Teyana Taylor returned to the spotlight and earned her first Grammy nomination with Escape Room, five years after stepping away from music due to feeling “super under-appreciated.”

The multifaceted Teyana Taylor released her fourth studio album in August, marking a personal and professional comeback that she says was entirely on her own terms. The project landed her a nod in the Best R&B Album category at the 2024 Grammy Awards, a milestone she described as deeply personal.

“I think what lured me back was just me coming back on my terms,” Taylor told People. “All I ever wanted was to feel appreciated, and I wanted to feel utilised. I didn’t want to be stuck or put into one box.”

Taylor had announced her retirement from music in 2020 after releasing The Album, citing industry frustration and a lack of recognition. She then pivoted to acting, landing roles in 2021’s Coming 2 America and the 2023 Sundance-winning drama A Thousand and One, which was praised by The Guardian.

But the pull of the studio proved too strong to ignore.

“Everything is happening, everything I ever dreamed of. (It’s) one answered prayer after another,” she said of her Grammy nomination. Though thrilled, Taylor admitted the honor stirred up a mix of feelings.

“You have all these different thoughts and emotions that go through your head where it’s just like, ‘Oh, my God, this is so amazing,’” she said. “Of course, you feel like every project deserved that recognition. What made this one more worthy than the other one?”

She added that the nomination feels like a tribute to her entire discography.

“It’s for every album that I put out that I felt like was underrated or not seen,” she said.

Escape Room was released in August 2023, five years after her previous album and three years after announcing her retirement.