Recording
Recording for the album took place during 2007 to 2010 at several recording studios, including Carrington House, Doppler Studios, and Zone 4 Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, and Studio at the Palms in Paradise, Nevada, Nevada. Producers and songwriters having collaborated with Monica on the album include longtime collaborators Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott, Bryan-Michael Cox, and his co-producer WyldCard, as well as writers and producers that she had not worked with in the past, including Jim Jonsin, Bei Maejor, Andre Lindal, Los Da Mystro, singer Ne-Yo, songwriters Ester Dean and Crystal Johnson, Norwegian production duo Stargte and her elder cousin Polow da Don. Over the course of several recording periods, Monica worked on "hundreds of songs" for the album, herself serving as its executive producer and J Records A&R president Larry Jackson as co-executive. Finally, only ten tracks were selected to be placed on the regular edition of Still Standing while three additional tracks were chosen to be released as free bonus tracks through different retailers. Others songs from established hitmakers such as Dallas Austin, Babyface, Drumma Boy, J Ferrari, Sean Garrett, Jazze Pha, and Soulshock & Karlin did not make the cut. Monica's team also was in negoations with R. Kelly to contribute to Still Standing. In an interview, Lil Jon moreover stated that he was "about to do some work with Monica."
Although the debut episode of the reality television show Monica: The Single on Peachtree TV was filmed to promote the release of the album's leading single, J Records and the singer were not in agreement with "Still Standing" becoming the first single, and thus, Monica set up additional sessions with Missy Elliott in August 2009 to find new singles. In parallel, she resumed recording with Polow da Don, Dallas Austin and Sean Garrett. Whilst at Zone 4 Studios Timbaland had some creative input into the project, voicing his opinion about "Everything to Me" being a good future single choice, but did not make any musical contribution to the project. As part of her reality TV series, Monica revealed that she was planning to record all of her own backing vocals for the album. Several tracks from the album's recording sessions leaked early which sparked a response from Monica on the eighth episode of her reality TV show: "I think it's unfair when a song like "Let Me Know" leaks. The fans don't get to hear it properly as it's not finished. It might not be a true representation of the album if it is not included on the final tracklisting." As a result of the leak, a small internal investigation was launched at J Records to find the source of the leak.
Read more about this topic: Still Standing (Monica Album)
Famous quotes containing the word recording:
“Self-expression is not enough; experiment is not enough; the recording of special moments or cases is not enough. All of the arts have broken faith or lost connection with their origin and function. They have ceased to be concerned with the legitimate and permanent material of art.”
—Jane Heap (c. 1880–1964)
“Write while the heat is in you.... The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I didn’t have to think up so much as a comma or a semicolon; it was all given, straight from the celestial recording room. Weary, I would beg for a break, an intermission, time enough, let’s say, to go to the toilet or take a breath of fresh air on the balcony. Nothing doing!”
—Henry Miller (1891–1980)