-life catfight between both singers, the duet became both the biggest hit of the summer and the biggest hit of 1998 in general in America, spending record-breaking thirteen weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It earned the pair a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and garnered multi-platinum sales (to date, it remains as one of the top twenty most successful American singles in history based on Billboard chart success).
Jermaine Dupri, David Foster and Austin consulted on the album The Boy Is Mine, which was released later that year and eventually became Monica’s biggest-selling album, becoming certified triple platinum by the RIAA for more than three million store-shipped copies. It yielded another two U.S. number-one hits with The First Night and Angel of Mine, a cover of Eternal's 1997 single, as well as a remake of Richard Marx' Right Here Waiting. Rolling Stone Magazine proclaimed it as "closer to soul's source... hearking back past hip-hop songbirds like Mary J. Blige and adult-contemporary sirens like Toni Braxton," while Allmusic called the album an "irresistible sounding [and] immaculately crafted musical backdrop [...] as good as mainstream urban R&B gets in 1998."
In 2000, Monica contributed chorus vocals for I've Got to Have It, a collaboration with Jermaine Dupri and rapper Nas. Released as the Big Momma's House theme song, the song saw minor success in the United States only. The following year, she released the Ric Wake production track Just Another Girl, recorded for the Down to Earth soundtrack, as a single.
A year later, Arnold channeled much of her heavily media-discussed experiences into the production of her third studio album, All Eyez on Me, her first release on mentor Clive Davis newly-founded J Records label. "I just wanted to give the people back something that had personal passion, instead of just, 'Oh, let's dance to this record'," she said about the issues worked into the tracks. The first single All Eyez on Me a Rodney Jerkins-produced R&B-dance track, saw minor to moderate success on the international charts but failed to enter the higher half of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. A follow-up song, Too Hood, also got a lukewarm response and as a result, the album's tentative release was pushed back several times. "I don't think people wanted to hear a big fun record from me, after knowing all the things that I had personally experienced," Monica second-guessed her new material which saw both early and heavy bootlegging via internet at that time.
After the Japan-wide release of All Eyez on Me Monica was asked to substantially reconstruct the record with a host of new producers, and as a result the singer re-entered recording studios to start work with songwriters Kanye West, Jazze Pha, Andre "mrDEYO" Deyo, Bam & Ryan and Dupri-replacing executive producer Missy Elliott. Finally released in June 2003, After the Storm debuted at number one on Billboard`s Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, and on top of the official Billboard 200, with sales of 186,000 copies emerging as Monica's first and only number-one album to date. It eventually received a gold certification, and has sold over one million copies domestically. Media reception of the CD was generally enthusiastic, with the Allmusic saying the album "has all the assuredness and smart developments that should keep Monica's younger longtime followers behind her — all the while holding the ability to appeal to a wider spectrum of R&B and hip-hop fans." The album's lead single, Elliott-penned So Gone, was one of Monica's biggest commercial successes in years, becoming her first top ten single since 1999's Angel of Mine. In addition, it reached the top position of the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks and Hot Dance Club Play charts. Subsequently, After the Storm spawned another three singles, with final single U Should've Known Better reaching number nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
In 2005, Monica appeared on the Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman soundtrack. The track was one of Monica's last production by Dallas Austin.
Returning from yet another musical hiatus, Arnold's fourth studio album The Makings of Me was released in October 2006. Titled after Curtis Mayfield's 1970 recording The Makings of You, the album saw her particularly reuniting with producers Elliott, Dupri, and Bryan Michael Cox, all of whom had previously contributed to After the Storm (2003). The Makings of Me received a positive reception from most professional music critics, with Allmusic calling it a "concise and mostly sweet set of songs," and Entertainment Weekly declaring it "a solid addition" to Monica's discography. While it debuted at number one on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, and at number eight on the official Billboard 200, it received a domestic sales total of 328,000 copies, it widely failed to revive the success of its predecessors and became the singer's lowest-selling effort to date. Singles such as snap-influenced Everytime Tha Beat Drop featuring Atlanta hip hop group Dem Franchize Boyz and Elliott-produced A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me) failed to reach the top forty of the regular pop charts.
In 2009, Arnold lent her voice to the ballad Trust a duet with Keyshia Cole, that peaked in the top five on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The recording of Arnold's sixth studio album Still Standing was chronicled by her BET reality series of the same name. Featuring production by Stargate, Ne-Yo, and Polow da Don, it was released in March 2010 and garnered a generally positive response by critics, who perceived its sound as "a return to the mid-'1990s heyday" of contemporary R&B, The album debuted atop on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, and number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 with opening week sales of 184,000 copies, becoming the singer's second highest-charting debut since 2003's After the Storm. The leading single Everything to Me scored Monica her biggest chart success since 2003's So Gone, reaching the top position of the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks charts for seven weeks. The album was certified gold by the RIAA with domestic shipments of 500,000 copies within a single month. With it success, the album and Everything to Me was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, presented at the 53rd Grammy Awards in 2011. In August 2010, Arnold joined Trey Songz on his Passion, Pain & Pleasure Tour, her first North American concert tour in ten years.
The New Life (Intro) Songfacts reports that New Life was Monica's debut release with RCA, following the disbandment of her former label, J Records in October 2011. The album was dropped on April 10, 2012 in the US. She explained the meaning of its title on Twitter: "A good word goes a long way. Life is hard enough. Me and my followers believe in God, love, strength, family, unity and growth [...] Don't be afraid of new things, new people, new opportunities or new love. It just may give you a New Life."
One In A Lifetime
Monica Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh-oh (you only get one)
Oh-oh, yeah (you only get one)
One love, lifetime
One love, lifetime
They say when you find the one there'll be no second guessing
You'd feel it deep in your heart you'll know that it was destiny
Something that you can't deny, just let it roll
They say it's better to love than never love at all
To appreciate all the good, sometimes you gotta fall
But I was foolish
I shouldn't have let you go
But now I miss you
I gotta let you know
I need you back, back in my life
I need your kiss, kiss in my life
And it's been so long since you been gone
Baby, won't you come back home
You only get one (one) one (one) love (love)
One in a lifetime
You only get one (one) one (one) love (love)
One in a lifetime
Can't believe that I almost missed the signs
Right in front of my eyes
And now I know the love is real it's hard to say bye
You only get one (one) one (one) love (love)
One in a lifetime
And that one is you
They say that pleasure comes with pain
And I'm so used to being whole, it's hard to be half again
And you gotta feel the same way
My tears are steady falling like the pouring rain
Tell me will the forecast change (one, one)
If you love somebody, gotta let 'em know
Tomorrow's never promised, you gotta let it show
If you love somebody, you gotta let 'em know
Tomorrow's never promised, you gotta let it show
I need you back, back in my life
I need your, kiss kiss in my life
And it's been so long since you been gone
Baby, won't you come back home
You only get one (one) one (one) love (love)
One in a lifetime
You only get one (one) one (one) love (love)
One in a lifetime
Can't believe that I almost missed the signs
Right in front of my eyes
And now I know the love is real it's hard to say bye
You only get one (one) one (one) love (love)
One in a lifetime
And that one is you (that one)
And that one is you (that one)
And that one is you (that one)
And that one is you (that one)
Is you
I would climb the highest mountain
Swim the deepest oceans for you, you, you ('cause you are the one)
I would walk across the desert just to get the message to you, you, you
('Cause you are the one)
There ain't a thing in this world that I wouldn't do
Right hand to the man
Boy, I'm tellin' the truth
So all my ladies if you feel me
Then put your hands up for that one
For that one
You only get one (one) one (one) love (love)
One in a lifetime (you only get)
You only get one (one) one (one) love (love)
One in a lifetime
Can't believe that I almost missed the signs
Right in front of my eyes (yeah-yeah)
And now I know the love is real it's hard to say bye (and now I know, I know, oh I)
You only get one (one) one (one) love (love)
One in a lifetime (one in a lifetime)
(That one) ooh
That one
That one (one, one)
That one (say)
You only get one (one) one (one) love (love)
One in a lifetime
You only get one (one) one (one) love (love)
One in a lifetime (ooh, I)
And I can't believe that I almost missed the signs
Right in front of my eyes
And now I know the love is real, it's hard to say bye
You only get one (one) one (one) love (love)
One in a lifetime (one in a lifetime)
(Ooh-whoa)
In the song, "One in a Lifetime", Monica sings about finding true love and how rare it is to find that one special person. The lyrics suggest that when you find the one you're meant to be with, there's no denying it, and you'll feel it deep in your heart. The song also touches on the idea that sometimes, in order to appreciate the goodness in life, one must fall and make mistakes. However, Monica expresses regret for letting that special person go and wants them back in her life.
Monica's lyrics are about the hardships of finding love, and that it’s not always easy to recognize when we’ve found "the one." She sings about the importance of letting love be known and not taking it for granted. She speaks to the idea of being willing to do anything for the one you love and climbing the highest mountain or swimming the deepest oceans to show them that they are the one.
Line by Line Meaning
They say when you find the one there'll be no second guessing
It's often said that when you finally find your soulmate, you'll have no doubts about it
You'd feel it deep in your heart you'll know that it was destiny
Your heart will be filled with a feeling that confirms your soulmate is your preordained fate
The feelin' inside will let you know
Your whole being will instinctively know
Something that you can't deny just let it roll
It's something that you can't ignore, just let it happen naturally
They say it's better to love than never love at all
Some people may argue that it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved before
To appreciate the good sometimes you gotta fall
In order to realize what you had, sometimes you have to lose it
But I was foolish
I made a mistake
I shouldn't let you go
I regret ending our relationship
But now I miss you
I realize how much I need and long for you now
I gotta let you know
I need to tell you how I feel
I need you back back in my life
I want you to come back into my life
I need your kiss kiss in my life
I miss your sweet, tender kiss
And it's been so long since you been gone
It's been a significant amount of time since you left
Baby won't you come back home
Please return to our home and our relationship
And I can't believe that I almost missed the signs
I'm surprised that I almost failed to recognize the signs of our true love
Right in front of my eyes
Despite the signs being apparent, I didn't know what they meant at the time
And now I know the love is real it's hard to say why
Now that we're separated, I realize our love was authentic, but I can't explain why
And that one is you
You're my one true love
They say that pleasure comes with pain
It's believed that happiness is often accompanied by some degree of sorrow
And I'm so used to being whole it's hard to be half again
I'm struggling to feel whole again now that you're gone
And you gotta feel the same way
I hope that you're feeling the same way as I am
My tears are steady falling like the pouring rain
I'm crying uncontrollably like a heavy downpour of rain
Tell me will the forecast change
I'm asking if there's any hope for our relationship to be repaired
If you love somebody gotta let 'em know
It's important to express your love to someone if you truly love them
Tomorrow's never promised you gotta let it show
You never know what tomorrow may bring, so don't wait to express your love
I will climb the highest mountain
I'll do anything and everything to regain your love
Swim the deepest oceans for you you you (cause you are the one)
I love you so much that I would swim the deepest oceans just to show you
There ain't a thing in this world that I wouldn't do
I'm willing to do everything and anything to be with you again
Right hand to the man
I swear on everything holy
Boy I'm tellin' the truth
I'm not lying, I'm being honest
So all my ladies if you feel me
To all the women who can relate to what I'm saying
Then put your hands up for that one
Raise your hands if you believe in finding your one true love
You only get one (one) one (one) love (love)
You only get one chance at true love
One in a lifetime
It's a rare opportunity to find someone who you truly connect with
One one love
The one true love that you have in your life
And that one is you (that one)
My one true love is you
Is you
It's you
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Carlos Mckinney, Farah Fleurimond, Jarrett Washington, Natalie Walker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind