When Victoria Monét looked in the mirror five years ago, saw a successful songwriter whose growing list of esteemed credits included co-writing two of Ariana Grande's biggest hits, “Thank U, Next” and “7 Rings.” What Monet, then 30, didn't see was a successful solo artist — a goal she had been tirelessly pursuing since 2009.
“It was a very difficult, difficult battle trying to get people to understand that there was a duality to me, that my relevance was not just based on my proximity to someone else,” Monét recalls. “Interview after interview, questions were asked about the artists I worked with. I just wanted to be an independent artist with my own reputation.”
Monét's longtime dream finally came true with the 2023 release of her debut RCA studio album, Jaguar II. Her breakthrough single, “To my mother”, and two previous single albums, “Smoke” (with Lucky Daye) and “Party Girls” (featuring Buju Banton), created what she calls an “avalanche effect” — and validated her solo artistry, not only in terms of chart position, different interview questions and her first tour, but also in the form of gold material .
At the Grammys in February, Monét — who walked away with seven nominations, including record of the year and best R&B song — won best new artist, as well as statuettes for best R&B album and best mechanical album, non-classical. Her best traditional R&B performance — for “Hollywood,” with Earth, Wind & Fire and her young daughter, Hazel Monét, broke the record in its own right, making Hazel the youngest Grammy nominee.
Roberto Cavalli dress, Paumé Los Angeles ring, Elisheva & Constance earrings, choker and bracelet.
Sami Drasin
Oude Waag dress and Paumé Los Angeles earrings.
Sami Drasin
But Monét's three wins — her first triumphs after three previous nods for her work with Grande and R&B duo Chloe x Halle — represent another pivotal moment for the Atlanta, Sacramento, Calif.-born singer-songwriter , who began to pursue a solo career. when she moved to Los Angeles in 2009 to audition for a girl group being developed by Grammy-winning producer Rodney Jerkins. Monét took the job and the band was signed to Motown, although they later withdrew without releasing any music.
This setback, however, led to the beginning of a friendship with future Grammy and Academy Award-winning songwriter-producer D'Mile and prompted Monét to focus on the songwriting she had dabbled in while growing up in Sacramento. Calling D'Mile a key supporter and mentor (“He let me and the girl group live in his place”), Monét worked with him on the music he'd begun recording on the side as an independent artist while collecting writing credits with acts like Travis Scott, Blackpink, Fifth Harmony and up-and-coming R&B singer and new Grammy winner Coco Jones.
“It's very difficult to ask someone to commit their time when you don't have a record label to promote them, a production or video budget,” says Monét. “But D'Mile said, 'I don't care about that. I think you're talented and you love your voice… We get it.'' “
Monét, who didn't have a manager at the time (“Even when I opened for Ariana on tour in 2016, I was booking hotels and routing”), found another kindred spirit when she met manager Rachelle Jean-Louis in 2018. She was my ride-or-die,” says Monét. “He saw things when no one else saw them.”
Jean-Louis, a former record executive and music supervisor, first crossed paths with Monét while working as the latter, placing Monét's collaboration with RCA artist Lucky Daye, “Little More Time” on HBO's Insecure. “We are mirrors of each other,” says Jean-Louis. “We both love music, are hard workers and passionate about what we do. Victoria's melodies and layering of her vocals reminded me a lot of early Marvin [Gaye] and Janet [Jackson], which I hadn't heard at the moment. And then to hear that she wrote all of her songs … that's a rare art form that I've always admired.”
Oude Waag dress and Paumé Los Angeles earrings.
Sami Drasin
Music fans got their first taste of Monét's solo work through four EPs released between 2014 and 2018. While none of these works charted, they showcased Monét's modern soul influenced by the '90s. 70 which started generating word of mouth buzz for the indie artist. But on her Jaguar The EP, released in August 2020, saw the singer highlight another side of herself.
“I had to learn how to survive,” Monét said during a Grammy museum Q&A in December, when he compared the music industry to a jungle. “The jaguar symbolized my journey up to that point.”
Her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist was in 2019, when “Monopoly,” a song he co-wrote and performed with Grande, broke the chart at No. 69. The previous week, Monét had reached No. 16 on the Emerging Artists list.
With the release of the sequel in August 2023 Jaguar IIwhich delivers a sonically captivating mix of 70s retro soul, dancehall and southern rap — and, as Jaguar, was executive produced by Monét, D'Mile and Jean-Louis — Monét hit her stride. The album debuted at No. 6 on Top R&B Albums and No. 22 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Meanwhile, “On My Mama,” which samples Texas rapper Chalie Boy's 2009 track “I Look Good,” peaked at No. 4 on Hot R&B Songs, spending 24 consecutive weeks in the top 10 .Since the first tracking week of 2023 (December 29, 2022 to February 1, 2024), Monét's songs as an artist have generated 342.6 million official on-demand streams, according to Luminate.
“Because songwriters write for other artists, it's really easy to listen to their songs, but think about the artist they wrote for,” says Jean-Louis. “But with the music that Victoria makes, you can't do that. The only person you hear when you listen to Victoria Monét's music is her.”
Victoria Monét photographed on January 16, 2024 at Cricket Ranch in Los Angeles.
Sami Drasin
Paumé Los Angeles ring, Elisheva & Constance earrings, choker and bracelet.
Sami Drasin
With Jean-Louis and a predominantly female core team handling both her business and creative and strong support from RCA (“It was a real pleasure to work with [label] team that really sees me. RCA changed that narrative for me”) — the recent three-time Grammy winner is looking forward to festival performances at Coachella and Governors Ball, along with his deluxe edition Jaguar II.
But considering her hard work, failures and triumphs so far, Monét says it all makes her love being recognized as Advertising signThe 2024 Women in Music Rising Star even more so.
“I prefer it that way [achieving] fame quickly or it's handed to me on a silver platter,” he explains. “I know I have a great foundation and legs to stand on because everything I built was brick by brick. A career requires an extraordinary amount of patience.”
This story will appear in the March 2, 2024 issue Advertising sign.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/victoria-monet-women-in-music-rising-star-grammys-jaguar-ii-1235618790/