Early Life
Victoria Monét is a singer-songwriter who became involved in performing arts very young. Monét was born in Atlanta, GA, and as a child, moved to Sacramento, CA. She was born to an African-American mother and a French father. While being raised by her grandmother and her mother working three jobs to support her education, Monét spent her time singing in the youth choir at her church and in her Catholic school’s holiday play. She also joined the dance team Boogie Monstarz at Step One Dance Studios. Then, once in high school, she attended a performing arts school to be able to focus more on her musical aspirations. Monét started with dancing and singing, then got immersed in writing and became interested in music production.
Career
In the early 2010s, Monét developed a new passion for poetry, which soon translated into her writing her music. Around the same time, she began working with a Sacramento-based producer to teach her about the production world and learn about producers while making music at a local recording studio. While experiencing this opportunity, Monét learned about Rodney Jerkins, also known as Darkchild, and he invited her to Los Angeles to audition for a new girl group he was forming Purple Reign. A year later, Motown signed the group to a record deal, but they were dropped before they could put out any songs. Following the group’s breakup, Monét turned to songwriting as a means of subsistence as she awaited the development of her solo musical career. A track from Diddy Dirty Money’s 2010 album Last Train to Paris was the first song she worked on. Before sending the demos out, she kept writing song ideas and sang the parts herself. She hoped the labels would receive her rendition well, allowing them to continue pushing her as a feature.
Later that day, Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman heard one of her demos and offered her a record deal. Even though she was signed, Monét acknowledged that her songwriting “took off” before her music while working on both. During the early years of her music career, songwriting continued to be her primary source of revenue. Monét’s first EP, Nightmares & Lullabies: Act 1, was released on October 30, 2014, and her second EP, Nightmares & Lullabies – Act 2, was published on June 17, 2015, through Atlantic Records.
While Grande was on her Sweetener World Tour, Victoria Monét and Ariana Grande released the single “Monopoly” in April of 2019. The song marked Monét’s debut on the chart as an artist when it debuted at No. 70 on the Billboard Hot 100. Monét debuted on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart at No. 16 that same week.
In June 2020, Monét announced her debut project, Jaguar, which she disclosed will be released in three parts and eventually come together to form her debut studio album. Part one of Jaguar was released in August of that year, and in 2023, she released Jaguar II, which is currently nominated for Best Engineered Album, Best R&B Album, and Best New Artists. As well as her song “On My Mama” has been nominated for Record of the Year and Best R&B Song for the 66th Grammys.
Songwriting Credits
Songs for other artists have long been a part of Monét’s repertoire. While her credits include 90+ songs, these are a few:
- I Hate That You Love Me – Diddy Dirty Money (https://youtu.be/mDJwA6_KDP4)
- Be Alright – Ariana Grande (https://youtu.be/eBAHqRnSgRw)
- Let Me Love You – Ariana Grande (https://youtu.be/5WL672bjJgM)
- Thank U Next – Ariana Grande (https://youtu.be/gl1aHhXnN1k)
- Monopoly – (featuring Victoria Monét) by Ariana Grande (https://youtu.be/t0pryRrJvfI)
- Memories Back Then – T.I., B.o.B, and Kendrick Lamar (https://youtu.be/a2Gh3VdnXQs)
- Drunk Texting – Chris Brown (https://youtu.be/UZR7cXEA-_Y)
- Everlasting Love – Fifth Harmony (https://youtu.be/1JAIuPq_HPg)
- Them Girls Be Like – Fifth Harmony (https://youtu.be/qKs_G5W9q3A)
- Reflection – Fifth Harmony (https://youtu.be/BTDXAYl5M38)
- We Know – Fifth Harmony (https://youtu.be/Jqwm5K-5vtg)
- You Wouldn’t Understand – Nas (https://youtu.be/BmWTop8xKtU)
- Visual Love – Chrisette Michele (https://youtu.be/KlmYcVvqx0o)
- Do it – Chloe x Halle (https://youtu.be/a9HIaGcBocc)
- Rather Be – Brandy (https://youtu.be/aiYk31dJlt4)
- Ice Cream – Blackpink and Selena Gomez (https://youtu.be/gazx7220q0g)
- Introduction – T.I. (https://youtu.be/z7QaGTOrbDI)
- Déjà Vu – Coco Jones (https://youtu.be/t40HLe5uamM)
