Victoria Monét Battles Back: Vocal Crisis, Motherhood and 'Frequency of Love'

Less than 48 hours before her sophomore album "Frequency of Love" drops, Victoria Monét sits in her Los Angeles living room, still trading final mixes of the record. The 37-year-old singer, who won the Grammy for best new artist in 2024, has spent the years since that night rebuilding her voice — and, by her own account, her peace of mind.

The album, executive produced by Monét and Camper (known for his work with Usher and Brandy), runs 22 tracks and shifts across styles from quiet storm to smooth, finger-snapped R&B. Its theme, as the title suggests, spans love of self, love of others and love for her daughter Hazel. "We really believe that this album could be played as a classic for years," Monét tells Variety. "So we want to make sure it's everything we want it to be, even up to the pressures of the label being like, 'Turn it in now!'"

The record arrives after a turbulent stretch. Following her Grammy wins, Monét found herself struggling with persistent tension in her voice that made both singing and speaking difficult. "I was struggling," she says. "I feel like it was because of so much stress and pressure that as a Taurus, it was in my throat chakra or not really speaking my mind and doing what I want to do. It had built up in my throat and you could hear it in my singing voice and interviews. And if you look, you'll be like, oh, her voice is about an octave deeper."

At her lowest point, she could not call Hazel down from the second floor of her own home loudly enough for her daughter to hear. She consulted a neurologist, a rheumatologist and a speech pathologist. A doctor in Boston found nothing wrong with her vocal cords or neural function. She tried muscle relaxants but stopped, unwilling to develop a dependency. The breakthrough came instead through lifestyle change. "The cycle I was doing, I had to break it all down, turn to God, turn to spirituality and calmness," she says, listing acupuncture, stretch classes, breath work and meditation. "The happier I got, the better my voice got."

The recovery shaped the album itself. As her range returned, melody choices changed. "Since I can go higher, let me try this melody," she recalls thinking. "It just allowed for so much more creativity vocally and in melody passes."

Monét has taken the long view since she first moved to Los Angeles in 2009 to pursue a solo career. She rose gradually as a songwriter for Ariana Grande and Fifth Harmony before breaking through with 2023's "Jaguar II," her debut. Rather than striking while the Grammy iron was hot, she settled into home life, raising Hazel as a single parent, graduating from culinary school this past May and publishing the children's picture book "Everywhere You Are," a New York Times bestseller.

She disowns one move from that period: the deluxe edition of "Jaguar II," released in October 2024. "I'd like to forget that happened," she says. "There was no thinking. It was contractual, and I really didn't want to do it, and I bet you could tell."

Professionally, Monét also restructured her team. In September 2025, news broke that she had signed with Full Stop Management under Jeffrey Azoff, Anna Savage, Shawn Holiday and Sam Weiss, after years with manager Rachelle Jean-Louis. In October 2025, Jean-Louis filed a $500,000 lawsuit against Monét alleging breach of contract and unfair competition. Monét declined to comment on the ongoing litigation but insists there is "no bad blood." "I'm trying to disconnect the emotion from it and just realize that this is a business thing," she says. "Maybe there's going to be a time in the future [for] forgiveness or understanding or grace or reconciliation. But right now I have so much more to focus on." Jean-Louis declined Variety's request for comment.

"Frequency of Love" opens with "All I Need," a crackling, mellifluous track Monét describes as the pivot point after her 2024 Grammy appearance, which she attended with Hazel, then three, and Hazel's father. "As long as I have my daughter, I can survive any of this, any of the chaos post-Grammys," she says. "The pressure, the separation… I already have a love of my life, notwithstanding the relationship not working out." The album's guest slate includes Bruno Mars, SZA, Lucky Daye, Bryson Tiller, Chloe, Leon Thomas, and her mother, cousin and aunt alongside the Sunday Service Choir on "No Love Like Yours (Interlude)."

She launched the album cycle not with an "On My Mama"-style banger but with the ballad "Let Me." "It was an opportunity for me to be vulnerable and lead with voice," she says. The song reached No. 1 on Billboard's Adult R&B Airplay chart. The follow-up, "Reach Out," produced by Kaytranada and D'Mile, came with a music video choreographed by frequent collaborator Sean Bankhead that Monét personally funded beyond its budget. "There's a video budget, and then there's what Victoria wants, which is always above the video budget," she says. "I'm still willing to invest in these things because I do feel like people deserve to see really great music videos."

Next, Monét headlines a US tour opening in Raleigh on October 27 and running through the end of the year, fresh off a summer opening for Mars on the European leg of his "The Romantic" trek. Bankhead will choreograph; musical director Adam Blackstone will lead the band. "It's a little more jazzy, but they're still gonna get those dance breaks," she says. "I'm feeling a lot more subdued and clean and classic, classical energy."

For an artist who once waited over a decade for her moment, the pace of the coming months is the point. "I have the album, then tour, then whatever happens, God willing comes," she says. "You know what I mean?"