''Jaguar'' is the fifth

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) by American singer-songwriter

Victoria Monét Victoria Monét McCants (born May 1, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. First gaining recognition for her songwriting work, Monét pursued a recording career with the release of a series of extended plays (EPs); her fifth, ''Jaguar'' (2020) ...

, released on August 7, 2020 via Tribe Records and Platoon LTD. Stylistically an R&B project, with elements of

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

music, the EP was supported by three singles; "Ass Like That", "Moment", and "

Experience Experience refers to Consciousness, conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience i ...

" with

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

and

SG Lewis Samuel George Lewis (born 9 July 1994) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is mostly known for collaborating with many artists from Tove Lo, Robyn, Dua Lipa, Nelly Furtado, Mabel, Victoria Monét, Lucky Daye, J ...

. A

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

for the project was released on July 28, 2020. Monét initially intended ''Jaguar'' to be a trilogy of EPs. However, as the second installment experienced a severe delay, the series was eventually reduced to only two parts, with '' Jaguar II'' now being her debut studio album. Upon release, ''Jaguar'' received widespread acclaim from music critics, many of whom praised its musical direction and lyricism. The project was ranked in year-end lists by many publications. In support of both ''Jaguar'' and ''Jaguar II'', Monét embarked on The Jaguar Tour in 2023.

Background

After collaborating with

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...

on the song "

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

" in April 2019, Monét revealed she had begun working on her next project. Monét was announced as Apple Music's Up Next artist in February 2020. On June 26, 2020, Monét officially announced the project on her social media simultaneously unveiling the cover art. On July 28, 2020, a short film was premiered with the album's track listing being revealed in the film, anticipating the album.

Singles

On October 22, 2019, Monét released the lead single from ''Jaguar'', "Ass Like That". The song was about loving oneself and accomplishing their personal goals. On February 6, 2020, Monét released the second single " Moment" with its music video being released on February 20. Monét would perform "Moment" and make her late night television debut on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...

'' in March 2020. This was followed by the promotional single, "Dive" on April 21, 2020. On June 19, 2020, Monét released the third official single, "

" with

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

and

, alongside the pre-order of the project. A music video for the title track was premiered on the release date of the entire project.

Critical reception

''Jaguar'' received widespread acclaim from music critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 82 based on seven reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Nicolas-Tyrell Scott of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' gave ''Jaguar'' a 4-out-5-star-rating, and said "this record heralds onétas one of the most enticing acts in R&B’s contemporary canon, near-guaranteed to become a bonafide star in her own right." Wongo Okon from ''

Uproxx Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...

'' also gave the album a positive review, saying it "far exceeds her previous releases" thanks to her "sharp-as-ever pen and a sound that has been tweaked to accentuate her artistry." Robin Murray of '' Clash'' gave the album a 9 out of 10 score and called ''Jaguar'' "a daring yet highly finessed triumph". He goes onto say "It's a wonderful experience, with Victoria Monét's stellar artistry balancing the sensuality of sound with a killer lyrical flair that aims straight for the heart." Dani Blum of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' gave ''Jaguar'' a score of 7.1 out of 10, noting that the project is "a sleek cocoon of funk-tinged R&B that excavates what it means to be in control."

Background

Singles

Critical reception

Year-end lists

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References