Coco Jones on the road from Disney Channel to Grammy winner: 'Never give up'
"It was really Plan A or nothing," says Coco Jones.
Her journey from Disney Channel's 2012 musical "Let It Shine" to five-time nominee and first-time winner at the 2024 Grammys has been a struggle.
"I could never give up. I wasn't ready to live with the what-ifs of walking away, moving back home and starting another career from scratch, finding another passion. Now, that's another version of hard," says Jones, 26.
As a first-time Grammy nominee, she's proving she deserves a seat at the table.
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Coco Jones on best new artist Grammy nomination: 'Everything's right on time'
Jones won for best R&B performance and was nominated for best R&B song, best R&B album, best traditional R&B performance and best new artist.
She'll compete against seven other acts for best new artist, considered one of the big four Grammy awards, including Victoria Monét, who wrote her 2013 song "Déjà Vu," and says "I want to see her win just as much as I want to see myself win."
Each year, the best new artist category is debated. Are the artists new or did the Recording Academy take a long time to catch up?
Jones views it as a "respectable" timeline, especially because it's a category that encompasses all genres. "The competition is stiff," she says.
"I don't necessarily look at it like you're late. I look at it like everything's right on time," she adds. "I had to become the best version of myself, and I wasn't ready for any of this at any time before now."
What happened to Coco Jones?
The "What I Didn't Tell You" artist was a Disney gem as the lead in "Let It Shine" followed by guest appearances on "Good Luck Charlie."
But rather than getting the star treatment of Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez, Jones was let go from Disney Music Group-owned label Hollywood Records in 2014 and forced to start over.
In 2022, she was signed to Def Jam. There, she released hit single "ICU" and EP "What I Didn't Tell You." Her music climbed R&B charts, earned her best new artist wins at the BET Awards, Soul Train Music Awards and NAACP Image Awards, and her first Grammy nominations.
"I'm so excited just to be at the Grammys as a contender. This would be my second time going, but it's such a different experience when they're going to call out my name to some sort of degree. I'm probably going to feel like I'm in some sort of hallucination," she says. "And I can't wait to hopefully leave there with something. That's really what I wanna feel. I wanna feel that win."
Coco Jones on the impact of faith and growing up in church
The South Carolina-born, Tennessee-raised artist says she's had God with her throughout her industry woes and credits Him for her success.
"My faith has definitely been what kept me hopeful," Jones says. "I can practice writing songs and (do) vocal lessons every day. I can go to dance classes and work on my choreography. I can write scripts, read scripts, watch films (and) study them. All of those things I can do on my own, but the doors, I could never open them myself," she says.
While she's known for being relentless in her pursuits and her hardworking Capricorn drive, Jones credits God for pushing her through those final moments when she wanted to give up.
"It's up to God. It's up to someone way, way more powerful than me who has a plan that I just won't always understand," she says.
Church and gospel music was also influential in the way her R&B has taken shape. Jones explains that as someone in the church choir, you need to help people emotionally feel connected to God in a way "that helps them get to the next week and their next goal or whatever they're going through."
"You really have to share your heart and be vulnerable," she adds, otherwise the congregation is going to notice a lack of passion. "I was belting, girl. And so I learned about making people feel at a young age."
Coco Jones discusses fighting back against colorism
The "Bel-Air" actor has always been open about the way colorism has affected her rise to stardom, but she doesn't want that to deter other young Black girls from pursuing their dreams. Rather, she sees her Grammy nominations as a symbol of overcoming obstacles.
"Just because I have to work harder and I have to wait longer doesn't mean that it has anything to do with my value, anything to do with my beauty, anything to do with my worth or my talent," she says, adding that she aims to combat "colorism and all of the things that it affects and just continuing to force people to see me."
Jones continued, "It's really, really rewarding to be a representative of so many young Black girls who want to dream big and want to express themselves through music, through arts (and) fill in the blank."
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What's next for Coco Jones?
"What I Didn't Tell You" is Jones' first taste of critical acclaim, but it's also one step closer to her multi-hyphenate desires.
She may dabble with a new brand, a philanthropic endeavor, or country music. "Eventually my goal is to have music that is genre-bending and to see Coco Jones on every playlist," she teases.
Her debut album is also on the horizon. "I really want that to come out this summer and I want to up my goals (and) the reach that my music brings in," Jones says.
A dream come true, and one fans are rooting for, would be playing Princess Tiana if Disney does a live-action remake of 2009's "The Princess and the Frog."
Disney has not announced any plans to do a remake, but in January 2022, Walt Disney Animation Studios executive Jennifer Lee told The Hollywood Reporter she had writer and director Stella Meghie pitch a streaming series to Disney’s live-action studio. Nothing had progressed at that time.
Jones stirred attention when she posted a mock audition tape in March on social media and again with her convincing Halloween costume as the New Orleans princess.
"I really was just playing along with the trend and with the topic that had been stirred up with me playing Tiana," Jones said of her costume.
Disney's official Instagram account also commented, "Your voice shines as bright as the Evening Star 🌟." But there have been no official conversations, according to Jones.
"I would do that if that was a real opportunity. I, of course, would love to represent a Black princess," she says.
Until then, fans can patiently wait for Jones' on-screen return in Season 3 of Peacock's "Bel-Air" as Hilary Banks.
"Hilary loading," she teased on her Instagram Story on Jan. 24.
Meet the other best new artist nominees
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coco Jones on Grammy win, God and motivation: 'I could never give up'
