Children of the 90s, get ready to feel old. Children of all other decades, don’t worry – this post isn’t going to end up completely ignoring you. News broke on Tuesday of producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins’ plan to rehash 1998 hit R&B pop single, The Boy Is Mine. But he won’t be calling on original singers Brandy and Monica to re-record the song for his vaguely titled 20th anniversary project.
Jerkins told a Los Angeles music news site that he’s lined up sweet-voiced pop singer Ariana Grande and hollering melisma expert Jessie J to record a new version. Grande would have been about five years old when the original song came out – there’s the ‘feel old’ sentiment – so this seems like a good time for Jerkins to capitalise on regurgitating the track for a younger audience.
This won’t be Grande and Jessie J’s first time working together, either. The pair have already collaborated on single Bang Bang, featuring Nicki Minaj, which topped the UK singles chart in September and rose to No 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. If Jerkins’ proposal is an attempt to give fans more of what they’ve already heard, then it’s not too shabby a plan.
Whether excited by or indifferent to the reappearance of a late 90s chart-topper, we’d like to know which other duets you’d be happy to hear rejigged. Who would you want to see team up on an old classic sung by two artists or acts? Let us know in the comments section.
