Victoria Monét took home the trophy for Best New Artist at the 2024 Grammy Awards. Jazz musician Samara Joy, who won in the same field last year, presented the award to the 34-year-old singer-songwriter.
“Thank you so much to the champagne servers of tonight,” Monét began, before thanking her mom, (“A single mom raising this really bad girl!”) and describing the “15-year pursuit” she embarked on after moving to Los Angeles in 2009 for her career. She compared herself to a plant, roots growing underground, finally sprouting to the world.
Monét, who released her debut album Jaguar II last year, claimed victory over the seven other nominees, who included Gracie Abrams, Fred Again.., Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, and the War and Treaty. In recent years, the award has gone to Joy, Olivia Rodrigo, Megan Thee Stallion, Billie Eilish, and Dua Lipa.
Jaguar II earned Monét additional nominations including Best R&B Album. The hit single “On My Mama” scored nods for Record of the Year and Best R&B Song, while “How Does It Make You Feel” was nominated for Best R&B Performance. Monét’s nomination for Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Hollywood” was the cherry on top. The song features Earth, Wind & Fire, as well as the singer’s two-year-old daughter Hazel, the youngest Grammy nominee in the show’s history.
Monét has more than earned her throne beneath the spotlight. (Check out her 2013 tweet, where she said she was dreaming of winning a Grammy). For more than a decade, she supported her independent career in music as a songwriter for Ariana Grande, Fifth Harmony, Chloe x Halle, Blackpink, Shontelle, and more artists.
“Music has really been a guiding factor for me. When I get into the studio, that’s the time where I really don’t have much of a plan. I have my arms open and I exercise the art of allowing whatever [to happen],” Monét told Rolling Stone last year. “I almost look at ideas like things that are blowing in the wind — they happen to blow past me and if I catch them, great. They might be great ideas, and some of them are not so great, but I feel like creativity can flow to anybody. So when I go into the studio, I just try to have my arms open, rooted in what I love sonically and what I gravitate towards musically.”