Victoria Monét

Victoria Monét Biography by Andy Kellman Jaguar Victoria Monét specializes in plush R&B with cosmopolitan pop influences applied to her songs of heartache, seduction, and self-affirmation. A highly accomplished songwriter, she picked up her first major credit with Diddy - Dirty Money's "I Hate That You Love Me" (2010) and has earned Grammy nominations for her work on Ariana Grande's chart-topping "7 rings" (2019) and Chloe x Halle's likewise platinum "Do It" (2020). Monét independently established her solo discography amid those successes with Nightmares & Lullabies and Life After Love, a pair of two-part EPs. After the Jaguar EP (2020), Monét signed to major-label RCA and delivered Jaguar II (2023), consolidating her long-term creative partnership with D'Mile on an album incorporating styles ranging from '70s-sounding cinematic soul to contemporary house and dancehall. G.O.O.D. Music: Cruel Summer Originally from Georgia, Victoria Monét McCants moved to Sacramento with her family during her childhood. Immersed in performing arts at an early age, she danced and sang, then got into writing and developed an interest in music production. Through MySpace, she reached out to Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, which led to her joining Purple Reign, a group the producer put together and signed to Motown. Purple Reign didn't reach lift-off -- none of their recordings saw commercial release -- but Monét soon became an in-demand writer. She contributed to Diddy - Dirty Money's "I Hate That You Love Me," and over the course of the next few years racked up additional credits as a songwriter and featured artist. Monét graced tracks by Nas and T.I. and co-wrote the Cruel Summer inclusion "Sin City," and boosted her R&B and pop credentials with the likes of Eric Bellinger, Chrisette Michele, and Ariana Grande. A lasting partnership with Grande began with two songs for the 2013 album Yours Truly and grew the next year with a bigger role on My Everything. Christmas & Chill Just after My Everything topped the Billboard 200, Monét self-released her first EP, Nightmares & Lullabies: Act 1. Nightmares & Lullabies: Act 2 was out the next June. Over the next couple years, Monét fielded assignments from artists such as Fifth Harmony, Jordin Sparks, and Wale, and worked closer still with Grande, co-writing over a dozen cuts that appeared on Christmas & Chill and Dangerous Woman. Remaining self-sufficient with her own recordings, Monét offered another pair of EPs, Life After Love, Pt. 1 and Life After Love, Pt. 2, in 2018. New heights with Grande were scaled on Sweetener and thank u, next. The LPs boasted a total of eight Monét songs, including "thank u, next" and "7 rings," both number one pop hits. The latter was also nominated for Record of the Year, one of the Grammys' "big four" categories. Ungodly Hour In 2020, Monét placed songs on Chloe x Halle's Ungodly Hour and Brandy's B7, and released her own Jaguar, an EP-length set presented as the first installment of her debut album. Jaguar registered on the Billboard 200 and topped the Heatseekers chart for developing artists. Later that year, "Do It," one of the songs Monét wrote with Chloe x Halle, was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best R&B Song. The ballad "F.U.C.K." and slow jam "Coastin'" appeared as standalone Monét singles in 2021. Monét then landed a deal with RCA launched in 2023 with the Lucky Daye collaboration "Smoke." The single served as a preview of Jaguar II, released that August. The likes of Tim Suby, Kaytranada, and James Fauntleroy joined Monét and chief collaborator D'Mile with production and/or songwriting input, and dancehall legend Buju Banton added to the album's Caribbean component with a featured appearance on "Party Girls."