2011–2014: Agnez Monica and Beginnings in the United States
Agnez Monica Beginnings in USA
In early 2011, Agnes recorded a duet version of "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" with American singer Michael Bolton, for the Asian edition of his compilation album, Gems: The Duets Album. Her slogan "Dream, Believe, and Make it Happen" was used in a 2011 cultural conference to inspire young people organized by the US Embassy in Jakarta. She was chosen to perform for the 26th SEA Games 2011 Opening Ceremony, with KC Concepcion from the Philippines and the Malaysian singer, Jaclyn Victor. Their performance of "Together We Will Shine" was the highlight of the event.Agnes ended her 10-year relationship with label Aquarius Musikindo by releasing her first greatest hits album, Agnes Is My Name, on 2 February 2011. The album compiled ten hit singles of the past decade with two new songs, "Karena Ku Sanggup" and "Paralyzed". The album was sold via Indonesian chains of fast-food restaurant KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), where the CD was bundled with chicken package purchase. This marketing strategy boosted the album sales to one million copies within three months, earning her the Million Award. She followed it with two non-album singles, "Rindu" and "Muda (Le O Le O)"; the later was free to download for simPATI subscribers.
Agnes won Anugerah Musik Indonesia for Best Female Pop Artist category for two consecutive years, in 2011 with "Karena Ku Sanggup" and in 2012 with "Paralyzed".[57] She was among the Worldwide Acts Asia Pacific nominees for the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards.In March 2012, she was nominated for Favorite Asian Act at the 2012 Nickleodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Still in the same year, she won the Mnet Asian Music Awards for Best Asian Artist from Indonesia and the Shorty Awards for The Shorty Vox Populi Award.
Agnes starred in soap operas Pejantan Cantik (2010), Marisa (2011) and Mimo Ketemu Poscha (2012). In 2012, Agnes returned as one of the judges for the season 7 of Indonesian Idol. The next year, she became a judge on NET's talent show named after her, Nez Academy.
In December 2012, she gave the opening and closing speeches at UN
Global Youth Forum and performed her unreleased song "Show a Little
Love" with American rapper Timbaland. They also performed the song at the pre-Grammy launch party in Los Angeles.
On 1 June 2013, she released her fourth studio album, Agnez Mo, which introduced her new stage name
instead of 'Agnes Monica'. Produced by Tearce Kizzo, it is her first
album where she co-wrote all the songs. The album was originally
recorded as her demo
which was sent out to record labels in the United States in order to
secure a deal for her international debut. Although all songs were
composed in English, the album was released for Indonesian market only.
It was released digitally via Souniq Music (bundled with local coffee
brand, Kopi Kapal Api) on June 2013. Two months later, the album was
released physically via local mini market, Indomaret.She also released her first-ever "eau de perfume" line, Rêve, meaning "Dream" in French.
Mo landed her US record deal with The Cherry Party, a label ventured with Sony Music Entertainment. Her debut international single, "Coke Bottle" featuring Timbaland and ., premiered in September 2013 in a hip hop radio station in Los Angeles, Power 106 FM. "Coke Bottle" was released digitally on 8 April 2014, and was serviced to urban radio stations in the United States on 20 April. Despite being voted as MTV Iggy's Song of the Summer, "Coke Bottle" failed to enter any Billboard charts. In November 2014, it was announced that Mo joined the Wright Entertainment Group, a management owned by Johnny Wright who has handled some of the big names in the US entertainment industry. She embarked on the Keep Walking Tour in several cities across Indonesia. The tour was sponsored by whisky brand Johnnie Walker
