At the young age of just 12, JoJo signed a recording deal with Blackground Records, and immediately entered the studio to record her debut single “Leave (Get Out)” which was later released on February 24th 2004. It was the leading single from her eponymous debut album, and it was she became the youngest solo artist to have a number one single in the US. It went on to be nominated for Best New Artist at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, again, making her the youngest MTV Video Music Award nominee. The album peaked at number 4 on the Billboard 200 and sold 95,000 in its first week. In December2004, she nominated for Female New Artist of the Year and Mainstream top 40 Single of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards.
It was 2006, and following international tours, time for a brand new album. She released the album “The High Road” on October 17th 2006, which debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200, selling a staggering 108,000 units. Following the release of the album she released the second single from the album “Too Little Too Late” which broke a record for the biggest jump to the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, going from number 66 to number 3 in just one week. The album was certified gold by the RIAA in December 2006.
It was February 2011 that JoJo uploaded a YouTube video saying that she was going to release a video for a brand new song called “Disaster”, which was on the album “Jumping Trains”. The single was her first charting single since her song “Too Little Too Late” and was criticized for not showing much progression. It made it to number 87 in the Billboard Hot 100, but fell off the chart the following week. None of this stopped JoJo from embarking on national tours.
Unfortunately her label, Blackground Records lost their distribution deal through Interscope Records in 2012, which not resulted in a delay in her next album release. Unfortunately JoJo found herself in a legal battle with her labels Blackground Record and Da Family for “irreparable damages to her professional career”. With the case eventually being dropped, it was announce at the beginning of 2014 that JoJo was no longer in her label turmoil, and signed a new record contract with Atlantic Records. Later in 2014 on March 16th 2014, she played on the stage of the SXSW festival.
There are only three people on stage: a pianist, a guitarist, and singer-songwriter JoJo. That might seem like a small, quiet group, but JoJo's voice fills the room. She opens with “Too Little Too Late”, and her passion for the music is clear. The audience is silent as she sings, carried by the moving lyrics and simple but emotive guitar chords. As soon as she stops singing, the spell is broken and the crowd erupts in applause. Despite being relatively young, JoJo, and American singer-songwriter, has had a huge success, and it's easy to see why once you hear her clever lyrics and raw skill. Her first debut single, “Leave (Get Out)”, was released when she was thirteen years old and was number one on the Billboard Pop songs chart. The song was also number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100, and, since then, the album has sold over four million copies. Her second album, The High Road, included another hit single, “Too Little Too Late”, one of her most famous songs, and was number three on the Billboard Hot 100. She has also released two mixtapes, and with each new release her skill only grows.
JoJo always performs well, both indoor and outdoor, acoustic or not, at small or large venues. She always does her best. This is one performer you shouldn't miss, and once you see her live, you'll be waiting for her to come back in town so you can go see her again!