Victoria Monét is one of the many artists who had an incredible run this year. In August, she shared her major label debut album, Jaguar II. It featured Lucky Daye, Earth, Wind & Fire, Buju Banton and her two-year-old daughter.
On Thursday (Dec. 28), Monét spoke to People about the LP being Grammy-nominated and revealed the special story behind owning not one but two of Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings.” The Atlanta native, who is a key collaborator behind many of the pop icon’s hits, explained the circumstances leading to their possession.
“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 shared.
The story took a turn when she eventually found the original ring. “Then I found the other one,” Monét said. “So she’s like, ‘Just keep both,’ so I have two, and I wear them stacked.” To ensure their safety, the songstress told the outlet how she entrusts the pieces to her team during performances.
“Before every show, I took them off and gave them to someone on my team, and then I put them back,” 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.'”
In Grande’s “7 Rings,” she sang about buying matching diamonds for her close friends, including Monét. Besides the “On My Mama” singer, Tayla Parx, Njomza, Alexa Luria, Kaydence and Courtney Chipolone also received the gift.
2023 was a breakthrough year for Monét, earning her first Grammy nominations as an artist. Jaguar II competes in categories like Best R&B Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. She told People, “I correlated the music industry to the jungle.”