Meet the woman behind chart-topping AI artist Xania Monet: “I look at her as a real person”

Popular music artist Xania Monet’s voice has been heard by millions, but some fans were shocked to discover she’s a product of artificial intelligence.

Monet may be an avatar, but there’s very much a real person behind her: Telisha “Nikki” Jones.

“Xania is an extension of me”

“Xania is an extension of me, so I look at her as a real person,” Jones told “CBS Mornings” in an interview that aired Wednesday. 

Jones created the persona while teaching herself AI just four months ago. The 31-year-old Mississippi native admits she’s not a singer, but says the “lyrics are 100% me,” and that they come from poems she wrote based on real life experiences. 

“Whether it was stuff I went through, a close family member, or a close friend, I wrote about it.” Jones said losing her dad at just 8 years old inspired her chart-topping song, “How Was I Supposed to Know?”

Billboard says Monet is the “first known AI artist to earn enough radio airplay to debut on a Billboard radio chart,” appearing on at least five Billboard charts since her first song release.

“I’m just taking what I love doing and mixing it with tech,” explained Jones. She says she doesn’t consider using AI as a shortcut, though acknowledges that it “challenges the norm” and that often sparks strong reactions.

“I just feel like AI … it’s the new era that we’re in. And I look at it as a tool, as an instrument, and utilize it,” she added.

Jones outlined her song making process, saying she scrolls through her list of poems to see which she wants to make a song about. She puts the lyrics into an AI music-generator app, then adds different prompts, like slow tempo R&B, female soulful vocals, light guitar and heavy drums — and then clicks create.

AI artist lands multi-million dollar recording deal

Jones’ AI music success led to a multi-million dollar exclusive recording deal with Hallwood Media – and also some backlash from artists like Grammy-nominated Kehlani. Kehlani railed against the use of AI in creative spaces in a recent TikTok video, saying “nobody will be able to justify AI to me” and “I don’t respect it.”

But Jones says she doesn’t let critics stop her from making art.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Technology’s evolving. Everybody has different ways of putting in work to get to where they’re at. I don’t feel that way about it. I still love Kehlani’s music. I still listen to her every day,” she said.

Hallwood Media also defended the artist and said Monet represents a new age of music.

“What Nikki has done with Xania Monet really represents the future of music. It shows that taste and instinct have always mattered more than technical dexterity, and we’re now seeing that play out in real time. AI is breaking down barriers around age, image, and access, giving creators who might not have had a traditional path into the industry the chance to bring their stories and ideas to life while connecting directly with listeners. That kind of innovation is exactly what drives us at Hallwood,” Danny Jacobson, the head of A&R at Hallwood Media, said in a statement to “CBS Mornings.”

Addressing a concern some have that AI could allow people to make music from racial or cultural backgrounds they may not be a part of, Jones responded, “That’s what I’m here to let them know, I’m Telisha. I’m a part of your culture; I’m a Black woman; I’m a creator; I’m an entrepreneur; I created Xania,” she said.