JoJo's stage name comes from a childhood nickname. After appearing on talk shows and gospel festivals and competing on the television show, America's Most Talented Kids, record producer Vincent Herbert contacted her and asked her to audition for Blackground Records. During her audition for Barry Hankerson, Hankerson told her that the spirit of his niece, the late singer Aaliyah, had brought her to him. She was signed to the label, and had recording sessions with famed producers like The Underdogs and Soulshock & Karlin.
JoJo's live demo, Joanna Levesque, recorded in 2001, features covers of several well-known soul/R&B songs, including Wilson Pickett's 1966 "Mustang Sally", Etta James's 1989 "It Ain't Always What You Do (It's Who You Let See You Do It)", Aretha Franklin's 1968 "Chain of Fools" and 1969 "The House That Jack Built", The Moonglows' 1956 "See Saw", Stevie Wonder's 1972 "Superstition", and The Temptations' 1975 "Shakey Ground". The demo is sometimes available on eBay.
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JoJo's platinum-certified debut single "Leave (Get Out)" was released in 2004. Before the album's release, JoJo embarked on her first ever tour, the Cingular Buddy Bash with Fefe Dobson, Young Gunz and Zebrahead. The tour went to 9 Simon malls, launching at Atlanta's Northlake Mall and ending at South Shore Plaza. The track became an international hit, peaking at number twelve on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, number two on the UK Singles Chart, and number two on the Australian Singles Chart. When the single hit number one on the Top 40 Mainstream, she became, at age thirteen, the youngest solo artist to have a number-one single in America and also the youngest nominee for a MTV Video Music Award ("Best New Artist" for "Leave (Get Out)", in 2004). Her debut album, the platinum-selling JoJo, followed; it peaked at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number ten on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, selling about 107,000 copies and reaching the top forty of the UK Albums Chart. The album has sold a total of almost 1.5 million copies in the U.S. JoJo co-wrote two of the album's songs, as well as wrote and co-produced one full track. Her second single, the gold-selling "Baby It's You"—which features rapper Bow Wow—peaked at number twenty-two in the U.S. and number eight in the UK.
The final single off the album, "Not That Kinda Girl", released in 2005, failed to make waves on the charts. The song hit number eight on the TRL daily countdown for one day but then fell from the charts, never to appear on the countdown again.
In 2004, JoJo participated in "Come Together Now", a charity single to benefit the victims of the 2004 Asian Tsunami and the 2005 Hurricane Katrina. That year, she was personally requested by First Lady Laura Bush to perform at the 2004 Christmas in Washington special, broadcast by TNT and hosted by Dr. Phil and his wife Robin McGraw. Despite performing at other events for the Republican Party, she has stated that she does not "agree with the things that President George W. Bush has done in office. I'll leave it at that". JoJo has also hosted and performed at the Hope Rocks concert in 2005 to benefit City of Hope Cancer Center and co-hosted the 2006 TV Guide Channel's countdown to the Grammy Awards.
In an interview with OK! magazine, JoJo stated that Beyoncé is her favorite singer and that she looks up to her.
| The High Road (2006) |
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JoJo's second album, The High Road, was released on October 17, 2006.
The album debuted at number three on the Billboard charts behind Diddy's Press Play and Evanescence's The Open Door. It was produced by Scott Storch, Swizz Beatz, J. R. Rotem, Corey Williams, and Ryan Leslie. It has received mainly positive reviews.
On March 16, The Second JammX Kids All Star Dance Special aired a new song by JoJo titled "Anything", which samples Toto's 1982 hit single "Africa". In the summer of 2006, the lead single from her second album, "Too Little Too Late", was released to radio stations. The single debuted at number ninety on the Billboard Hot 100 and, in its fifth week on the chart, lept from number sixty to number three. This song has been JoJo's most successful single in the U.S. so far. It also showcases that JoJo is capable of hitting notes in the whistle register. The October 27, 2006 issue of Entertainment Weekly refers to JoJo in the review for her latest album as "a vocal phenomenon, capable of Mariah Carey-style upper register flourishes". It has also reached number one on iTunes Top Songs after its release as a digital download on September 12, 2006. The album's second official single, "How to Touch a Girl", experienced less success. It charted just outside the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number seventy-six on the Billboard Pop 100. "Let It Rain" was released for airplay only. JoJo later stated on her MySpace that the third single would be "Anything". Though it showed promise as a single it stalled on the American charts and a video was not made, or perhaps the lack of a video was the reason for it stalling. On July 20, 2007 JoJo's answer to Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston leaked on the internet called "Beautiful Girls Reply". It debuted at #39 on the Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 Chart one month later. JoJo left a message saying that she wanted her fans' input in deciding between "Coming For You" or "Let It Rain" as the next single. She has also stated that she will be touring in the summer of 2007 in the U.S. and Europe in support of The High Road. Though there has not been an official tour, she has been performing with a live band as part of the Six Flags Starburst Thursday Night Concert series during the summer of 2007. During some of these shows she has thrown in medleys of her favorite popular songs from Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson, Gnarls Barkley, Jackson 5, Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, Usher, Carlos Santana, Jill Scott, Michael Jackson, George Benson, Musiq Soulchild, and Amy Winehouse, however in her version of "Rehab" she changed the "Rehab" to "Boston".
| Third studio album |
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JoJo has stated numerous times that she has been writing songs for her 3rd album which will be released when she turns 18. She has also stated that she is looking for a publisher so that she can sing some of her own songs which she has written herself.
In an interview with BOP and Tiger Beat online, JoJo stated that she is hoping to start recording a new album early next year (2008).
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| Acting career |
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After appearing on the television series The Bernie Mac Show and American Dreams, JoJo was cast opposite Emma Roberts and Sara Paxton in Aquamarine, playing Hailey, one of two teenage girls who discover a mermaid. The film opened on March 3, 2006 and performed mediocre at the domestic box office, opening at number five with $7.5 million. Her next film, RV, a comedy starring Robin Williams, was released on April 28, 2006. It opened at number one and grossed $69.7 million. JoJo had to audition for the part five times, and eventually replaced an actress who had already been cast in the role.
JoJo had not had any professional acting training before being cast in the roles, but was given an acting coach on the set of Aquamarine. She will be billed as "Joanna 'JoJo' Levesque" in her film roles, but will still be credited as simply "JoJo" for her music work.
JoJo was offered the role of the title character of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana, but turned it down because of her hectic schedule.
JoJo's music will remain her main focus, as she has stated that she prefers singing to acting.
On August 28th, in an interview with BOP and Tiger Beat online, JoJo stated that she is in the planning stages for a new movie project which she can't reveal too much of but will reveal all soon. On September 10th, JoJo announced that she will be traveling to Toronto to film her next role in a small screen adaption of Lola Douglas' "True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet", to air on Lifetime television. She also said that she wants to tour in Canada, Brazil and Egypt.
in September, JoJo stated on her MySpace page that she will start filming a film called Confessions of a Teenage Starlet in October through the first week of November.
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| Personal life |
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JoJo and her mother reside in New Jersey, and her recording studio is in Manhattan, New York City. JoJo also frequently visits Foxborough, Massachusetts, where she was raised and still has family. JoJo, who has been home schooled for the past three years, has stated that "school was definitely a big part of my life". She performs well academically, receiving marks in the As and Bs.
JoJo is a good friend of actress/singer duo Aly & AJ, Alexa Vega, Emma Roberts, and Sara Paxton.
She dated then-D.C. United and current Benfica (Portugal) soccer player Freddy Adu from May 14, 2005 to about October 2006. The two met on the MTV show Fake ID Club while she was hosting it. JoJo made an appearance in the commentary box at a New England Revolution home game when they were playing D.C. United. Adu registered an assist in that game. A Washington Post article in November 2006 reported that the couple split after one year. JoJo mentioned on American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest that she and Adu were still good friends.
JoJo stated that she was single on the October 18, 2006 episode of Live with Regis and Kelly. In addition, she was in the October 2006 issue of Teen People magazine confirming her breakup with Adu: "I'm single right now and it's good. I'm so young. I'm going to be 16 in December and I'm just so busy. It's hard if you also want to date someone who has a high-profile profession; we were just both consumed with our own world ..."
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