# Coco Jones

Courtney Michaela Ann "Coco" Jones (born January 4, 1998) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Born in Columbia, South Carolina and raised in Lebanon, Tennessee, she began auditioning as a child to pursue a career in entertainment.
She first appeared on the competition series Radio Disney's Next Big Thing (2010–11), which led to her signing with the company's Hollywood Records and being cast in several Disney Channel properties: the sitcoms So Random! (2011–12) and Good Luck Charlie (2012–13), as well as 2012 film Let It Shine, where she co-starred with Tyler James Williams. Jones also signed with Hollywood Records as a recording artist after the release of her self-titled debut extended play (2010).
She returned to a recording career in 2022 and signed with Def Jam Recordings to release her single, "ICU", in October of that year. Her first hit song, it entered the Billboard Hot 100, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and won Best R&B Performance at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. The award was among five total nominations she received at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards—which included herself as a nominee for Best New Artist.
That same year, she was cast in the starring role for the Peacock drama series Bel-Air (2022–present). Her other accolades include a BET Award and an NAACP Image Award.

## Early life

Jones was born on January 4, 1998, in Columbia, South Carolina to former NFL player Mike Jones and session vocalist Javonda Jones, but raised in Lebanon, Tennessee. Her brother, Mike Jones Jr., is a current Atlanta Falcons linebacker. She has two other younger siblings, a sister Aja and brother Steven.
She performed "America the Beautiful" at her kindergarten graduation. At the age of nine, she met with the casting heads for Disney. After that, she became an actor and songwriter for the company.

## Career
### 2006–2013: Disney and Hollywood Records

In 2006, she competed on Radio Disney, where she became known for her song "Real You". In 2009, she was chosen to perform live on "The Most Talented Kids" episode of the Maury Povich Show. In 2011, she guest-starred on Disney Channel's television series So Random!. In 2010, Jones was the runner up during season 3 of Radio Disney's The Next Big Thing singing competition. Shortly after, she released her debut project Coco Jones, and began a concert tour revolving around the theme of anti-bullying called UBU-Stop the Bullying.
In June 2012, Jones played the lead role of Roxie in the television Disney movie, Let It Shine. The movie was the most watched Disney Channel Original Movie and most watched movie of the year for kids and tweens in 2012. Jones and the other main cast of Let It Shine performed at the 43rd Annual NAACP Image Awards Nominees Luncheon prior to the movie's release.
Jones signed a record deal with Hollywood Records and began working with Grammy-nominated producer Rob Galbraith, co-writing and recording all-new original music. Jones' debut single "Holla at the DJ" premiered on Radio Disney on December 6, 2012, with its release on iTunes the next day. The video for the track premiered on the Disney Channel on December 12, with a premiere on VEVO just afterwards. Her extended play Made Of was released on March 12, 2013, and it reached the top 10 of the Billboard Heatseekers chart. She toured with Mindless Behavior later that year. Jones performed with Mindless Behavior at Radio Disney's Radio Disney Music Awards, and took home an award for "Funniest Celebrity Take." Following the release of the EP, Jones worked in the studio with David Banner, Ester Dean, and Jukebox, with plans to release her debut album by August.

### 2014–2022: Independent music, film and television roles

In January 2014, Jones was dropped from Hollywood Records and recordings shelved. In August 2014 she put out a video for the song "Pepermint" and made it available on digital platforms a month later.
Jones was featured in a Fanta commercial in July 2017. Jones was featured in 1950s-era jazz film Flock of Four in April 2018. In September of that year she released a song called "Just My Luck" along with its music video.
On September 3, 2019, Jones released a song called "Depressed". On September 20, 2019, she released an 8-track EP titled H.D.W.Y..
In August 2020, it was announced Jones will appear in the upcoming holiday film White Elephant and horror film Vampires vs. the Bronx.
In September 2020, Jones talked about her negative experiences in the industry with colorism. According to her, executives decided she was not marketable enough after featuring in Let It Shine.
Jones released the single "Hollyweird" in November 2020.
In September 2021, Jones was cast in Peacock drama series Bel-Air, a reimagining of hit sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, in the role of Hilary Banks. The show would premiere in February 2022.

### 2022–present: Signing to Def Jam Recordings and What I Didn't Tell You

On March 20, 2022, Jones announced that she had signed a new artist deal with High Standardz and Def Jam Recordings. Her major label debut single "Caliber" was released on March 25, 2022, and also served as the lead single for her major label debut EP What I Didn't Tell You. After the release of the EP's second single "ICU", as well as the non-album Amazon Music exclusive single "Love is War", the EP was released on November 4, 2022.
A month prior to the EP's release, Jones was featured on Babyface's ninth album Girls Night Out, contributing vocals to the song "Simple". A music video for the song was also released a week later on October 31.
On January 20, 2023, Jones released the deluxe edition to her EP, which included "Simple" and three new tracks. Jones' single "ICU" reached No. 21 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, becoming her first Billboard entry. It later peaked at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100. On 30 January 2024, Jones signed an exclusive publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music. On February 10, Jones released "Love is War" on all streaming platforms, and four days later, released a Spotify-exclusive cover of "Until the End of Time" with Leon Thomas.
On April 6, 2024, Jones performed the National Anthem at night one of WrestleMania XL in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
On August 9, 2024, Jones partnered with Disney for a reimagined release of Princess Tiana’s "Almost There".
On August 16, 2024, Jones released her single "Sweep it up" with an accompanying visualizer and lyric video.
On November 22, 2024, Jones released her sixth extended play Coco By The Fireplace.

## Artistry

Jones has cited her biggest musical influences as Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Brandy Norwood, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Celine Dion, Etta James, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, CeCe Winans, and Mary J. Blige.

## Discography

Studio albums
* Why Not More? (2025)
Extended plays
* Coco Jones (2010)
* Made Of (2013)
* Let Me Check It (2017)
* H.D.W.Y. (2019)
* What I Didn't Tell You (2022)
* Coco by the Fireplace (2024)

## Filmography

Film and television roles :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2011–2012 | So Random! | Coco Blue | Recurring role, 5 episodes |
| 2012 | Let It Shine | Roxanne "Roxie" Andrews | Television film |
| 2012–2013 | Good Luck Charlie | Kelsey | Recurring role (seasons 3–4), 5 episodes |
| 2014 | The Exes | Vanessa | Episode: "Oh Brother Here Art Thou" |
| 2016 | Grandma's House | Kimberley | |
| 2017 | Flock of Four | Ava Moore | |
| 2018 | Five Points | Jayla | Recurring role |
| 2020 | Vampires vs. the Bronx | Rita | |
| 2021–2022 | T and Coco | Herself/host | YouTube series |
| 2022–2024 | Bel-Air | Hillary Banks | Main role |
| 2025 | The Voice | Herself/Advisor | Season 27 for Team Legend |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Organization | Award | Work | Result |
| 2022 | Give Her FlowHERS Awards | My Sister's Keeper Award | Herself and Akira Akbar | Won |
| 2022 | BET Awards | Best Actress | Bel-Air | Nominated |
| 2022 | Soul Train Awards | Best New Artist | Herself | Nominated |
| 2023 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding New Artist | Herself | Won |
| 2023 | BET Awards | Best New Artist | Herself | Won |
| 2023 | Soul Train Awards | Best New Artist | Herself | Won |
| 2023 | Soul Train Awards | Best R&B/SOUL Female Artist | Herself | Nominated |
| 2023 | Soul Train Awards | Album of the Year | What I Didn't Tell You (Deluxe) | Nominated |
| 2023 | Soul Train Awards | Song of the Year | "ICU" | Nominated |
| 2023 | Soul Train Awards | The Ashford and Simpson Songwriter's Award | "ICU" | Nominated |
| 2023 | Soul Train Awards | Video of the Year | "ICU" | Nominated |
| 2024 | Grammy Awards | Best R&B Performance | "ICU" | Won |
| 2024 | Grammy Awards | Best R&B Song | "ICU" | Nominated |
| 2024 | Grammy Awards | Best R&B Album | What I Didn't Tell You (Deluxe) | Nominated |
| 2024 | Grammy Awards | Best Traditional R&B Performance | "Simple" (with Babyface) | Nominated |
| 2024 | Grammy Awards | Best New Artist | Herself | Nominated |
| 2024 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Soul/R&B Song | "ICU" Remix (with Justin Timberlake) | Won |
| 2024 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Traditional) | "ICU" Remix (with Justin Timberlake) | Nominated |
| 2025 | Grammy Awards | Best R&B Performance | "Here We Go (Uh Oh)" | Nominated |
| 2025 | Grammy Awards | Best R&B Song | "Here We Go (Uh Oh)" | Nominated |