Tag: mad love

Before Ariana Grande and Tori Kelly became stars our parent’s generation had Teena Marie, and us millennials had Christina Aguilera, but whatever happened to pop and r&b star JoJo?! In 2004, JoJo was only 13-years-old when her debut hit single “Get Out (Leave)” was on the pop charts. JoJo also released songs like ”Baby It’s You” and ”Too Little Too Late” and made appearances in films like “Aqua Marine” and “RV” and released another album, “The High Road” back in 2006. 

However, according to a lawsuit filed by JoJo her former label, Blackground Records, ran by the late singer Aaliyah’s uncle Barry Hankerson, would not release another official album. Blackground Records wouldn’t release any of JoJo’s music on streaming sites. The label pretty much “owned” her voice and she wasn’t being treated fairly. JoJo talks more in depth about this in a short documentary on YouTube by Uproxx. 

JoJo was released from her contract, but has covered different artists songs like Drake’s “Marvin’s Room, T-Pain’s “Can’t Believe It”, SWV’s ”Weak”, and Anita Baker’s ”Caught Up In The Rapture.” JoJo also dropped free mixtapes and EP’s like “Agape”, “Can’t Take That Away from Me”, ”Love Jo, and “Love Jo 2” before being signed to Atlantic Records.

In 2016 JoJo released an album titled “Mad Love” and went on tour. I had an opportunity to go to JoJo’s concert that stopped in Atlanta, Georgia back in April of 2017 at Buckhead Theater and it was awesome. The sold-out standing room only concert’s atmosphere was cozy and full of her diverse day one fans. JoJo’s opening act was rising star singer-songwriter, Stanaj, who sang a few songs and even took pictures with fans.

(Singer-Songwriter, Stanaj and I)

JoJo performed her older hits, cover songs, and newer songs from the ”Mad Love” album. In August 2017, JoJo announced her departure from Atlantic, in conjunction with announcing her new music venture, Clover Music, in a joint deal with Interscope. In April 2018, she announced the Leaks, Covers, & Mixtapes tour, which began in May.

Despite everything, JoJo’s been through in life battling depression and the loss of her father, and the ups and downs of the music industry she’s remained resilient and is still talented. JoJo recently re-recorded her older albums and they’re now available on streaming sites. Check out her Instagram @iamjojo. More recently JoJo and PJ Morton’s “Say So” won a Grammy and her newest album “Good to Know” comes out May 1, 2020. Don’t forget to watch the short JoJo documentary on YouTube below.