MONICA AS MARY WELLS: Southern singer talks of historical time traveling and the merits of having an "American Dream."
by Ricardo Hazell


Monica
(Sep. 12, 2003) *Little Miss Monica Arnold wowed audiences worldwide with the release of her debut set "Miss Thang." Fastforward to the present and we see that Monica is no longer little. She's all grown up and has the life experiences to prove it.
EUR/EURweb was allowed on to the set of the critically acclaimed NBC series "American Dream" to get a peek at Monica. She was there to film her scenes as 60s singer Mary Wells of "My Guy" fame. Girlfriend was all done up in a beehive that made you take a double take.

"I've got a beehive hair do today and I'm playing Mary Wells," said Monica, as she patted her hair into shape. "They did a good job here."

The hustle and energy on the set was contagious and Monica was visibly excited.

"We're about to shoot my part. Last night I actually recorded the song just by it being for TV makes it exciting. I recorded then I lipsync to my own track."

"American Dreams" highlights the trials and tribulations of two families, one black and one white, livining in the Philadelphia greater metropolitan area. In the past Usher and Kelly Rowland (Destiny's Child) appeared on the show to play Marvin Gaye and Martha Reeves respectively. When asked, she admitted that she hadn't seen her contemporaries' appearances on the show.

"I didn't get a chance to see (Kelly) play Martha Reeves, but I've seen the show before. I haven't seen nobody else though. But I saw the pilot and they didn't have the musical guests at the time. I like the fact that the show always has a moral to it that stands out. It teaches you something different about history in itself. It's not just a musical show, which I think sometimes people lose the focus because we come out, we dress up and we perform or what not, but it's directly about that."

Like many young bucks, Monica says she remembers the songs, but not the individuals behind them. Her stint on "American Dreams" has inspired her to look even deeper into them.

"I've always been with my father who listens to a lot of the oldies music. I used to like to hear Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Dorothy Moore. I just love old music. Of course I'm only 22 so I can go back and play around with what may have happened or what was going on at that particualr time. But I'm actually very knowledgeable about the music, but not the time. But I think the show will teach all of us a lot.

I was familiar with the song that I'm singing, I knew 'My Guy.' Even if you don't know a song, you know what it's been made into now. The fact that we can continously use that music to show how much of an influence it has on us."

(Look for Monica on "American Dream later this month.)

Monica is all into dressing up and traveling into the past, but her career is based in reality. Her most recent set is doing aiight on the charts. But before you go saying it's not you better check the Soundscan. It's just aboutGold and that's all good. Monica thanks the Creator for that miracle, and the prospect of healing and growth.

"We are like a thousand units away from being Gold after only like four weeks out. Which is just a blessing in itself. I took a lot of time off. I've spent a lot of time at home with my family and just getting to know myself and in that process music has changed a lot. And you know I've just pretty much asked God to show me whatever is meant for me to have and for my career to blossum. I put my music out this time wiht more of a message. Something to catch people and show them what I've experienced in life. They hear a lot about the negative stuff, but nothing about the positive and that's why I named my album 'After The Storm.' It took four years for me to release it and that's because I wanted it to be a true reflection of me and what I've become."