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Grammy nominee Victoria Monét on making history: “One step closer to a really big dream”
Victoria Monét is believed to be making history with her seven Grammy nominations — the most of an openly queer, Black woman artist in a single year. Her 2-year-old daughter, Hazel, is also breaking records as the youngest Grammy nominee ever with her nod for Best Traditional R&B Performance as a featured artist alongside Earth, Wind & Fire on Monét’s hit song “Hollywood.”
When Monét heard her name among the 66th Annual Grammy Awards nominees, she was floored.
“There wasn’t even a break in between enough to digest the first one,” Monét, 34, told “CBS Mornings” co-anchor Gayle King in an interview for the show’s “Road to the Grammys” series. “I would’ve been enamored at one.”
Grammy nominations
Monét is nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (Jaguar II); Best R&B Album (Jaguar II); Best R&B Song (“On My Mama”); Best Traditional R&B Performance (“Hollywood”); Best R&B Performance (“How Does It Make You Feel”); Best New Artist (Jaguar II) and Record Of The Year (“On My Mama”).
“Like, this is one step closer to a really big dream. But to have them repeatedly happen was like, ‘God, you are really showing out right now,'” Monét said.
Monét’s now Grammy-nominated anthem, “On My Mama,” has made countless “Best of 2023” lists, and the music video’s catchy choreography has taken the internet by storm.
“Now it’s beyond my circle of people that can even tag me or send me things. It’s in the church. Like, people are doing sermons on it, and singing,” Monét said of the song becoming a viral sensation. She said the record “feels fun and twerkable,” with a general message spanning from her grandma to her mom and her daughter.
Recording “On My Mama”
“On My Mama” was recorded weeks after Monét had her daughter, Hazel, and she has said she was struggling with postpartum depression.
“At the time, I was recording lots of songs that I just didn’t feel confident about. My voice had changed. I didn’t really know what to write about because there was a pandemic. So I didn’t live much life. And I’m here with a new baby, breastfeeding in the studio. I’m like, “What do I say?'” Monét recalled.
Eventually, Monét said the lyrics became words of affirmation and a mantra.
“So it’s like, I don’t feel fly. I don’t feel like I look good right now. But I’m gonna say it anyway until I believe it,” Monét said.
As an artist, Monét hopes to continue to explore new sounds that can touch different generations. She has a soft spot for music from the ’60s and ’70s, which her grandparents played.
“I heard you said you want music that people could play in a smoky bedroom or the family reunion,” King said.
“I want the generation from — where that music was their prime to appreciate it but also my generation to find some of the lyrics fun and use them as captions. So I want to have that juxtaposition,” Monét agreed.
Making history
Monét, who describes herself as bisexual, admits it was a long journey to get to a point where she felt comfortable being herself.
“It took so long. It — I mean, over half of my life to feel comfortable enough to say anything,” Monét told King. “So I feel now is the time to stand my ground, and be proud of what I am, and who I am.”
CBS Mornings
And Monét has a lot to be proud of — as a mom and an artist. Hazel, who she called her “little mini-me,” could become the youngest Grammy Award winner in history and will be attending the star-studded ceremony alongside her mom.
“I’m visualizing it. … I’m like, “What is it — what do I smell like? What does it — how heavy are they? Does my daughter have one? Is she next to me? What team members are around me? Who do I wanna thank? I’m really doing strong visualizations because they’re so close,” Monét said.
“You’re in striking distance. And you’ve got seven chances to do it,” King laughed.
The Grammys will be broadcast live on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ on Sunday, Feb. 4, beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.