We’ve Got A File On You: JoJo

We’ve Got A File On You features interviews in which artists share the stories behind the extracurricular activities that dot their careers: acting gigs, guest appearances, random internet ephemera, etc.

“Oh my God, please, have some,” are the first words out of JoJo’s mouth as I sit down across from her. The singer gently slides over the plate of sweet potato fries she’s been munching on at this hole-in-the-wall cafe near her new apartment in upper Manhattan. She’s been spending the afternoon here doing interviews; in less than 48 hours, she’ll release NGL, her new EP that homes in on the R&B-pop blend she first started exploring over 20 years ago.

If you were a girl in 2004, you almost certainly knew JoJo. That’s the year she released her hit debut single "Leave (Get Out)," a soulful, attitude-filled dig at a cheating ex-boyfriend. The breakup anthem immediately made 13-year-old JoJo a superstar despite the fact that, as she recalls in her new memoir Over The Influence, she hadn’t even had her first kiss yet when she recorded it. A couple of years later, JoJo -- born Joanna Levesque, known in her personal life as Jo -- moved from her Massachusetts hometown to Los Angeles with her mother and released her sophomore album The High Road. That album’s power ballad of a lead single, "Too Little Too Late," peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. JoJo, who often felt like the odd one out growing up, was now seemingly invincible.

“I couldn’t really grasp the magnitude of it all at the time,” JoJo, now 34, tells me of her early success. “But I knew that our lives were changing. I knew that things were different. I knew that some people were starting to know who I was. I was just trying to keep up, making sure I didn’t go back to my life before.”

But things came to a halt when JoJo’s then-label kept delaying the release of her next album -- not by weeks or months, but years. Over The Influence details the battle of trying to break free from that contract; after successfully doing so, she re-recorded her first two albums and shared the updated versions in 2018. Those were the first two releases by Clover Music, the label imprint she founded as a joint venture with Warner Music. NGL and the three studio albums that preceded it (2020’s Good To Know and December Baby and 2021’s Trying Not To Think About It) were all made and put out under JoJo’s own terms, at last.

Below, JoJo discusses writing a book, starring in Moulin Rouge on Broadway, being a Drake stan, and more.

Publishing Her Memoir Over The Influence (2024)

JOJO: The notes section of my phone is just littered with random thoughts and poems and stream of consciousness stuff. But to structure it all? I didn't know what I was doing. It was coming up on the 20th anniversary of my first album, and I thought, “That's pretty wild that I'm just in the beginning of my 30s, and I've been in my career for 20 years.” I wanted to make sense of it, so I started writing for myself as an exercise. Then I shared it with my literary agent, and I asked, “Can you objectively tell me if you think anybody would be interested in this?” I took the next year and just dove into it. I was hesitant to write a book because I'm still so young, but I thought of people like [former Nickelodeon star] Jennette McCurdy, who had just released her memoir, and we're about the same age. I was like, “Why am I thinking about it like that? Writing a memoir doesn't mean my life is over. It means I'm memorializing that chapter of my life and sharing it.” We all want to be understood, and I think I grow the most by putting myself in uncomfortable situations. I don’t know if I got it “right” -- I’d keep working on it forever if there wasn't a publishing deadline -- but I’m so, so glad that I tried.

How do you think your experience as a songwriter shaped how you write a book?

JOJO: A song has patterns and a theme. And as I was writing my book, I realized that the theme was addiction and fear and being influenced by everything and everyone around me, and losing myself in that.

Making Her Broadway Debut Starring In Moulin Rouge (2023)

JOJO: I grew up loving Little Shop Of Horrors and Phantom Of The Opera and Guys And Dolls, and my mom was in a lot of different local productions when I was growing up. I also love Baz Lurhmann, so I had seen the movie Moulin Rouge a bunch and saw the musical when it was touring in LA. I saw Satine come down from the ceiling, and I was like, “Oh my God, what a way to enter into the show. I'd love to do something like that one day.” I said it out loud. I said it to my manager. I planted a seed with my agents. I wasn’t really ready to make a new original project, so I wanted to see if there were any opportunities for me in musical theater. It just so happened that Moulin Rouge was looking for someone on Broadway. I learned the entire soundtrack, I studied the script, and I went in for the audition super prepared. I had no idea if I was gonna be cast, but I walked out thinking, “I had so much fun just preparing for this.” It was such a treat either way.

As a lifelong performer, what surprised you most about being on Broadway?

JOJO: The venue had speakers that were flush to the stage, totally flat, so I didn’t have to wear in-ears. I got to hear everything around me, even if someone in the audience laughed or coughed or something. I felt completely connected. It can feel a bit disorienting when you’re wearing in-ears; I’ve been using them for a long time, and I never really got comfortable with them. So, not having to wear them was probably one of my favorite things about doing Broadway. Plus, there’s the community aspect of it — being in it together six days a week, day in, day out, with all the actors and carpenters and ushers. It’s a really special, almost summer camp type of experience.

It seems like you really enjoy the behind-the-scenes aspect of performing.

JOJO: I do! It takes so much to make something good work. I love the whole process, the camaraderie, and the routine of it all.

Recording The Official Song For Joe Biden’s 2020 Campaign (2020)

JOJO: That came together because of the force that is Diane Warren. She had written a few songs for me -- “Note To God” and “Exceptional” [both from The High Road] -- and we’d collaborated a bit over the years. She’s an icon, and basically whatever she asks of me, I’m down. She was working with the Biden-Harris campaign for this song “The Change,” and thought I might be a good fit for it. This was all during some weird pandemic times, but it was used in some social media and commercials, which was cool to see.

Competing On The Masked Singer (2020)

JOJO: I never envisioned myself doing any type of reality TV, but during the pandemic, I had started to really like watching The Masked Singer. It was so lighthearted and felt good-natured. My friend Tori Kelly had done it the season before, so I asked her, “Did you have a good time?” She was like, “I had a blast.” So I thought, maybe this would be funny. Maybe I should just let it all hang out and give it a shot. It was cool to sing all these songs and different genres, because I got my start by covering different songs. And I made it to the end! My favorite song I sang was probably Kings Of Leon’s “Use Somebody.” You do get to choose what to sing, but the producers give you a lot of ideas to choose from.

Re-recording Her First Two Albums (2018)

JOJO: For a period of time, my first album and The High Road weren’t available on streaming. Fans would message me, like, “Why can’t I listen to your first two albums?” I’m like, “I don’t own these. I have nothing to do with this, actually.” It was so frustrating feeling like I didn’t have answers. I wanted to have authority over my own life. My manager had this idea and looked through my contract, and saw that I could legally recreate my own songs and make them sound as similar to the old versions as I wanted. So we did that, and it was such a game changer for me. It showed me that if you look for solutions, you might be able to find them if you just think creatively about it. And my fans embraced it -- they made it super worthwhile.

I think you doing that really sparked a revolution in pop music, even beyond just Taylor Swift doing the Taylor’s Versions.

JOJO: And everybody’s reason for doing it is so personal. I think it’s really dope. I was just chatting with my lawyer, and what’s interesting now is that some labels are putting in clauses that say you can’t re-record your own music. They’re establishing that they don't want artists doing that. It makes sense, but I think artists are very awake to it. They’re smarter and more empowered than ever and might decide against the major label route, you know? There’s still a lot of lack of transparency, especially in digital streaming, but the tides have turned and it’s a really interesting time.

You had some writing credits on those first two albums, too. Was there anything you realized about yourself from an artistic perspective, besides having an adult’s voice now?

JOJO: I realized I was not at all self-conscious when I was making my first album. I was so free. I could hear it in my range and my delivery. Listening to that at 27, I noticed I’d developed all these self-protection mechanisms because life happens and things scare you. You realize you shouldn’t trust everybody and maybe can’t even trust yourself. Your voice cracks, you get embarrassed, you don’t go for the high notes. But I could hear that freedom and trust in my 13-year-old self.

I wrote the song “Keep On Keeping On” by myself when I was 12 years old. That was a really wild experience to be hearing it 15 years later, my 12-year-old self comforting and reassuring my present self: “You gotta keep your head up high.” Even though I have only good memories of making those first two albums, it was a really cathartic experience to revisit them, and be able to relate more to the lyrics.

Covering "Marvins Room" And Drake’s Co-Sign (2011)

JOJO: That was mad exciting. I’ve always been a really huge fan, and he was definitely my favorite artist at the time. I have so much respect for how he’s changed music. I was obsessed with his first mixtape, and by the time Take Care came out, I was just wearing that shit out. I decided to record my version of "Marvins Room" because it felt like a loophole. I was like, "I can't legally release new music, but maybe I can put my voice on something." It's not even about monetizing it, just having fun and putting it out. Then Drake messaged me to tell me he liked it. So the fact that he not only heard it but dug it, too, meant a lot to me.

Another teen prodigy!

JOJO: For real. Actually, right after that, I randomly ran into him at a Christmas party at Jennifer Lopez’s house. He was so sweet -- I hadn’t seen him since he was on Degrassi. We first met at the Teen Choice Awards, I think.

Self-Releasing Her First Mixtape (2010)

JOJO: I think I put that out for my 20th birthday. Those were all songs originally intended for studio album releases -- one album was going to sound this way, another album another way. On this mixtape, I kind of just put them together however I wanted, whatever genre I was feeling, to go directly to my fans without a label. It was so reassuring and confidence-boosting that the co-writers and producers I worked with were willing to let me put these songs out there for free, pretty much. It was my first taste of that independent experience, and that spirit really spoke to me.

Making A Response Song To Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls” (2007)

JOJO: People in hip-hop did things like that all the time — they’d take a track, write new lyrics over it. It’s just been a tradition forever. So I was taking a page out of what had been done for a long time, and I uploaded a response to “Beautiful Girls” to Myspace. Where we were at with the internet just made it so easy to do that peacefully. Sean was super supportive. I’m always flattered when someone covers my songs, so I like showing love that way too.

Starring In Aquamarine And Playing Robin Williams' Daughter In RV (2006)

JOJO: I’d done an independent film before I got signed, and I had done musical theater, so I loved acting. I was asked to audition for Aquamarine, and I was so excited for an opportunity that was separate from singing and might help me grow. We filmed in Australia. My biggest memory from that set was that me, Emma Roberts, and Sara Paxton were all obsessed with the paninis at craft services. Also, Emma got attacked by a jellyfish one day.

You became friends and collaborators with Robin Williams’ actual daughter. Did he introduce you two?

JOJO: Zelda’s my sister. We’ve been rocking for such a long time. I remember during filming, Robin told me his daughter was my age and that he thought we’d get along. We met at a premiere and really hit it off. We both moved to LA, and a few months later, I was shooting the “Too Little Too Late” video. Both he and Zelda came to set to support me. At the time, I was typically only working with people older than me, so it was really nice to have Zelda there.

That’s a great insider fact: Robin Williams was on the set of the “Too Little Too Late” video.

JOJO: Making everyone laugh.

Going On Her First Big Tour Opening For Usher (2004)

JOJO: Everything was a first. Everything was new. It was an amazing up-close education for me to be in all those different arenas, seeing the same set being built and then broken down and loaded onto trucks every night, seeing the dancers warm up, and hearing the musicians at soundcheck. I’d watch Usher do the meet and greet and then put on a phenomenal performance every night. It was really dope to see an artist at the top of his game who had already been in the industry for at least 15 years at the time. Especially when I was 13, I was just a sponge soaking up as much as I could whether I knew it or not.

I think a lot of people who started in this industry young have experiences that were really negative for them, or they were forced into it. I was not forced into it. I wanted more than anything to be a performer and to live an artist’s life. So it was a dream come true.

Covering Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, And More For Her First Demo (2001)

JOJO: I guess that was technically my first album. My mom had met a guy in my hometown, Foxborough, who had converted an old church into a studio. She mentioned how much I loved to sing and he agreed to record me. He had a bunch of musicians there who all seemed so old to me at the time — they were probably, like, in their 40s or 50s. I did a bunch of my favorite soul and blues songs, and that was my first time in a studio. The demo even said "Joanna Levesque" on the cover.

You weren’t going by JoJo?

JOJO: I wasn’t JoJo until I was 12. The executive producer on my first album, Vincent Herbert, was like, “Has anyone ever called you JoJo? That could be cute.” I was like, “But what about [R&B duo] K-Ci & JoJo? Would that be weird?” And he was like, "Don’t worry. People are not going to think you’re the same person."

I mean, there’s only one person I think of when I think “JoJo.”

JOJO: I’m just thankful JoJo Siwa uses her last name.

Being Featured On Kids Say The Darndest Things And Destination Stardom (1998-1999)

JOJO: I was the kid singing at the hair salon during my nana’s appointment. I used to put a hat out on the street and just start performing, and I would draw a crowd. So I remember just, like, vibrating with excitement, juiced up to do my thing in front of people on TV. I was six or seven and missing at least one front tooth.

Kids Say The Darndest Things was a show that had been popular decades prior, and they revived it for a while in the '90s. It was just kids being kids, saying wild shit, singing, telling jokes, showcasing their talents. I acted like I was a radio, and someone would "press a button" and I’d go from one song to the next -- Elvis, to Cher, to the Beatles or something.

Destination Stardom is a bit of a blur. The competition aspect freaked me out. I was like, “We’re all different, we’re all special, so why do we need to compete?” From a really young age, I think I realized competition like that isn't really where it’s at for me. But growing up, since I was singing everywhere I went, people would tell my mom, “She’s really got something.” I think her hearing that a lot made it easier for her to let me take these opportunities. I’m really lucky that she took the time to make those sacrifices for me. Otherwise, I have no idea where I’d be.