Coco Jones
“Having to perform live with a bunch of grown musicians, you’ve got to learn how to put on a show.”
If her near-lifelong career is any indication, Coco Jones has put in the work. As a kid, the Tennessee native sang Whitney Houston covers at Nashville talent shows before rising as a Disney star in the 2012 film “Let It Shine.” After parting ways with Disney’s record label, the now 26-yearold regrouped, releasing music independently and then signing with High Standardz/def Jam in 2022. Since then, she’s reemerged as an R&B scion with her breakthrough “What I Didn’t Tell You” EP and its neo-soul single “ICU,” balancing a sold-out international tour with a role on Peacock’s “Bel-air.” Up next: five Grammy nominations, including best new artist, and a much clearer vision.
• What was it like learning you were nominated for the 2024 Grammys? I was on a plane and I was asleep and my phone kept vibrating, and I was like wow, this turbulence is really something. I looked at my phone and had all these congratulations texts, and so many people were like, “Five!” I was like, what is five? And then when I finally landed, the number of nominations blew me away. I think the whole thing is, to get one is such a surreal feeling. But then to have five? It’s hard to describe. It feels crazy.
• You’re nominated for best new artist, but you’ve been working since you were a kid. How does it feel to be considered new at this point? I feel like I’m prepared, but I am a new person and I don’t want people to assume that I’m only that one little girl from the Disney Channel. I didn’t feel that way myself. It was, to me, reintroducing myself to the world. It all did feel very new to me. But also déjà vu to me.
• You came up performing in Nashville at a young age. Did you feel like an alternative to the country scene? To me, it taught me a lot. Having to perform live with a bunch of grown musicians, you’ve got to learn how to put on a show. And I also think it also taught me about lyrics. I think country music has some amazing lyrics, and I got to work with songwriters who maybe this was their first time working on anything R&B. But it can teach you a lot to see other people’s strategies and how they create.
• “What I Didn’t Tell You” feels like a rebirth. Is that what you intended? I envisioned reintroducing myself to the world and who I wanted them to see me as. I think it was also very strategic because a lot of people have seen me on “Bel-air” or know me from TV. So to make songs that really cut through, you have to be very strategic. I feel like there was a lot of good that comes with already being known and having that nostalgia effect. But it’s a challenge, too, to rebrand, and I think my team really helped me to find that right combination of everything.
• You’ve been through a lot of ups and downs. Were you ever disillusioned by how your career was unfolding? The only thing that is worth anything will cost something. I’m not trying to do anything easy right now. But I have to do this. Maybe that was the main feeling of craziness. I must keep going in this! You have to be a little crazy, because it’s uncomfortable at times, it doesn’t make sense at times and it’s illogical at times. But the payoff is worth all the uncertainty.