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Born December 20, 1990 in Brattleboro, Wisconsin
December 20, 1990
JoJo was born Joanna Noelle Levesque in Brattleboro, Vermont and raised in Keene, New Hampshire and Foxborough, Massachusetts. She has Scottish, Irish, English and Polish ancestry from her mother's side, and French Canadian, Irish, and Native American from her father's side. She grew up in a one-bedroom apartment in Foxborough, in a low-income family. Her father, Joel Maurice Levesque, sings as a hobby, and her mother, Diana Levesque, sang in a Catholic church choir and was trained in musical theater.
Her parents divorced when she was three.
During her earlier years, JoJo would listen and learn as her mother practiced her hymns. She started singing when she was two years and 3 months old by imitating her mother, putting her own spin on everything from nursery rhymes to pop and Jazz tunes. On the A&E's show Child Stars III: Teen Rockers, her mother claimed that JoJo had a borderline genius IQ. As a child, JoJo enjoyed attending Native American festivals and acted locally in professional theaters.
Music Career Gets Underway
January 1, 2001
After auditioning for the television show Kids Say the Darndest Things: On the Road in Boston, JoJo was given a spot to perform on the show, singing Aretha Franklin's 1967 hit "Respect". Host Bill Cosby and the crowd at Faneuil Hall responded overwhelmingly to her performance. Soon after, The Oprah Winfrey Show contacted her, inviting her to perform. She also performed on Maury, on one of the frequent "kids-with-talent" episodes, as well as many others. Reminiscing, she has stated that "when it came to performing, I just had no fear".
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 Karin and Elizabeth Aparicio.
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 Internet-auction eBay.
First Single Released, JoJo Goes on Tour
January 1, 2004
JoJo's platinum-certified first 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, starting 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 reached 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 first 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.
"Come Together Now"
January 1, 2005
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.
Dating Freddy Adu
May 1, 2005 - August 1, 2006
JoJo dated American soccer star Freddy Adu from May 2005 to August 2006.
Professional Film Debut in "Aquamarine"
March 3, 2006
JoJo has been acting since she was 4. She did local theater, some radio, and tv commercials in the New England area, and then national TV shows from age 7 on. JoJo made her professional stage debut at age 8 in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in the role of Mustardseed at the Huntington Theater. She received her first union card from the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA) at age 10.
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 with mediocre success at the domestic box office, opening at number five with $7.5 million.
JoJo had been acting and received acting training before being cast on Aquamarine, although this is denied by JoJo herself. She stated that "no one hired
an acting coach for me on the set of Aquamarine. The acting coach was
hired for another actress, but all the leads worked with her" on her
newest MySpace blog. She will be billed as "Joanna 'JoJo' Levesque" in her film roles, but
will still be credited as simply "JoJo" for her music work.
"Anything" Single Released
March 16, 2006
On March 16, The Second JammX Kids All Star Dance Special broadcast a new song by JoJo entitled "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 one. This song has been JoJo's most successful single in the U.S. so far and showcases her ability to sing in the upper 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.
JoJo Appears in "RV"
April 28, 2006
Her second major 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. Since the success of the film, JoJo has revealed that there are currently no future plans to make a sequel.
Second Album, "The High Road" Released
October 17, 2006
JoJo's second album, The High Road, was released on October 17, 2006.
The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 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.
Good Grades, Rated "Top Earning Young Star" by Forbes
Feburary 28, 2007
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 A's and B's.
On February 28, 2007, JoJo was ranked number ten in Forbes Young Hollywood Top-Earning Stars
National Female Vocalist of the Year
December 1, 2007
On December 1, 2007, JoJo won the Boston Music Award for National Female Vocalist of the Year for "Too Little Too Late".
