The song was first released in December 2014, appearing on SoundCloud.[3] While creators 99 Souls thought not much would come of it, the mash-up garnered 2.9 million streams within its first year of release.[3] However, it was later taken down due to copyright violations.
After the approval of both Brandy and Beyoncé, the song was released commercially in November 2015. The song was enhanced with a re-recorded vocal from Brandy, along with additional changes. Though Brandy agreed to record new vocals for the mash-up track,[1] Monica turned the offer down, commenting, "I feel like sometimes things that are a part of history and that are in history should be left as such so that it can be upheld with the respect that it was given even back then," she told The Huffington Post. "That's the one song and the one time that [Brandy and I] both won a Grammy and experienced certain things. So I have a lot of memories and emotions connected to that record."[4]
Music video
A music video for "The Girl Is Mine" was released on 99 Souls' Vevo account on 20 November 2015, and was directed by Sandl.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 16. týden 2016 in the date selector. Retrieved 26 April 2016.