POP EYE

THE SONG IS MINE: Teenage R&B; divas Brandy and Monica have both claimed that they collaborated on “The Boy Is Mine” partly to dispel rumors of a rivalry between them. But tensions reportedly flared between the young women when Brandy performed the song--the nation’s No. 1 pop single for the past six weeks--alone on “The Tonight Show” in May. Monica told MTV News that Brandy’s “Tonight Show” performance “not only hurt my feelings, but I thought that it hurt our song.”

Sources close to Brandy claimed that Monica--whose new album, also titled “The Boy Is Mine,” hits stores this Tuesday--had been invited to join Brandy on the show. But Monica’s sources reportedly said that the “conditions” of the invitation, including how the performance would be billed, were unacceptable.

Monica’s publicist would not go on record discussing the MTV report, and said that Monica could not be reached for comment. But a representative for Atlantic Records, Brandy’s label, reasserted that an invitation had been extended to Monica to appear with Brandy on the program, adding, “[We] offered to pay for all of her expenses. We were also very disappointed that she chose not to perform.”