Muni Long talks Grammys, making breakup music: 'No person is happy all the time'

Muni Long is going into awards season ready to keep the momentum going.

The singer broke out in 2021 with her Grammy-winning single "Hrs & Hrs." Now she's going into the Feb. 2 award show with four more nominations – the most in the R&B category – including best R&B album for her most recent project, "Revenge," and its TikTok-viral single "Made For Me."

She says that last one – a success driven by social media – has naysayers branding her as an "influencer" and doubting the hitmaking songwriter's abilities. So while Long says she doesn't make music for awards, the honor of winning and being nominated for a Grammy is validating.

"People tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater, especially in this day and age, when you go viral," she says. "So get the recognition from my peers that like, 'No, actually, it's legit. We actually really like what she's doing and we love that she's bringing R&B back.' It's really affirming for me."

Long's songwriting portfolio includes everything from pop hits (Fifth Harmony's "Worth It," Selena Gomez's "Who Says," Rihanna's "California King Bed") to fan-favorite album cuts for Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter. Long has also dabbled a bit in the country scene, co-writing tracks for Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood as well as Florida Georgia Line.

Long balanced songwriting and developing a solo career for over a decade before her first hit as an artist stuck: "Hrs & Hrs," the sensual love song that had fans deciphering not-safe-for-work innuendos and welcoming the return of "real R&B." The singer credits those fans for allowing her to "bypass the gatekeepers" of the industry.

Muni Long on the secret to a TikTok hit, who's on her playlist and writing for Ariana Grande

"The power really is back in the hands of the consumer, and the artist has so much power because I can go directly to the fans and give them the music," she says.

Now, with a Grammy under her belt, has her experience in the industry changed?

"I think it made my success legitimate, at least from my perspective," she says, adding her songs have won Grammys, but winning as a solo artist was different. "It definitely helps to set the tone before you walk in the room."

She says her peers in the industry who have won awards or who have been nominated also "know how hard it is to actually take the trophy home. There's a mutual respect there. So that helps as well."

Who is the youngest Grammy winner? Meet the artists who've taken home the award

Long will be back at the Grammys with her latest album, "Revenge," which released in August.

The album is her first since she split from husband Raysean Hairston and it has the kind of breakup songs R&B is famous for.

Songs like "The Baddest" is a slick-talking empowerment ballad, while "30s" is transparent about the anxieties that come with being single. (Long notes she was eight months pregnant when she wrote "30s" and is now less concerned with the expectations put on single women.)

What are the 2025 Grammy Award categories? Full list ahead of music's biggest night

If fans were surprised by Long's turn to letting-go singles (like the brooding Grammy-nominated heartbreak record "Ruined Me"), they shouldn't be. "No person is happy all the time," she says. "At the very least, I hope people can hear my thought process and how I overcome, and how I interpret what loss feels like, what loneliness feels like, just how I'm processing the world."

The singer says "Revenge" was a "ninth-hour" album title choice that embodied how she felt in the moment – and not just in her romantic relationships. She has the same energy for anyone standing in her way, including the conditional supporters or "my way or the highway" voices around her.

"I just want to enjoy my success or to have peace. I don't want to argue," she says. "I'm not trying to be mad. At the end of the day, my best revenge is success."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Muni Long on 'affirming' Grammy noms, 'Revenge' and breakup music