Not so lonely (M)

## ***not so lonely***Single by Monica Lacroix

"**not so lonely**" is a song by American singer Monica Lacroix featuring famed pop icon Madonna's adlibs in a break within the song where she states "its a blessing and a curse hand in hand to be able to move on and let go but will you remember or will you grow?". Madonna was listed along in the credits however she was not listed in the title. The single was released on November 12 2018 through Republic Records & Universal. It was released alongside her second studio album *step forward (2018)* with the album being a surprise drop.

The single set an all-time first week for female artist first week sales in the United States selling over 2,548,363 equivalent sales including streaming. It set an all-time for music videos on YouTube earning over 750 million views in a single week on the platform. In the same week it entered and went number one, Nicki Minaj's bed featured the artist and friend to the artist Ariana Grande which was at #3 on the chart (BBHOT100). Following the week, *thank u next* rose up once again into the top 5 of the charts following many citing Ariana and Monicas tracks as works of art.

In early 2019, the single was certified Diamond for selling over 10 million equivalent units in the United States. This would give Monica her fourth diamond certification at just 23, the youngest to receive 4 diamond certifications.

## Background & Development

Monica was reportedly heavily inspired by past acts before her such as Dorothy Fields & Loretta Lynn to fully write both the album and the songs. She studied their compositions and writing for around a year confirming the shots seen in KUWTR were actual shots of her studying lyrics and their writing accompanied with ways to write. Monica wanted once again to be able to reflect on her growth as an artist from her first album The Emancipation Of Monica to today. Later however she wanted the single to be changed to a more R&B styled emotional song.

Monica can reportedly be heard in the backing of the song with headphones in or the use of Dolby Atmos, her tears can be heard from hearing the news of her father's passing as she was in the studio recording thinking she had time to squeeze in for the fans when they reportedly confirmed it to her. The song can be speculated to have been recorded through this in 2014 however the rest of the song cannot. The cast of the show hinted that they felt the world would love the song if she released it but never gave any insight hinting that they may have heard various versions of the single.

## Critical acclaim

The single was given a 100/100 by Metacritic and various other outlets sighting it as one of her best title tracks in her career let alone tracks. *RollingStone*, *Billboard*, *Paste Magazine*, and *People Magazine* stated it was one of Monica's most emotional singles to date while also one of her best tracks to date. It was however the worst track off the album (the album being rated a 9/10) which even then is still a feat of its own.

## Commercial performance

The single debuted on the charts at #1 worldwide with over 3 million equivalent units being sold first week. The song entered the US Billboard Hot 100 in it's first week becoming Monica's 7th entree on the chart, her 7th top 10 single, her 5th US Hot 100 number one debut and her 6th US Hot 100 number one. The song would become a first for Monica in Asia as it had the most unique listeners in just an hour of release with 100K listeners having already listened to the single. It was the first time an American act topped this section of the chart accompanied with various other chart-toppers such as BTS, and BLACKPINK.

In terms of sales, the single would replace Ariana Grande's thank u next at number one on the Billboard Global 100 songs list moving over 3,935,785 equivalent units in its first week. In the United States, the single sold over 2,548,363 units becoming Monica's biggest first week in terms of singles in the country and an all-time record of consumption for the year 2018. In Canada the single would sell over 46,791 units in its first week. The single sold over 92,764 units in the Latin America region, with pinky promise being at #6 on the chart during the week. In the UK, the single sold over 381,790 units becoming one of the biggest singles of the year in that region. In Europe, it debuted with 292,111 sales. In Oceania, the single debuted with 66,425 sales. The single debuted in Asia selling 507,541 units pushing Big Bang down to #2 on the MelOn charts.

## Promotion

It would be featured in Monica's live performance dropped just hours after the release of the single & it's corresponding album. Following the release, Monica would confirm via social media she would begin touring in December. Tickets sold out as a result of the popularity of the star on the charts within a mere 2 days for the entirety of the US leg.