Schoolteacher and Vietnamese-American artist Monét Ngo aims to reach new heights with his current single, “Tarantula Queen,” a fresh addition to his previous songs that delve into profound heartbreak and longing.
You may also know him on TikTok where his account has at least 60,000 followers and 3 million likes with him regularly posting his music, playing the guitar, and several wholesome content with his little students. When asked about how he sets boundaries between his distinct professions, “I guess it’s just hard to balance them. Definitely. I guess I try my best to. Sometimes I have to call sick if I’m playing a show. But I just try to be responsible and try to make sure that my students are okay, but also our music career is going well too. And doing everything I can to make sure that is the case.”
“I try to play music for my kids. I try to connect with them on like their favorite artist. But I also sometimes bring my guitar to school and I’ll play it for my students,” he added.
He is definitely what you call a ‘multi-tasking king’ because aside from constantly sharpening the minds of his students, he is also a self-producing artist who makes sure to be extremely hands-on and thorough with the direction of his music.
“I usually just start with the guitar and I’ll make some guitar loops. Mess around with some different sounds and I’ll just try to sing over it. And I just see what I could make. And I’ll start like recording it and then… I usually self-produce so I like to just produce in my own room, and make music and record where I am most comfortable,” explained Monét.
Describing his music as an intersection between various genres such as indie pop, R&B, and rock & roll, it is not surprising that he is constantly producing songs that resonate across ages with heartfelt lyrics and relatable themes, as well as innovative, chill, and easy-playing sounds while maintaining versatility, and continuously exploring different genres. One can observe and see that every song has a concrete narrative including “Tarantula Queen” which is said to be inspired by his former lover who deeply loves animals, particularly bugs.
“I wrote the song about past lover. It’s about me gifting this person a tarantula and she would’ve loved it. She’s a big animal lover and loved bugs. And so I gave her this pet and eventually I stopped talking to this person. But you know, she’s just wondering what happened. What became of this tiny creature and yeah… that’s how I wrote ‘Tarantula Queen’,” the self-produced singer detailed.
Besides that, he is proud of having the opportunity to collaborate with Charlie Brand, the lead vocalist of the Brooklyn-based indie pop band “Miniature Tigers,” in writing the song as he always listened to the band’s music since he was a kid and considered the band as one of his “heroes.”
Following his successful debut with his nostalgic Y2K indie-rock with a sprinkle of modern hyperpop infused EP “After School Club” that took you back to your teenage angsty, emo-filled high school years, its main single and fan favorite “Ruby Sparks” leading the pack as it earned over 8 million streams on Spotify which further proved the increasing reach of his music over his past releases. At present, he has garnered more than 185,000 monthly listeners on the mentioned streaming platform.
Now, Monét is setting higher goals for himself as a musician. He wants to play more shows and create more music with its sounds remaining evolving for a wider audience to hear his music.
“I just want to keep releasing more singles. Hopefully do some shows in Asia. Just everything you know. I just want to grow my fanbase and hopefully, more people will hear my music,” he said.
Despite all of this, the artist still wants to be as personal and vulnerable as he can with his music because that is the art he loves. Furthermore, he also aims to be known as a representation for other aspiring, young Asian-American kids who are striving to achieve their dreams.
“I think I want to be known for just an artist who pushes the boundary but also an artist who has a bunch of different styles and genres. So I hope people can know me for that but also know me as a Vietnamese-American artist that followed his dream and made it work so hopefully I can inspire other kids who look like me or feel like me. And hopefully inspire a new wave of Asian-American artists,” Monét highlighted.
Other POP! stories that you might like:
Filipino rapper Loonie recounts his version of ‘traumatic ordeal with police’ in latest diss track
Josh Cullen embraces creativity and independence with new single ‘Get Right’
Does looking at the value of gifts overshadow the spirit of giving?
Keeping secrets to yourself can be energizing, says study
Wrongly convicted teen freed after 12 years, key witness revealed to be legally blind
