Coco Jones recorded her first songs when she was just 11 years old, an entirely DIY project, burned onto a CD with help from her mom.

“Corny sounds, corny vibes, corny subject matter,” Jones recalled. “But that was my life at the time.”

It’s an adjective that couldn’t be more inaccurate when describing her current musical identity.

Jones, now 25, has been in the spotlight since her preteen years — most notably starring in the Disney Channel musical “Let It Shine” at age 14 — but has come into her own as one of the most vocally gifted talents leading the charge into a new era of R&B.

“What I Didn’t Tell You,” her High Standardz/Def Jam debut, narrates a love story gone wrong, stemming from a smitten admirer who eventually betrays her trust to the point of no return.

“ICU,” the EP’s runaway hit, landed her first spot on the Billboard Hot 100 along with an eventual remix courtesy of Justin Timberlake.

“It’s so funny to me, because I grew up singing songs like ‘ICU,’ ” she said. “I used to audition to songs from Aretha Franklin, CeCe Winans, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey. My mom chose the most challenging songs for me as a kid because she wanted me to be able to sing anything.”

Jones was raised by a family well-versed in show business — her father is the former NFL player Mike Jones, and her mother is a session vocalist. Music was just one of many passions in the beginning.

“I didn’t know what would be my way to college,” she said. “I figured I’d play a sport to get in and figure out what I want to do from there. But doors just opened, that led to me taking (entertaining) seriously at a young age.”

Jones auditioned for roles in Nashville, Tennessee, and landed on several episodes of Disney Channel’s “So Random!” beginning in 2011 before notching her lead role in “Let It Shine” alongside actor Tyler James Williams. But despite the promising start, fully realizing her dreams proved to be a laborious process; she says rampant colorism played a role in her losing out on desired roles.

Jones signed a deal with Hollywood Records in 2012, and would release a wide-eyed, club-pumping EP titled “Made Of” that same year. But the label dropped her in 2014, forcing Jones to chart a new path once again.

In August, Jones embarked on her first tour since she was a young child. The tour not only allowed her to connect with her fans in person for the first time, but reoriented her approach toward music as she crafts her follow-up.

“Those sold-out shows really motivated me,” Jones said. “When I made the EP, I just wanted to captivate people, because not enough people knew me. Now, I want to make songs with being onstage in mind.”

Oct. 22 birthdays: Actor Christopher Lloyd is 85. Actor Catherine Deneuve is 80. Actor Jeff Goldblum is 71. Musician Greg Hawkes is 71. Actor Bob Odenkirk is 61. Musician Shaggy is 55. Actor Carmen Ejogo is 50. Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson is 48. Drummer Zac Hanson is 38. Actor Corey Hawkins is 35.