The First Night

"The First Night" was written by Tamara Savage and Jermaine Dupri, and production was handled by the latter. In the mid-1990s, Savage, a USC alumna and musical performer, signed a development deal with EMI while she was still in college. In 1997, her mentor, Big Jon Platt, then Senior Vice President of Creative at EMI Music Publishing, started setting up collaborations between her and EMI writers such as Soulshock & Karlin and Jermaine Dupri. ==Critical reception==

In his review of the song, Larry Flick from Billboard described the song as a "sleek soul shuffler" and praised Monica for not rushing "to swap her youth for adult props". Overall, he thought the song was "smarter than your average pop hit" and called it a winner that would dominate radio playlists. Tony Farsides from Music Week felt that the song "is quite downbeat but builds momentum of its own through Dupri's cameo raps and Monica's own impressive vocals." In 2020 the song was ranked at number 108 on Cleveland.com's Every No. 1 song of the 1990s ranked from worst to best list. Writer Troy L. Smith said, "Listening to it now, Monica’s “The First Night” may not feel like a song that topped the charts for a total of five weeks. But back in 1998, its hip-hop soul vibe fit right in with the times." ==Chart performance==

"The First Night" became Monica's sixth top-10 entry and second consecutive number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching the top of the charts in the week of October 3, 1998. "The First Night" was replaced by Barenaked Ladies's "One Week" after two weeks at number one, only to reclaim the top of the chart for another three weeks in October 1998. On Billboards component charts, it spent six weeks at number one on the Hot R&B Singles chart and became Monica's first entry on the Dance Club Play chart, also reaching the top spot. ==Music video==

in downtown Los Angeles. Filming took place in the Bradbury Building in downtown Los Angeles, California, a five-story office building that is best known for its extraordinary skylit atrium of access walkways, stairs and elevators, and their ornate ironwork. In the video, Monica is seen dancing in a tight, white top and long khaki pants with a crowd of dancers. Throughout the video, there are cuts of her standing up in a white dress and sitting down on a long couch, holding golden opera glasses. Other cuts show groups of men and women as well as Monica and her love interest sitting on a couch. The instrumental break features breakdancing then cuts back to the dance with the crowd. The video ends with Monica rejecting her lover's kiss. In 2017, Complex magazine included the video on its The Best R&B Videos of the '90s listing and wrote: "Monica isn't going to have sex with you right away, and her method of letting you will be elaborate. Hence, this video...The dance moves were cute, the concept was simple, and it all came together perfectly in front of the camera." ==Track listings==

Notes • denotes additional producer(s) • "The First Night" contains a sample from Diana Ross' "Love Hangover" (1976). • "Cross the Room" contains a sample from The Fatback Band's "I Like Girls" (1980). • "Like This and Like That" contains elements of Spoonie Gee's song "Spoonin' Rap" (1979). ==Personnel==

Personnel are adapted from the liner notes of The Boy Is Mine. • Monica Arnold – vocals • Jermaine Dupri – mixing, production, writing • Tamara Savage – writing • Marilyn McLeod – writing ("Love Hangover") • Pam Sawyer – writing ("Love Hangover") • Brian Frye – recording • Phil Tan – mixing ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts Decade-end charts ==Certifications==