Her debut full length CD is shrouded in secrecy but recently (May) turned seventeen-year-old Monét a singer from the City of Angels (LA) is poised to explode upon the airwaves with her blend of rock / soul / punk music. She has been performing in front of crowds in the several thousands for the past three years, sharing the stage with the likes of teen heartthrob Jesse McCartney. She is an accomplished actress having appeared in several stage productions as well as television programs such as Lincoln Heights, Disney’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Fox’s The Bernie Mac Show.

Monét spoke to me on the phone from Orlando, Florida, where she is finishing a recording project that began with Los Angeles based Trilogy Productions, before moving to Nashville and then ultimately to the current Floridian studio with producer Aaron Accetta (Aaron Carter, Deborah Gibson and Nick Carter). Although the singer is not revealing any of the songs that will appear on the new project, one can only hope songs such as her quirky, edgy “Little Old Me” will find its way onto the disc.

Monét says, “The song “Little Old Me” is a song that my good friend April Lassiter and Dave Darling wrote. I met April on an airplane flying from Nashville. April sat beside my mom and I, and we started a conversation. We found out that she is a songwriter and we said, ‘Hey let’s get together.’ She pitched the song “Little Old Me,” and I fell in love with it right away. I really wanted to do it (the song) because it has a good kick to it, and is such a girl power song. The first time I heard it, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this has to be on my album!’ It is totally me and totally the style that I love. It is such a fun song to perform.”

Reflecting upon her chance meeting with April Lassiter Monét says, “You never know who you are going to meet so you always have to be your best, look your best and be your nicest. It is a good story and I love telling it.”

The rock ballad “Mute” clearly demonstrates that Monét is much more than a one dimensional musician and singer. The song is for the most part comprised of more subdued vocals that are punctuated occasionally with rock guitar riffs.  “Mute is a metaphor for when a boy ignores you, he is on mute. My friend (found herself) in the situation (I just described). A boy ignored her calls and everything else. I thought I should write a song about it. Drew Lane and I were sitting in the studio and he asked me want I wanted to write about, I said, ‘I want to write about this.’ We wrote the song in about fifteen minutes. They are usually the best songs. Drew would strum his guitar as we wrote the music.”

The singer hints that her songs “18” and “It’s Always Something,” could find their way onto her new CD but then she becomes coy, giggles and says, “You will just have to wait and see.” Another of her songs “2 Of Them” was featured on The Suite Life Of Zach & Cody. It begins with a riff reminiscent of Golden Earring’s “Radar Love,” before transitioning quickly and serving up a more revved up version that reminds one of the pop songs found in the musical Grease, a stage production in which Monét played the lead female role of Sandy. 

“I wrote “18” when I was fourteen. It was at a time when I had just learned that the driver’s age in California might be changing to eighteen. I took all the ideas about which I was excited to (someday) be turning eighteen years old, and combined them into “18”. Then I came up with the melody. It is so exciting when you start writing a song and it all fits together. It is the greatest feeling in the world,” she says enthusiastically.

“The songs on my EP (self titled) are definitely more rock (oriented). I love that kind of stuff, but right now I am going more into rock and soul. I am combining rock meets soul, meets pop and punk. All of those (genres) combined together. I grew up in a gospel choir, and I want to combine what I learned in soul with my music, because I think that it is really important. I think that is really important to combine all the things that you love into one kind of music. We call it (her music) rock and soul.”