The 2023 Best New Artist opens up to ET about her journey at Sunday night's award show.
She's a winner! Coco Jones is this year's Best New Artist at the BET Awards, but her journey to the title was anything but smooth.
ET spoke with the Bel-Air star on the red carpet of Sunday night's festivities where she opened up about her rise to fame after kicking off her career on the Disney Channel. The 25-year-old made her breakthrough as a teen actress in the Disney Channel film Let It Shine, and although the film was a hit, the star's career didn't have the rise that she'd hoped for.
In a YouTube live stream posted in September 2020 that went viral amongst her fans, Jones openly shared that the initially proposed sequel for the film fell through and claimed she didn't receive the same support as her fellow Disney Channel stars despite her immense talent.
But the singer saw a change in opportunities after she made a 2021 appearance on the YouTube web series, The Terrell Show, hosted by Terrell Grice. Soon after, Jones landed her starring roles as Hilary Banks in Bel-Air, the spin-off of the hit '90 TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, leading her own YouTube web series T and Coco, alongside co-host Grice, and dropping her fifth EP What I Didn't Tell You.
"It's really a success for all of us," Jones tells ET's Kevin Fraizer on the red carpet with her mother and sister as her guests. "This is [my sister]'s first time seeing me perform since I was literally 17... I hope I win something for them."
Reflecting on her journey, Jones says, "It's honestly humbling, and I hope that I forever stay this humble because I really do feel like just a regular girl from the middle of nowhere in Tennessee who fought for her dreams and I will always fight for my dreams. And I'll fight for the next girl so that it doesn't have to be so hard. It's not easy but it's worth it; I wouldn't be able to appreciate these moments and really savor them if I hadn't remembered just trying to sneak in, you know?"
Jones went on to win Best New Artist before taking the stage to perform her hit single, "ICU."
"I am so happy - oh, thank you, Jesus," the singer said while wiping away tears as she accepted the award. "It has been a long journey. Thank you God, for rocking with me the whole time. Thank you to my culture, who has stood beside me, raised together, been a really long journey, thank you to my team, thank you for taking a chance on me."
"I do want to thank God, give him all the glory," she added. "I'm so thankful, so thank you so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you."
The BET Awards is in full swing! Be sure to keep up with ET's winner's list throughout the night.
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