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, Jones 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 as recurring roles including the sketch comedy So Random! (2011–12) and the sitcom Good Luck Charlie (2012–13). She had her breakthrough role as Roxanne "Roxy" Andrews in the 2012 musical television film Let It Shine, where she co-starred with Tyler James Williams and lent her vocals to the soundtrack.
She returned to a recording career in 2022, signing with High Standardz and Def Jam Recordings and releasing her single, "ICU", in October of that year. The single was her first to enter 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 a nomination 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.
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.
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.
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.
In July 2017, Jones was featured in a Fanta commercial. In April 2018, Jones was featured in 1950s-era jazz film, Flock of Four. 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, 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. In November 2020, Jones released the single, "Hollyweird".
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.
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. Just 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". The 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 includes a song, "Simple", and three new tracks. Jones' single, "ICU", reached at number 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, Jones partnered with Disney for a reimagined release of Princess Tiana’s "Almost There". On August 16, Jones released her single, "Sweep It Up", with an accompanying visualizer and lyric video. On November 22, Jones released her sixth extended play, Coco by the Fireplace.
Jones has cited her biggest musical influences as Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Brandy Norwood, Aaliyah, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Rihanna, Celine Dion, Etta James, Christina Aguilera, Jazmine Sullivan, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, BeBe & CeCe Winans, and Mary J. Blige.
Studio albums
Extended plays