Monét also opened up to PEOPLE about her seven nominations at the 2024 Grammy Awards
Victoria Monét is such besties with Ariana Grande, that she has two of the “matching diamonds” Grande sings about on her hit “7 Rings.”
In a new interview with People, Monét — who has co-written many of Grande’s biggest tracks and is nominated this year for several Grammys for her own album, Jaguar II — revealed that Grande got her a second ring after she nearly lost her first.
“I have two of them, because at one point I had lost one, and I was so devastated because I’m sometimes a bit irresponsible,” she told the outlet. “That was the old me, this is the new me, but Ariana felt so bad she got another one.”
“Then I found the other one,” she added. “So she’s like, ‘Just keep both,’ so I have two, and I wear them stacked.”
In case you need a “7 Rings” refresh, Grande sings on the Thank U, Next favorite: “Bought matching diamonds for six of my bitches/I’d rather spoil all my friends with my riches.” (Along with Monét, Grande’s friends who have the rings, according to the song’s video, are Tayla Parx, Njomza, Alexa Luria, Kaydence, and Courtney Chipolone.)
Monét says she now gives her rings to “someone on my team” during her shows so that she doesn’t lose them. She added, “[I try] not to bring them everywhere because again, I have that little place in my mind where I’m like, ‘I don’t want to lose them. They’re so valuable.’”
It’s been a big year for Monét. The R&B sweetheart is up for Best New Artist, “On My Mama” is among the nominees for Record of the Year, and Jaguar II is up for Best R&B Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.
The 2023 Grammys mark Monét’s first time being nominated as an artist. She was previously up for an award for her work with Ariana Grande, co-producing “7 Rings” and Thank U, Next.
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In 2019, Victoria Monét was one of the six women whom Ariana Grande famously gifted a matching ring to, alluding to her hit song “7 Rings.”
Now, speaking to PEOPLE about her recent Grammy nominations (Monét is the second-most nominated artist at the upcoming ceremony), she revealed that Grande, 30, ended up giving her two.
“I have two of them, because at one point I had lost one, and I was so devastated because I’m sometimes a bit irresponsible. That was the old me, this is the new me, but Ariana felt so bad she got another one,” Monét, 34, tells PEOPLE exclusively.
She adds, “Then I found the other one. So she’s like, ‘Just keep both,’ so I have two, and I wear them stacked.”
The “On My Mama” singer — who earned seven Grammy nominations this year for her latest studio album Jaguar II and has written for artists like Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West and Fifth Harmony — brought the rings on her recent tour, but she found a special place for them before each show.
“Before every show, I took them off and gave them to someone on my team, and then I put them back,” she says, adding that she tries “not to bring them everywhere because again, I have that little place in my mind where I’m like, ‘I don’t want to lose them. They’re so valuable.'”
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Monét, who got her start as a songwriter, has collaborated with Grande on hit songs like “thank u, next,” “needy” and “Be Alright.”
At first, being seen as an artist rather than a songwriter wasn’t an easy task for Monét — but she was just waiting for the right moment to “pounce.” The name of her Grammy-nominated album was only fitting.
“I correlated the music industry to the jungle,” she says. “The jungle is a jaguar’s environment, but it’s not always the first thing you see. I felt that way about being behind the scenes in music.”
Monét adds, “It took a lot of time, but I was happy to do it. I think that anybody who wants to be fluid in their creativity should be able to do so and not be questioned about why or have people be so confused. As long as you’re willing to just keep changing the narrative, it’s eventually going to happen.”
