Victoria Monét is feeling festive. The Grammy-winning singer has released A Jaguar II Christmas: The Orchestral Arrangements.
The live instrumental project blissfully reimagines selections from Jaguar II, such as “On My Mama” and “How Does It Make You Feel.” Monét and her longtime producer, D’Mile, worked closely with arranger and conductor Maurice “Pirahnahead” Herd, who helmed A Jaguar Christmas.
Original song titles like “Stop (Askin’ Me 4Shyt)” and “Hollywood” are updated with a holiday twist: “Stop (Askin’ Me 4Gifts)” and “Christmas In Hollywood.”
In an Instagram post, Monét wrote, “A gift from me to you (and family friendly for the kids, I promise)!!! Arranged and conducted by @pirahnahead_313 and played by his incredible Soulchestra in Detroit!” She added, “I hope this fills you and your family with much needed holiday cheer and the Christmas spirit!”
As indicated above, Monét launched her holiday tradition in 2020 with A Jaguar Christmas: The Orchestral Arrangements. The project reimagined songs from her lauded Jaguar EP, released in April of that year.
Monét’s Jaguar II Christmas follows her Jaguar II: Deluxe, released in October. The expanded set featured 10 bonus tracks, including the Usher-assisted “SOS (Sex On Sight)” and “We Might Even Be Falling In Love (Duet)” with Bryson Tiller. The latter track was previously released as a Spotify exclusive in 2023.
“I’ve always wanted to extend the interludes from Jaguar Part 1 and was so happy to hear Bryson liked this song enough to make it a little longer,” Monét explained.
The original Jaguar II was released Aug. 25, 2023, via Lovett Music/RCA Records. The album, which debuted at No. 6 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart, included her breakout hit “On My Mama.”
Jeff “Gitty” Gitelman, who co-produced the Grammy-winning song with Deputy and D’Mile, told Rated R&B, “It was a great session. We knew it was special. It’s been amazing to see that song become the cultural groundbreaker that it was. It became a self-affirmation for all of us.”
In other news, Monét is set to release her debut children’s book, Everywhere You Are, in summer 2025.
Stream Victoria Monét’s A Jaguar II Christmas: The Orchestral Arrangements below.
