Key Takeaways:
- Coco Jones shared that Donovan Mitchell messaged her before they met, but she didn’t see it.
- The couple began dating in 2023 and announced their engagement in July.
- Mitchell’s voice appears on Jones’ album Why Not More?, which is Grammy-nominated.
Donovan Mitchell slid into Coco Jones’ DMs before they met in real life, but looking back, she’s glad she never saw it. On Tuesday (Dec. 16), while speaking with Complex’s Tiffany Hunt, the “ICU” singer opened up about the NBA star’s message and why it “wouldn’t have worked anyway.”
“He had known of me years before [we met] because ‘Bel-Air’ had done a collab with his shoe line, so he’d kind of seen the show before it came out, and he was like, ‘Who that?’ And he said he hit me up on Instagram. I ain’t see it though,” Jones explained. When asked about the DM, she revealed Mitchell sent “something with a red heart.”
“I’m like, ‘Oh, good, that wouldn’t have worked anyway. I don’t want no heart, I don’t know you,’” Jones added. “That’s how you know it’s above us. It’s God. We’re meant to be.” The couple, who began dating in 2023, announced their engagement in July.
Later in the conversation, Jones shared which track on her debut album, Why Not More?, was inspired by or reminded her of Mitchell, along with a little-known fact about his involvement in the LP. “I think the song ‘You,’ for sure,” she answered.
The “Double Back” artist then revealed that Mitchell is the voice on the intro of “Thang 4 U.” She said, “He’s the voice on there, talking. I don’t know if people can clock that, but I feel like Why Not More? is kind of the Coco leading up to being in love … My next project will be just me in love.”
Jones’ Why Not More? — which ranked at No. 4 on Rap-Up’s Best R&B Albums Of 2025 list — is up for Best R&B Album at the 2026 Grammy Awards. It’s competing against Teyana Taylor’s Escape Room and Leon Thomas’ MUTT, among other albums. Fans will find out who takes home the award on Feb. 1, 2026.
A week after that, she’ll join Charlie Puth and Brandi Carlile to provide a little “pregame entertainment” for Super Bowl LX. Jones will perform the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”