Coco Jones Reveals What She’d Tell the ‘Iconic’ Britney Spears After Sampling ‘Toxic’ for Her Song ‘Taste’ (Exclusive)

• Coco Jones’ debut album Why Not More? is out now
• The R&B star opens up to PEOPLE about working with Future and YG Marley on the album, sampling Britney Spears’ “Toxic” and finally getting a selfie with Beyoncé at the 2025 Grammys
• Ahead of her upcoming tour, Jones tells PEOPLE, “I’m most excited to have this world come together and really feel like an experience because that’s been such a thought process throughout creating the music”

It’s not exactly ordinary for an artist to win their first Grammy Award before dropping their debut album — but Coco Jones is an extraordinary artist, so that’s exactly what she did.

The 27-year-old R&B star and Bel-Air actress earned an entire career’s worth of accomplishments before releasing her first full-length body of work, Why Not More?, on April 25, and now she’s gearing up to show the world what she can do on stage with a major tour launching next month.

Since fans met Jones as a tween on Disney Channel, she’s graced both the big and small screens, scored a major hit with “ICU” in 2023, won a Grammy and collaborated with music heavy-hitters like Justin Timberlake, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Latto and Reneé Rapp, among others.

With additional co-signs from Beyoncé and Janet Jackson to her credit, Jones’ rise to fame has been like no other — and now she’s showing off her artistic range on Why Not More?, which expands her sound beyond the R&B genre and features guest appearances from Future and YG Marley.

Jones sat down with PEOPLE to discuss making her debut album, meeting Beyoncé at the 2025 Grammys, sampling Britney Spears’ “Toxic” for her song “Taste,” leaning further into the Y2K revival through her recent partnership with Motorola and more.

PEOPLE: You’ve spoken about feeling pressure to follow up the success of your What I Didn’t Tell You EP and hit song “ICU,” which won a Grammy for best R&B performance. How did you work through that while making Why Not More?

Coco Jones: I think the pressure’s always going to be there and I kind of welcome it. I don’t want to ever feel like, “Oh, this is easy. I got this in the bag. There’s nothing more to do.” It’s the crucial feeling that makes you better. It’s kind of all I know, truly, that feeling of, “How can I top what I’ve done before? How can I impress myself?” ‘Cause I’m a tough critic of myself.

PEOPLE: You’re already seeing rewards. “Here We Go” was recently certified gold by the RIAA and earned two Grammy nominations. How was your second time at the Grammys?

Jones: Definitely more calm because I was like, “I can always say that I won one of these, so period, I’m going to enjoy my time today.” The stakes were definitely lower, and I was able to breathe more. I think I was just more confident in general and a little bit more sure of myself because I know how it goes now. I also am a fan of music, so I really enjoyed just getting to sit back and watch great people who have been at this for a really long time. The journeys are inspiring to me because I feel like although I’ve been here, I still have so much more to do. I mean, I’m finally dropping my first album, which is crazy to me, in the scheme of how long it feels like it’s been.

PEOPLE: You had met Beyoncé before, but you finally got a selfie with her at the Grammys. Did you get any words of wisdom from Queen Bey?

Jones: Oh no, babe, it was very much giving, “Sorry to bother you.” It was giving zoo. Everyone flocked her like this freaking exhibit, I felt so bad. But I had to get my selfie too, baby, because it’s my life. But I felt bad. I just took my picture and yeeted away.

PEOPLE: Beyoncé has an iconic debut album of her own with Dangerously in Love. Did you look to any specific debuts or other albums for inspiration while making your own?

Jones: Of course, Beyoncé is a huge inspiration. But I think Brandy’s Full Moon album inspired me a lot. Destiny’s Child inspired me a lot, and even my peers, like Victoria Monét and SZA. I want to have my own world that I build. Doja Cat, Doechii — they have their own world. I was inspired by a lot of people’s projects because I feel like they’re very intentional with creating a world.

PEOPLE: You sampled Britney Spears’ “Toxic” on “Taste.” How did that sample wind up in the song? Was it difficult to clear?

Jones: Actually, it wasn’t that difficult to clear from what I heard. But it really wasn’t like, “Hey, let’s go in here and flip this Britney sample.” It was really just, “Hey, I think I’m pretty happy with everything that I’ve done so far on the album. Let’s just have fun today. No stakes, just vibes, and let’s see what happens.” That type of freedom to create without trying to meet a deadline can lead to just having fun. And having fun leads to songs that are really special. It led to us trying something different and reaching out and listening to some pop samples and some pop nostalgic moments instead of super traditional R&B. I was like, “We have time today, let’s play around.”

PEOPLE: Did you reach out to Britney directly or hear from her at all throughout the process?

Jones: I have not, and I would love, love, love to see what she feels about the record. I mean, she’s so iconic in her own right. I hope she knows how inspired I am by just her performing, her stage presence, her work ethic and all of those things. But I haven’t talked to her yet. If I do though, I’m going to say, “Girl, thank you so much for all of this legendary s—.”

PEOPLE: Between revisiting “Toxic” and partnering with Motorola to launch the new Razr Ultra, you’ve been in a Y2K revival moment. How does it feel to see the Razr back in culture?

Jones: I’m a tech girlie. I loved having all the phones. The OG Razr was so iconic. You were definitely an it girl if you had one. I think the Morotola Razr has revamped itself into something so fire — new colors, new vibes and definitely way more tech. I’m excited for them, and I’m excited to be partnering with them.

PEOPLE: What else from that era would you like to see come back in style?

Jones: Honestly, I lived for the Y2K fashion. I want the fitted jeans with the big belts to come on back and the low rise — like, hello. If my Razr can go right on my hip, then I think it’s gonna be a good day. 

PEOPLE: This album also features collaborations with YG Marley and Future. Both of those songs explore new sonic territory for you. What did you learn from working with those artists?

Jones: Future is super, super iconic and very just seasoned. What I learned from him is the more the better to choose from. I believe he records four or five songs a night. He’s just going, going, going. That to me, is so impressive because your penmanship just gets better and better, and you become this creative machine. And YG Marley is just super positive vibes. I loved that energy from him, and it helps you to be more present in this hustle-and-bustle industry. He vibing.

PEOPLE: Much of this album is about romance, the highs, the lows and in-betweens. Tell me about what inspired that through line of this album. Was it one specific relationship or multiple experiences?

Jones: It’s definitely multiple experiences. I’m also really big on co-writing because I feel like I have one perspective, but I want other people who have different ones so that we can make the songs feel more universal. But I feel like the through line of everyone’s life, even though we’re going through it in different ways, is the tug of war of wanting to be in love and relationships — the good and the bad of them and how they affect you as a human being. I think that’s just a very relatable topic in general to write from.

PEOPLE: What did you learn about yourself most throughout making this album versus your previous music?

Jones: What I’ve learned is that I have to know myself in order for my team to help me and to understand me. I can’t look to anyone else for the answers. It’s all got to come from me, and I don’t know everything, but I at least need to have the starting point so my team can facilitate and help me fill in the gaps. And hopefully you can tell, especially in contrast to my EP, which was just everybody deciding, not me. I didn’t want to be wrong. This time, hopefully I’m right more than I’m wrong. But I’ma still decide ’cause why not?

PEOPLE: So far throughout your music career, you’ve also been acting on Bel-Air, which was recently renewed for its fourth and final season. Do you want to pursue more acting roles right away, or are you going to focus on music for a bit?

Jones: I definitely want to try to balance everything, and hopefully I can. But there’s only 12 months in the year, and this stuff be adding up. However, I’ve done a couple films in the meantime while working on this album and filming Bel-Air. Hopefully I can continue to fit them into my life. It’s important to me.

PEOPLE: We recently got this video of you and Keke Palmer interacting at Vanity Fair and Instagram’s 2025 Vanities Party that had me cracking up. Would you ever want to act alongside her?

Jones: I would absolutely love to work with Keke. Besides the fact that she’s super talented, she’s just a great human being. She’s never become jaded. I’ve seen her through so many stages of her career, as we’ve all kind of grown up together. She’s always been so warm and welcoming to me. I’m inspired by the girlie. She’s doing a lot, and she’s doing it all amazingly. And she’s so freaking funny, dude, that I just feel like our improvising would be just sickening.

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PEOPLE: You are about to head out on tour. What are you most excited and nervous about for the upcoming shows?

Jones: I’m most excited to have this world come together and really feel like an experience because that’s been such a thought process throughout creating the music. I hope people really immerse themselves and feel satisfied and entertained. Most nervous? I don’t know if it’s nervous, but curious I guess, to see what songs people really are drawn to. It’s also still a learning ground. And best believe if they’re not feeling something, it’ll get cut.

PEOPLE: Which song are you most excited to bring to life?

Jones: “Keep It Quiet” is one of my faves. It’d be the ones that the artist really likes that the crowd don’t be drawn, drawn, drawn to. But hopefully that isn’t the truth because “Keep It Quiet” is so fun to me. I love that four-on-the-floor sound. I just want to get crunk, so I’m really excited to actually get crunk on stage.