Three hours is a long time for anyone to maintain their composure on Instagram Live, especially when the only other person there is your teenage friend/rival with whom you’ve had a longtime faux-turned-real feud. Fans tuned in Monday night for Brandy and Monica’s Verzuz Battle, and while the singers gave their million-plus viewers a double dose of beautiful vocals and R&B nostalgia, at a certain point, well, they both (okay, mostly Monica) sort of let their true feelings peek through. Then the show became better than the Olympics, if the sport being played was professional passive-aggression. For example, Brandy explained why she put Monica on her song …“The Boy Is Mine.†Also, there were poems.
The show culminated in, of course, a rendition of their iconic duet, during which Monica looked like she was ready to pull the fire alarm to get out from Brandy’s embrace, before feigning shock when Brandy joked, “Please be on the look out for the tour.†As artists, both singers deserve more respect for their respective oeuvres, but when it comes to who wins the gold, it’s all of you out there on social media who could not stop joking about the awkwardness in the room.