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New York — NEW YORK (AP) – Victoria Monét won’t take it personally if you call her album a comeback, even if it’s only a three-year hiatus.
“It should be normal to take time to create your next album. I know we live in a world where we want everything fast,” said the three-time Grammy winner in an interview with the Associated Press. For inspiration, she said she had to let life take its course.
“I’m fine with people wanting more music or feeling like, ‘Dang, I missed it.’ Or this is a return, because that makes me feel that there was a gap in time where they noticed that I was gone,” said the artist.
The “On My Mama” singer returns Friday with “Frequency of Love,” a 22-track studio project that follows her 2023 Grammy-winning “Jaguar II.”
The new album is led by singles like the restaurant “Reach Out”, yacht R&“Juicy” and “Let Me,” a B-inspired slow-burner that already reached No. 1 on Billboard’s adult R&Table B airplay. Some of the new work features heavyweights Bruno Mars and SZA, as well as R&B hitters Bryson Tiller, Leon Thomas and Chloe Bailey.
“I’m really, really, really passionate about love. … A lot of it was just reflecting what I was going through or feeling while going back,” said Monét, who first considered creating an R-yacht.&B table. “The album covers a lot of bases, including love for my daughter, love for the world, what I want to see for it.”
“Frequency of Love,” an executive produced by Camper, takes listeners on a sonic journey beyond romance, with multiple interpretations of the ’90s classic R.&B songs were cleverly scattered throughout.
“Almost,” which includes a reference to Brandy’s “Almost Doesn’t Count,” is a sensitive take on feeling sexually unsatisfied, while “For You” reprises Kenny Lattimore’s classic romantic ballad. “Care for Somebody (Interlude)” is Monét’s rendition of a song she first encountered as a child while watching Halle Berry in “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge” with her grandmother.
Michael Jackson’s musical growth between “Off the Wall” and “Thriller” fueled Monét’s creative process. While she is quick to stop any comparison with the commercial and critical acclaim of one of the most progressive artists in music, she aimed to direct the same risky artwork.
“I didn’t do ‘Thriller,'” Monét said. “I made my version of what I would do with that in mind.”
The singer, 37, is well aware of heightened expectations. But she was a little unprepared for some negativity following her 2024 Grammy wins for best new artist, best R.&B and best non-classical engineering record.
“I think there was a flip from me as an underdog that everyone wanted to support,” she said. “If I can get millions of supporters, I can also have millions of haters. But who do I care about? And that’s what the album is about for me.”
Recently serving as a special guest on the European leg of Bruno Mars’ “The Romantic” tour, Monét is preparing for her own “Frequency of Love” dates, visiting 27 North American cities starting at the end of October.
After starting her career writing songs for Ariana Grande, Blackpink, Chloe x Halle and Selena Gomez, Monét is still interested in writing collaborations and working with “unexpected” artists. She also dreams of writing scripted TV and film projects, including comedy.
A creative at heart, Monét recently graduated from the Wars Education Institute as its top student. During the class, she would listen to music related to the country of the dish she was preparing. Often feeding her production team during recording sessions, she says that the energy of international music, and the camaraderie that food and fellowship bring, would influence some of the acoustic sounds of her songs.
So why would a player at the height of her career become a chef?
“Maybe a revolution. … I want to do something that I won’t get paid for, that I’m not defined by,” said Monét. “You don’t have to make your schedule around the obvious things that will pay you. And you never know where it will take you.”
“Frequency Love” pretty much dictates where her career goes next. But Monét hopes to move with purpose and a spirit of gratitude, which she prioritizes throughout her life.
“I went through a moment where I was criticizing everything. I was looking around and seeing what could be better: criticizing myself, the workplace, the state of my mood, the state of the music, the state of the voice, my body, just picking everything up,” she said. “And so, it’s been a real journey to come to a place where I can operate in that shift — that paradigm shift — that makes me okay with everything that is, and also okay with everything that’s coming.”
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Follow Associated Press entertainment reporter Gary Gerard Hamilton at @GaryGHamilton on his social media platforms.
