Victoria Monet
| Victoria Monet | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Victoria Monet McCants |
| Born |
May 1, 1993 California, United States |
| Origin | Sacramento, California, United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | Atlantic Records |
| Associated acts | |
Victoria Monet McCants (born May 1, 1993), known professionally as Victoria Monet, is an American singer and songwriter. She became involved in performing arts at a young age, singing in the youth choir at her church and performing in a city dance team. She soon took to writing and began working with producer Rodney Jerkins (aka Darkchild). Currently signed to Atlantic Records, Monet recently released her debut EP Nightmares & Lullabies - Act 1 and has since released her follow up EP Nightmares & Lullabies - Act 2. She has also written songs for artists such as Fifth Harmony, Ariana Grande, Nas, T.I., GOOD Music, Lupe Fiasco, Chrisette Michele, Coco Jones, Chris Brown, Diddy Dirty Money, Janelle Monae, and Jasmine V.
Early life
Monet was born in Georgia, and moved to Sacramento, California as a child.[1] She was fascinated with performing arts, taking an interest in singing and dancing. Her first onstage experience came when she sang in her Catholic school holiday plays. She also sang in the youth choir at her local church but it was dance that initially gave her a sense of herself as a performer. By the time she became a student at the local performing arts high school, Monet had developed a grueling rehearsal schedule. She taught at two different dance studios and rehearsed with a local dance group, Boogie Monstarz, at Step One Dance Studios in Sacramento, while working at a local bank.
Career
Outside of dance rehearsals, Monet began exchanging poetry with an older cousin and found a new passion. This soon translated into her writing her own music. Meanwhile, she had been educating herself on the production world, learning about the big names and making music at local recording studio. She learned about Rodney Jerkins (aka Darkchild) and decided to add him on Myspace.[2] Shortly after that, he invited her to come to Los Angeles and audition for a new girl group he was forming, Purple Reign (band).[3] The group landed a record deal with Motown a year later. The group was eventually dropped from the label.
Soon her hooks and songs found their way to Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Ariana Grande, Nas, T.I., B.o.B, Chrisette Michele, Mario and Diddy Dirty Money, among others.[4] She was able to catch the attention of Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman who offered her a record deal.[1] On October 30, 2014, Monet released her debut EP Nightmares & Lullabies - Act 1 and on June 17, 2015, She released her follow up EP Nightmares & Lullabies - Act 2 under Atlantic Records.[5][6]
Songwriting
Monet has a long history of writing songs for other artists. In 2010, she helped pen "I Hate That You Love Me" by Diddy Dirty Money and went on to co-write songs such as "My Everything", "Only 1", and "Cadillac Song" by Ariana Grande; "Memories Back Then" by T.I., B.o.B and Kendrick Lamar; "Drunk Texting" by Chris Brown; "Everlasting Love", "Them Girls Be Like", "Reflection", "We Know", and "No Way" by Fifth Harmony; "You Wouldn’t Understand" by Nas; "Sin City" by GOOD Music; "Visual Love" by Chrisette Michele; and "Live on Tonight" by T.I..
Discography
EPs
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Nightmares & Lullabies: Act 1 |
|
| Nightmares & Lullabies: Act 2 |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B/HH | US R&B | |||
| "Made in China"[9] (featuring Ty Dolla Sign) |
2014 | — | — | — | Nightmares & Lullabies: Act 1 |
| "90's Babies"[10] | 2015 | — | — | — | Nightmares & Lullabies: Act 2 |
| "High Luv"[11] | — | — | — | ||
| "See the Light"[12] | — | — | — | ||
- Featured in
- 2012: "Live On Tonight" (T.I. feat. Victoria Monet)
- 2013: "You Wouldn't Understand" (Nas feat. Victoria Monet)
- 2014: "About My Issue" (T.I. feat. Victoria Monet and Nipsey Hussle)
- 2014: "Stay" (T.I. feat. Victoria Monet)
- 2015: "A Little More" (Machine Gun Kelly feat. Victoria Monet)
Production and songwriting
| Year | Song | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | "Sin City" | GOOD Music | Cruel Summer |
| "Introduction" | T.I. | Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head | |
| "Live On Tonight" (featuring Victoria Monet) | |||
| 2013 | |||
| "Malice In Wonderland" | Victoria Monet | ||
| "Déjà Vu" | Coco Jones | Made Of | |
| "Honeymoon Avenue" | Ariana Grande | Yours Truly | |
| "Daydreamin'" | |||
| "Visual Love" | Chrisette Michele | Better | |
| "You Wouldn't Understand" (featuring Victoria Monet) |
Nas | Life Is Good | |
| 2014 | "Would You Wait" | Victoria Monet | |
| "Intro" | Ariana Grande | My Everything | |
| "My Everything" | |||
| "Only 1" | |||
| "Cadillac Song" | |||
| 2015 | "Everlasting Love" | Fifth Harmony | Reflection |
| "Them Girls Be Like" | |||
| "Reflection" | |||
| "We Know" | |||
| "A Little More" (featuring Victoria Monet) |
Machine Gun Kelly | General Admission | |
| "Intro" | Ariana Grande | Christmas & Chill | |
| "Wit It This Christmas" | |||
| "December" | |||
| "Not Just on Christmas" | |||
| "True Love" | |||
| "Winter Things" | |||
| "Double Tap" (featuring 2 Chainz) |
Jordin Sparks | Right Here, Right Now | |
| 2016 | "Moonlight" | Ariana Grande | Dangerous Woman |
| "Be Alright" | |||
| "Let Me Love You" | |||
References
- 1 2 "Victoria Monet". ASCAP EXPO. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ↑ YKIGS. "Interview: Victoria Monet Talks Nightmares & Lullabies Project, Working With Ariana Grande, & Signing With Atlantic Records". YouKnowIGotSoul.com. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ↑ "Profile: Victoria Monet". Soul Train. December 12, 2014.
- ↑ Bossip Staff. "New Music: Victoria Monet Releases "Nightmares & Lullabies" Act I". Bossip. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ↑ ThisIsRnB. "New Music: Victoria Monet - Nightmares & Lullabies (Act 1) EP". THISISRnB. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ↑ JUSMUSIC, DJ. "Atlantic Recording Artist Victoria Monet Drops 'Nightmares & Lullabies' ACT 1". Singers Room. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ↑ "Nightmares & Lullabies: Act 1 – EP". Apple. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
- ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/nightmares-lullabies-act-2/id1004805407
- ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/made-in-china-feat.-ty-dolla/id911556295
- ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/90s-babies-single/id989391388
- ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/high-luv-single/id996280781
- ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/see-the-light-single/id1000550780