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MonĂ©t thanked the Champagne servers first before adding her team, her fellow nominees and her mother, a single mom “raising this really bad girl.â€�

“I just want to say to everybody who has a dream. I want you to look at this as an example.�

She said the award represented a 15-year pursuit and she likened herself to a plant. “My roots have been growing underneath ground, unseen for so long. And I feel like today, I’m sprouting.�

The best new artist award, which went to jazz artist last year, is one of the Grammys’ most-anticipated as it is often seen as a bellwether for future success. Recent winners include , Megan Thee Stallion, Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa. Other winners include Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Amy Winehouse, Adele and Chance the Rapper.

The award goes to an artist who releases, during that year’s eligibility period, the first recording that establishes their “public identity,â€� according to . For MonĂ©t, a longtime songwriter for other artists including Ariana Grande and Chloe x Halle, that was her debut solo album: “Jaguar II.â€� The album’s breakout hit, “On My Mama" peaked at number 35 on the and was named one of the .

With seven nominations, MonĂ©t tied for the second-most this year, alongside Phoebe Bridgers and behind SZA. MonĂ©t’s nominations also made history: Her 2-year-old daughter Hazel became the youngest ever nominee for her appearance on “Hollywood,â€� nominated for best traditional R&B performance.

“We had like a toddler extravaganza where we had all of her friends from school dressed in like, tuxedos and things, and we had a mock red carpet� at the Black Music Action Coalition dinner ahead of the Grammys. “She hated it,� she laughed. “Hopefully we can get one good shot because I know when we, you know, when she’s older, she’s going to really appreciate it.�

They did, in fact, get their photo, though Hazel turned her face away from the throng of photographers snapping photos Sunday.

While it was Hazel’s first trip to the Grammys, it was not MonĂ©t's first rodeo — just her first as a soloist. In 2020, she was nominated in the album and record of the year categorys as a producer on Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next.â€�

following those nominations, MonĂ©t said: “Naturally when I wrote my goals list, I wanted to be just as successful as Kanye in the Grammy category, or as Bey, or as the greats. I was like, ‘I want 16 Grammys.’ It was a big number.â€�

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Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy contributed to this report.