Coco Jones talks about receiving five Grammy nominations, what's next for her role as Hilary Banks in the show 'Bel-Air,' her song for 'The Color Purple' soundtrack, how she is planning to top the success she saw with her hit song "ICU," performing in front of her hometown Nashville, why she loves her collab with Reneé Rapp and more!
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MusicTranscript
00:00 I guess look at music creation from the standpoint of what do you want the final world to be?
00:04 Where do you want these songs to live and how do you want to feel on stage?
00:07 Because you're going to do that every day.
00:09 Hey y'all, it's Coco Jones and you're watching Billboard News.
00:12 [Music]
00:37 First off, happy new year. How are you feeling now that we're officially in 2024?
00:41 I'm excited. I think I learned a lot in 2023.
00:45 I just had a birthday and I'm ready for whatever challenges are up next.
00:50 Yeah. What do the Grammys mean to you and how does it feel to now have Grammy nominated in front of your name?
00:54 The Grammys are just a very respected group of people who earned their voice and earned
01:02 their credits and their credentials. To me, I respect everyone who is nominated and who
01:08 decides because I just feel like the Grammys also help up and coming artists, help up and
01:13 coming creatives. And so for them to recognize the work that I'm doing, it just feels very affirming.
01:20 You were up for five awards and I want to list them out because you deserve that.
01:28 You're up for Best New Artist.
01:29 ICU is up for Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song.
01:32 What I Didn't Tell You Deluxe is up for Best R&B Album.
01:35 And Simple with Babyface is up for Best Traditional R&B Performance. Congratulations.
01:40 Thank you.
01:41 Wow. Where were you when you first learned about those nominations?
01:44 When I first learned I was nominated, I was on the plane and I definitely was asleep.
01:49 My phone was vibrating so much. I was like, "This turbulence is crazy."
01:52 But what I realized is everyone was texting me congratulations.
01:55 So as soon as I landed, I was calling them back.
01:57 I know.
01:58 Oh my God, Kourtney. Five. Kourtney. Five. Kourtney.
02:04 Have you attended this ceremony before?
02:07 I just had my first time attending the Grammys last year.
02:10 And it's so fun to be there in real life compared to watching it.
02:15 I think for me, I'm excited to make new memories. I can't wait to bring my mom and
02:19 for her to see everything that we've been working for pay off just by even being nominated.
02:25 So out of the five awards, is there a particular one that you're really, really hoping for?
02:28 I mean, they all are amazing, but I think Best New Artist is genre-less.
02:32 It's really like in totality, you the artist, and that would be amazing to win.
02:37 Are you the kind of person to pre-write an acceptance speech?
02:39 You've won awards before, notably at both Soul Train and BET.
02:43 What goes through your head when your name is called?
02:45 I write out a speech for sure, just because I want to make sure that I thank everyone.
02:49 I guess what goes through my head is grateful.
02:52 Grateful to be considered and grateful to be chosen.
02:56 Every time I win anything, it's like an internal celebration.
03:01 You're also an actress. What can you tell us about the upcoming season of Bel Air?
03:04 I'm going to really miss you, Hu.
03:05 I'm going to miss you too. And look, I'll always be here if you ever need to talk. Okay?
03:12 Well, I'm excited. I think a lot is still up in the air. We just ended the strike and I know
03:17 everybody's getting back to work and I'm happy that we all get to. I am not sure what's in store
03:22 for Hillary. I definitely want it to be surprising though. I'm like, let's up the stakes.
03:27 Right. What about the wardrobe? Let's get into that. Are you excited to see the new wardrobe
03:30 for Hillary? I'm absolutely excited to see Hillary's wardrobe. She eats every time.
03:33 Every time. Now, speaking of film and TV, you recently contributed a song to the
03:37 Color Purple soundtrack. What did it mean to be involved in such an iconic piece of Black media?
03:48 I think I was really blessed to be able to have the doors open for me to be able to be on the
03:53 soundtrack. I mean, the Color Purple is such a historic film in Black culture. So to be able to,
04:01 one, celebrate such a huge moment of bringing this movie back in a different way and with a more
04:07 modern feel and adding music, it just felt all very amazing and time stamp in history. So I was
04:13 happy to be a part of it. I know you're currently in the studio recording some new music. Where's
04:17 your head at regarding all of that and what's inspiring you right now? I'm really just trying
04:21 to challenge myself. I think I learned so much being on tour, picking my themes and colors and
04:27 helping to find that world and bring people into it that I want to up the creative and up all of
04:35 the song concepts. So I'm just excited to see what else I can do with that new knowledge that I have.
04:40 What was your favorite crowd to perform for on tour?
04:42 That is tough, but I'm going to have to say my city, Nashville. What?
04:47 Yo.
04:47 They were going off. It was so loud. Couldn't hear a thing.
04:50 [Music]
05:00 So describe your music making process to me. What are the do's and don'ts of a Coco Jones
05:03 studio session? There's not really any don'ts. The only don't is don't make a don't.
05:09 Like just try anything and you never know. I really, really try to not be afraid to go
05:16 there creatively and do something strange because it might hit or it might not. And that's okay.
05:23 You got to be able to like put the idea out there, see what happens, ignore it if it was rejected.
05:27 But that's the thing with music. You just have to try anything.
05:31 [Music]
05:37 Do you feel any pressure to make sure you create something that resonates as much as I see you did
05:41 or are you just letting the music come to you? Oh, I feel pressure for sure. But that's the
05:44 pressure I put on myself. Even if I wasn't doing music, I would be pressured to do better than what
05:49 I've already done. Like that's just the competitive in me, the athlete in me. I'm like, "All right,
05:55 let's do it. Let's double it." Really though, it all is just being authentic, being creative,
06:01 being free, not holding back. And the right songs do end up coming to you.
06:05 You've jumped on a slew of tracks over the past year. A collab with Brent Faiyaz,
06:10 Lil Tjay, Renee Rapp. Which of your 2020 collab was your favorite to record?
06:14 Well, that's hard to say because then somebody's going to be mad at me. Don't text me if I didn't
06:18 say you. I'm sorry. I have to say I really love the Renee Rapp.
06:21 [Music]
06:28 I think that was just so cool because it was mixing pop and R&B and that's something that
06:34 I want to do as well moving forward. So I liked that. To me, it was kind of foreshadowing.
06:40 Yeah. What makes you say yes to a collab?
06:42 I have to believe in the artists and believe in what they do, who they are. And I have to
06:48 like that song. I don't know if you know, but both X and TikTok have been obsessed with y'all's
06:54 rendition of "Tummy Hurts" on New Year's Eve. What was it like performing at such an iconic
06:58 and cold event? New Year's is just such an awesome time to be.
07:03 Whoever you want to be, to let go of anything that was painful and to grow and to just glow.
07:10 So I felt very perked. Nice. Okay. So to close off,
07:13 what's one lesson you learned in 2023 that you're bringing with you into 2024?
07:18 I guess a lesson that I learned is that everything's in seasons, you know? Sometimes
07:24 people come into your life for a season. Sometimes you have seasons where you don't
07:29 understand what's going on, but seasons are the weather. So like they must change and they must
07:34 evolve and they must go to something different and don't try to like hold on to whatever is out
07:40 last season. That is beautiful. Oh my God.
07:43 Just blew my wig off. Like what? That is it for me. Thank you so much.