Coco Jones Says She Wants to ‘Continue to Inspire Girls That Look Like Me’ at 2024 Grammys

"I definitely feel like the industry for dark-skinned Black women has gotten better and better," the artist notes

Coco Jones hopes to inspire the next generation of girls who look like her.

On the red carpet for Sunday’s 66th annual Grammy Awards, Jones, 26, spoke with E!’s Live from the Red Carpet host Laverne Cox about how she’s feeling as a first-time Grammy Award nominee.

“Honestly, so many emotions,” Jones said. “I’m really trying to keep it together. I think I’m just reflecting on everything that got me here. And it makes me emotional.”

“I just want to continue to inspire the girls who look like me to just keep pursuing because all of this wouldn’t have happened if I gave up and I’m just grateful I did not,” she added.

Jones won the Grammy for best R&B performance. She is also nominated in four other categories at the ceremony: Best R&B album for her EP What I Didn’t Tell You, best R&B song for her hit single “ICU,” best traditional R&B performance for her Babyface collaboration "Simple" as well as best new artist.

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The musician and Bel-Air star recently spoke with PEOPLE about her reaction to being nominated for the first time ever.

“I was asleep on a plane, and you have your wifi on, so iMessages still work. I kept feeling like this vibration, and I was like, ‘Geez, this plane is going through some turbulence,' " Jones told PEOPLE in December 2023. “Then I look at my phone, and I had all these notifications saying, ‘Congratulations!’ Of course, I was geeking.”

Related: Grammys 2024: See the Complete List of Winners on Music's Biggest Night

Jones rose to prominence on the Disney Channel with roles in the film Let It Shine and shows such as So Random! and Good Luck Charlie. She shared that her ongoing success comes amid a positive shift in representation in the entertainment industry.

Related: Coco Jones Says the Entertainment Industry Has 'Gotten Better' for 'Dark-Skinned Black Women' (Exclusive)

“I definitely feel like the industry for dark-skinned Black women has gotten better and better, especially since I was a young girl,” Jones told PEOPLE. “And I think the more storylines and the more positions of power that are told from a woman of color's perspective, the more opportunities [there are] for women to play those roles and to hire women that would understand those storylines.”

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