Entertainment
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.
Actor Shia LaBeouf has been ordered to go to rehab after getting arrested on February 17 during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
He was involved in a fight with two men and reportedly used homophobic slurs, according to Page Six.
He now faces three misdemeanor battery charges.
At a recent court hearing, Judge Simone Levine said she was not sure LaBeouf is serious about his alcohol problems.
She, however, denied his request to travel to Rome and set a $100,000 bond. He must also take drug tests and enter rehab.
Sources say the punishment could let him do rehab online, as they described LaBeouf as someone who can act like he is serious about recovery, even though he does not believe he has an addiction.
In a recent interview, he said his behaviour was because of a “small man complex” and not alcohol.
He added, “It’s not nice to hurt people ever. People got hurt. I got to deal with that.”
LaBeouf separated from his wife Mia Goth last year, and sources say she wants him to get help.
Friends warn that his drinking could lead to serious problems, as his Hollywood future is uncertain and he returns to court on March 19.
When We Were Young Festival is hitting pause this year.
Organizers of the Las Vegas-based emo and pop-punk fest announced via Instagram on February 27 that the event will take 2026 off — but emphasised the break is only temporary.
“To our When We Were Young Family,” the statement began. “The songs, the memories, the moments – none of it exists without you. After an unforgettable run in Las Vegas, we’ve decided to take 2026 off to give this festival the care it deserves and to make sure what comes next feels just as special as what came before.”
While no specific reason was given for the hiatus, fans were reassured the festival isn’t going anywhere. “When We Were Young Festival will return to Las Vegas in October 2027… This isn’t goodbye – it’s just a pause. We’ll see you in 2027.”
Since launching in 2022, the Live Nation-produced event has become a nostalgic pilgrimage for millennial music lovers, taking over the Las Vegas Festival Grounds each October. Past headliners have included Green Day, Blink-182, My Chemical Romance and the Killers.
The 2025 edition featured Blink-182 and a reunited Panic! at the Disco, marking a rare return following the band’s 2023 split. In 2024, My Chemical Romance delivered a full performance of The Black Parade, alongside a stacked lineup of scene favourites.
Deon Cole hosted the NAACP Image Award at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Saturday, February 28, and opened his monologue with a joke about the racial slur mishap at the BAFTAs recently.
The 54-year-old comedian and actor jokingly prayed to God, saying, “Lord, before we go, if there are any white men out here in the audience with Tourette’s, I advise you to tell them they better read the room tonight, Lord. It might not go the way they thinketh. Whatever medicine they’re on, they better double up on it, Lord.
Cole referred to the controversy about Tourette’s activist John Davidson shouting a racial slur while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presented an award on stage.
The Average Joe star also joked about Nicki Minaj and her recent political alliance with the MAGA movement, saying, “Lord, we want you to bless our sister Nicki Minaj. She’s been going through a lot lately and hasn’t been herself, Lord,” joking that her cosmetic injections have been “affecting her brain.”
NAACP Awards stand for National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People and celebrate the arts across different mediums including films, theatre, music, and literature, created every year.
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