Whereas a lot of the main target of Victoria Monét’s triple-Grammy haul was on her greatest new artist win, one other trophy represents a historic victory that might assist break down extra limitations for all girls within the music trade — her win for greatest engineered album.
The white-hot singer-songwriter is the primary Black lady to win the award within the present’s 66-year historical past, since she co-engineered her major-label debut album, Jaguar II.
She is the fourth lady to take residence the coveted Grammy, following earlier wins by Imogen Heap, Trina Shoemaker and Emily Lazar. When Monét — who writes and produces her music and has crafted hits for Ariana Grande, Blackpink, Chloe x Halle and Chris Brown — speaks to THR a couple of weeks after that magical night time to replicate on the groundbreaking milestone, she says, “It’s a phenomenal factor.”
However she additionally provides that “it says rather a lot” concerning the trade. As a substitute of questioning the previous, she’d prefer to look ahead. “[I’m] seeing increasingly feminine engineers, extra feminine Black engineers, extra even beginning as little as youngsters. There’s a program known as Ladies Make Beats, and so they train little women engineer; they train them make beats and use sure beat applications, after which they exit into the general public and do performances and seminars and stuff,” Monét explains. “I’m trying ahead to seeing extra of this, however it’s telling about the place we’re within the course of.”
Ladies make up lower than 3 p.c of engineers within the music trade, in line with a latest USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative examine. Increasingly acquire recognition through the years, and several other feminine engineers had been nominated for album of the yr on the Grammys, together with Laura Sisk, Catherine Marks, Sarah Tudzin, Jayda Love and Yáng Tan. However the trade nonetheless has a main downside.
Victoria Monét.
Catherine Powell/Getty Pictures
Monét — who additionally gained the Grammy for greatest R&B album — shared her engineering award with John Kercy, Kyle Mann, Patrizio “Teezio” Pigliapoco, Neal Pogue, Todd Robinson and Colin Leonard. The 34-year-old singer-songwriter-dancer reveals how she added the producer and engineer titles to her résumé and remembers receiving flowers from Beyoncé.
Did you all the time produce and engineer if you recorded music within the studio?
I feel I’ve been a producer for longer than I knew I used to be a producer. I didn’t know earlier than that the definition didn’t must be utilized to truly enjoying an instrument or urgent any explicit button. Generally the best way Quincy Jones produces, he doesn’t contact a factor, he simply orchestrates and places collectively what he feels is critical. So for so long as I can keep in mind, after I’m concerned in one thing, I’ve been type of producing it — whether or not it’s a dance efficiency in highschool, I’m like, “How about we fade the music right here, put this track with this track?” and transferring issues round. So after I acquired into the studio area, it was pure for me to voice my opinions concerning the path I felt the music ought to go.
And engineering?
I used to be launched to that via a relationship. I used to be relationship somebody for six years who was a producer, and we used to do all of our music collectively and lived collectively. Each second at our home was music. I’d have numerous concepts at random occasions. He was like, “It’s essential document your self.” I used to be like, “OK, simply present me. I’ll ensure that I can document it.” I pulled the mic as much as Professional Instruments and began recording my audio and enhancing and making an attempt to combine it and stability it out. Earlier than that, it was GarageBand, making an attempt to document from my laptop computer and determine all of these technicalities.
Does it really feel good understanding you’ll be able to soar in to complete a track since you put on so many hats?
It positively is empowering to know what’s occurring. I’ve had occasions within the studio the place an engineer wasn’t conscious that I knew Professional Instruments. They are saying they will’t do one thing, after which I’ll simply soar in, “That is like this after which like this.” I relate rather a lot to the scene in Renaissance when Beyoncé was combating for her imaginative and prescient and defined the hurdles she faces as a Black lady. She nonetheless has to show herself and be heard, even with the authority she has greater than earned. Realizing this permits me to not be bullshitted as a lot.
Victoria Monet and Beyoncé attend 2024 Grammy Awards.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Pictures
What was it like assembly her on the Grammys?
Insane, loopy. There was some extent the place she regarded over at me and mouthed my identify to say hello, and I couldn’t imagine it, so I spent the time that she was taking a look at me being shocked as a substitute of claiming hey again. And my supervisor was like, “It is best to go say hello to her.” I stated, “Completely not. Everybody’s making an attempt to get to her proper now. She in all probability wants area.” I went and stated hey. We spoke a bit, after which [she] despatched me flowers. I’m like, “You sort lady, are you making an attempt to take me out?” As a result of I’m going to move out. Go simple on me.
Your historic win is opening doorways for different girls. Who’re a number of the creators you are feeling opened doorways for you?
Imogen Heap. [She] is type of self-contained and she or he’ll go in and document herself, and from begin to end has that means. I feel I’ve actually been impressed by LaShawn Daniels as an engineer and vocal producer, so I do know much more about how I need issues to sound once they’re layered and panning vocals and sure issues.
However so far as iconic feminine engineers, I need there to be so many extra. I do know there’s so many who exist, however I feel due to gender and judgment, individuals are likely to respect them much less for some cause. I feel if you go in and also you see a feminine engineer sitting there, individuals have stated, “Oh, the place’s the engineer?” And so they’re like, “Proper right here.” [It’s about] seeing it extra and making it normalized and offering the area to offer alternatives to the females, particularly Black feminine engineers.
Victoria Monet has co-written quite a lot of Ariana Grande hits, together with “7 Rings,” “Thank U, Subsequent” and “34+35.”
Dave Hogan/Getty Pictures
Once I interviewed you in 2021, it was the primary time you had been competing on the Grammys, and it was on your songwriting and manufacturing work with Ariana Grande and Chloe x Halle, and also you stated you needed to win 16 Grammys and mirror the greats like Beyoncé. How does it really feel to know you’re inching towards that purpose?
It’s truthfully actually, actually magical. As a result of there’s some issues that I write down that I need to accomplish that I type of, not neglect about, however it’s not like I’m saying them within the mirror every single day. However one among my workforce members despatched me this listing that we made in 2021. We went to Palm Springs and I did slightly presentation for my workforce and I wrote my targets for Jaguar and made one other binder, and numerous these targets got here to fruition.
I imagine within the energy of manifestation, writing issues down, visualization. I feel writing them down is, particularly, an enormous key to it. But it surely’s actually, actually wonderful. Now I’m making an attempt to consider the subsequent set of issues and never suppose [that] something is simply too large as a result of at this level. So many large issues have occurred that perhaps individuals would’ve thought had been too large for me.
Do you are feeling like your life has modified because you’ve gained three Grammys?
To be trustworthy, individuals are treating me slightly bit completely different. (Laughs.) I’m not going to lie. There’s been some change in power, which is cool. I’m going to take it, however for essentially the most half, I’m simply actually making an attempt to focus, hold my head down, hold working and make the most of all of the alternatives which can be coming now.
Your track “On My Mama” continues to be charting …
It went platinum at this time! I’m so excited. It’s my first platinum document.
You wrote the track whereas battling postpartum?
Sure. It was the primary track I wrote after having Hazel that I loved. I had simply accomplished a verse and a pre-hook and the hook. There was no second verse. Then I did the second verse in all probability a yr later. I used to be making an attempt to search for a function for it and ended up simply doing it myself. So that you type of get two variations. The very first verse and hook was accomplished after I was slightly bit extra depressed and wanted to listen to the hook phrases, after which by the second verse, I truly felt that manner. So it’s such as you get two levels of postpartum in the identical track unknowingly. It grew to become a very nice track for affirmations for me, but in addition made me need to dance. So the mixture of the 2 was actually useful.
Do you continue to plan to write down songs for different artists?
I’m positively open to writing for different individuals, however it’s actually arduous to search out the time at this level. For instance, my subsequent six or seven months are fairly mapped out, so relying on when individuals are in search of songs and want the time, it’s arduous to type of match these issues in. I do really feel like my artist profession is my precedence for now, and I all the time can return to writing in between my albums. I’m at present engaged on my subsequent [album]; except it’s a track that I’m that includes with one other artist on, it’s unlikely — except it’s one among my favourite, favourite, favourite individuals.
An abbreviated model of this story first appeared within the March 14 concern of The Hollywood Reporter journal. Click on right here to subscribe.
