poppy or immediately infectious single one might have expected as the preview to Brandy's new disc, but after a second spin, you won't be able to shake the subtle hook from your brain." Entertainment Weeklys J.D. Considine felt that "there's none of the soul-baring theatrics we'd get if Faith Evans and Mary J. Blige had gone at it. Instead, the two younger women play second fiddle to the steady-thumping bass, keeping their voices so low you'd think they were afraid a teacher might overhear them." In a different review, his colleague Matt Diehl wrote, "No, this isn't an estrogen flip on the Michael Jackson hit. Nor is it the soul-sista catfight that the pairing of these teen-dream divas-in-training promised (the too-silky production delivers a TKO to any gritty R&B tension). Still, child star Brandy sings like a woman for the first time, making her potential for an adult career à la Toni Braxton a distinct possibility." Lorraine Ali, writing for Rolling Stone, complimented Jerkins' production for its "sweeping orchestration." Craig Seymour from The Village Voice said that the song "creeps up on you with a harp sound that's like light twinkling on a reflective pool." He found that "You don't groove to it so much as you vibe in it, as Brandy and Monica kick a rather standard script [...] in their surprisingly complementary styles. Brandy is to groove what Monica is to rhythm. Where Brandy rides the contour of a melody like a wave, Monica advances and recedes, spontaneously creating then dismissing parallel rhythms." Chart performance On June 5, 1998, "The Boy Is Mine" became both singers' first number-one hit and fifth top ten entry for each on the US Billboard Hot 100. Bouncing from number 93 to the number 1 spot, it became the second song in the history of the chart to ascend directly to number-one from a previous position beneath the Top 90, following The Beatles and the 27–1 leap of their single "Can't Buy Me Love" in April 1964. In addition, it was the first number-one collaboration between solo women since 1979's two-weeks number-one run of "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)," performed by Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer. The same week, "The Boy Is Mine" also moved to number-one on the Hot R&B Singles, Hot 100 Singles Sales and Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales charts. Within the first month of its purchasable release the song