Coco Jones Details Her Journey from 'Defeated' Disney Star to Janet Jackson-Approved R&B Singer

Exquisite Eye Coco Jones

Coco Jones is poised to become R&B's next superstar.

Having launched her career as a child star more than a decade ago, the 24-year-old singer and actress seemingly disappeared from the limelight after a few years before reemerging in 2020 with a story to tell — which led to her starring role on Peacock's Fresh Prince reboot Bel-Air and the release of her brand-new EP, What I Didn't Tell You.

Fans first came to know Jones around 2012 through her starring role in Disney Channel's film Let It Shine and a subsequent stream of singles released via the network's Hollywood Records. But after parting ways with the corporation two years later, she spent the rest of her teenagehood independently acting, releasing music and creating social media content for a smaller audience.

"I felt defeated at the time, and then I saw this tweet [in 2020], and it was like, 'Man, what happened to Coco? She was supposed to be the next up,'" Jones recalls to PEOPLE. "I was like, 'Oh, perfect. Look what they're saying about me on the Internet.' Then, my team told me to respond."

Soon afterward, Jones uploaded a video to YouTube titled "What Really Happened," which detailed her experiences facing creative pushback as well as alleged colorism during her time in the child star machine. Her fans responded with shock and support, and soon enough, doors began to open. "Industry executives were reaching out, like, 'We didn't know this was going on, and we have great opportunities for you,'" she says.

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Fast forward to 2022, and Jones scored the role of Hilary Banks on Bel-Air and signed a record deal with Def Jam Recordings — finally enjoying the fruits of her labor after a lifetime in the entertainment industry. And while she didn't exactly enjoy her time away from the spotlight, she now sees it as a humbling experience.

"I think it was necessary for me, so that I can be grateful for the good that's happening and genuinely appreciate it," Jones says. "Adulthood was going to be difficult regardless because I come from the child acting industry, and I kind of had to figure myself out — a little delayed from my peers."

Courtesy High Standardz/Def Jam Recordings Coco Jones

Now, she's making up for lost time and playing in the big leagues. Over the past year, Jones worked with songwriters and producers including London on da Track (Post Malone, Ariana Grande), Eric Hudson (Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston) and DJ Camper (Mary J. Blige, Brandy) to craft What I Didn't Tell You, an exceptionally confident and sultry 7-track project that showcases her vocal talents on high-energy bops like "Headline" and slow jams like "ICU."

"You really are as good as the people around you, and I feel like working with legends helped me to tap into the deepest part of my creativity," she explains. "They all really helped me to bring the best out of myself and my ideas, and tell me when things needed to be better. I appreciate that."

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In addition to the EP, Jones recently collaborated with the 12-time Grammy-winning musician Babyface on a song called "Simple" from his latest album, Girls Night Out. The project sees Jones flex her performance skills alongside R&B heavy-hitters like Kehlani, Ari Lennox and Ella Mai in addition to the iconic producer of songs like Carey's "We Belong Together" and Toni Braxton's "You're Makin' Me High."

"[Babyface] is a legend, and with so many other legends, R&B is what it is now thanks to them paving the way," says Jones. "He's written plenty of hits, so watching how he operates in a studio, it's so different from me — a breaking artist trying to break down walls. He taught me to have more peace and patience when it comes to writing songs, because great songs really do just come to you. You don't have to stress the process."

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Earlier this month, Jones also got the ultimate stamp of approval from none other than Janet Jackson. After she sang a rendition of 1998's "I Get Lonely" during a tribute to recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jackson posted a video of Jones' performance to her Instagram with high praise for the cover.

"That's like the green light of support. I don't even have the words," says Jones, who finds it hard to process all the pinch-me moments as they happen in such rapid succession. "It's so indescribable to be praying for these things, and then, 'Now you don't have to pray for that no more because it's your real life.' It's very exciting."

Now that the entertainment industry and audiences alike are catching up to Jones, she's able to look back on her low points in the years-long interim between her high-profile projects and recognize that the wait was somewhat worth it.

"I think I would've always been taken seriously, had I gotten the opportunities. Now, I just have more opportunities for people to see what I do," she says. "I'm really happy with the doors that have opened up for me to be where I am now, and I'm kind of grateful that some of them didn't open."

Looking forward, Jones hopes to embark on a concert tour after wrapping up season 2 of Bel-Air, which is currently filming. Eventually, she holds a larger-scale dream of reaching the superstar status of the musicians who've inspired her artistry: "I want to get to the place where it's like, 'I've done my extra credit, y'all, so put some respect on my name,' but that comes with time and continuing to execute at a high level — so they know it's just an honor to have your name attached to whatever it is."

More than anything, however, she wants young Black women aspiring to become entertainers to look up to her turbulent path to success for inspiration and know they can do it too. "A lot of the time, just-as-talented Black women are kind of looked over to a certain extent," Jones explains. "I would do the journey all over again, just to show people the timing doesn't count you out. Even if it takes you longer to get where you deserve to be, you're still going to get there."