Monica Talks ‘Open Roads’ Country Album Ahead Of Next R&B Single
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Monica is days away from getting back into her R&B bag. She is set to release her new single, “Friends,” from her R&B album, Trenches, this Friday. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the singer talks about balancing her country album, Open Roads, and what it all means.
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“‘Friends” is about keeping people in their place and handling your own relationships…and keep them out of it as much as you can,” she explained ET‘s Nischelle Turner. For the College Park, Georgia native, she feels Open Roads is for those who need to hear what raw honesty and vulnerability sound like as she addresses the loss of loved ones and her divorce from former NBA player Shannon Brown.
When it comes to Trenches, though, the Grammy winner revealed, “You know what I did this time, I went back to the idea I had in the beginning, which was just to make music about living life and the things that happen in life. We’ve all experienced so much over the last couple of years, and this album is really indicative of the struggle of it, the love of it, the triumph of it, because you know I don’t believe in being the victim. I’m the victor.”
Earlier this year, during her first Country Music Awards performance, Monica teased the arrival of her long-awaited country LP. Though an official release date hasn’t been announced, it is slated to arrive later this year. Recently, she appeared as one of the acts ushering in NPR’s Black Music Month Tiny Desk performances. She delivered acoustic renditions of hits including “So Gone,” “Love All Over Me,” “Why I Love You So Much,” and “Before You Walk Out of My Life.”
Listen to the “Friends” teaser below.
Correction: 6:10 p.m. ET (July 14, 2022) – An earlier version of this article misstated that “Friends” is the first single from Monica’s country album. “Friends” is the first single from her R&B album Trenches.
