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Xania Monet, an AI-powered R&B artist, landed a multimillion-dollar record deal with Hallwood Media. Not long after she signed a contract, Grammy-nominated singer Kehlani expressed concerns about authenticity, artistry, and the future of music while criticizing the rising trend of AI-generated performances.
Who is Xania Monet?
Xania Monet was created by Telisha “Nikki” Jones, a 31-year-old poet and designer from Olive Branch, Mississippi. Jones has been writing poetry for a long time and claims that a lot of it is based on her community and personal experiences. Jones' actual life serves as the inspiration for about 90% of Xania's songs, with the remaining coming from stories that inspired her.
Jones has acknowledged that she was not a "vocal beast" who could easily secure a record deal, despite having grown up singing in churches, so she turned to Suno. Suno is an AI generative music platform that combines her lyrics with vocals and production. Though Xania Monet's songs are all born from Jones' creative mind, they are still composed using AI technology.
Her manager, Romel Murphy, stressed that even with AI involved, the lyrics are authentic:
“She’s been writing poetry for a long time. This is real music — it’s real R&B. There’s an artist behind it.”
Jones quickly gained traction. Within weeks of blending her lyrics with music, she amassed 9.8 million U.S. streams, including 5.4 million in just one week.
While Let Go, Let God debuted at No. 21 on the Hot Gospel Songs list, her song How Was I Supposed to Know debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's R&B Digital Song Sales. She also became one of the first AI-powered artists to appear on Billboard, debuting at No. 25 on the Emerging Artists chart.
Jones has revealed plans for Xania's debut live performance, signaling the next stage of her career.
Her rapid rise sparked a bidding war reportedly reaching $3 million, which Hallwood Media ultimately won under the guidance of former Interscope executive Neil Jacobson.
Jacobson has been outspoken about the use of AI for music production and believes it is the next big thing in the music industry. He also signed another AI artist named imoliver.
Major record companies are now suing Suno, the platform, which is accused of illegally training on copyrighted works. According to the guidelines of the U.S. Copyright Office, only works with substantial human authorship are eligible for copyright protection.
Kehlani reacts to Xania Monet's record deal
With Xania Monet's rise and record deal, not everyone in the music industry was happy about it. Grammy-nominated R&B singer Kehlani showed her frustration after she heard about the deal and took to Threads:
“An AI artist signed a 3 million dollar deal, has a top 5 R&B album currently called Unfolded and is reposting people praising them for being anointed… lmao I f***ing hate this reality.”
Concerns were voiced not only by industry insiders but also by fans. A fan commented:
“Al isn’t culture. Al isn’t community. Al isn’t legacy. That $3M is wasted. it’s exhausting watching the industry prioritize machines over the very souls that keep music alive.”
As of now, Telisha “Nikki” Jones, aka Xania Monet, has not released any statement regarding this.
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