Review Roundup: Monica - 'Still Standing'

It’s been 15 years since Monica took the R&B world by storm. Now Miss Thang is back with her latest album Still Standing, in stores now. Did she stand tall with critics or fall short? Find out below.

Entertainment Weekly: After a four-year break, Monica returns with an assured 
album that seems entirely unconcerned with staying current. Though Still Standing features circa-now hitmakers like Ne-Yo, the 
appealingly unflashy CD feels like a return to the mid-’90s heyday of acts such as Deborah Cox and Total. B+

Associated Press: There are a few good songs on Monica’s fifth studio album, Still Standing. Unfortunately, none of them are as good as the CD’s first single, “Everything to Me.” The power ballads are wimpy and the edgy tracks aren’t nearly sharp enough.

People: Although the disc (which takes its title from her BET reality show) doesn’t break any new R&B territory, it’s a consistently rewarding set that relies on Monica’s strong delivery and some dependable writers and producers, from Ne-Yo to Stargate. 3 out of 4

The Washington Post: Despite a handful of great original ballads, including “Love All Over Me” and “One in a Lifetime,” the heavily sampled Missy Elliott productions are the catchiest inclusions. “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 still sounds fresh.

The Boston Globe: Other than the opening title cut and the closing declaration of independence, “Believing in Me,” most of this 10-song album doesn’t make much of an impact. The problem, like so many R&B discs these days, is that this feels like an assembly-line production instead of a coherent collection conceived by a singular voice.

Rap-Up’s Favorite Tracks: “Still Standing,” “Everything to Me,” “Mirror”