b. Joanna No‰lle Levesque, 20 December 1990, Foxboro, Massachusetts, USA. Teen pop starlet JoJo made her way into the music business via the high-profile world of children's television. The daughter of musical parents (her father is a blues singer while her mother sings in church), Levesque was singing from an early age and first attracted attention when, as a six-year-old, she sang Aretha Franklin's "Respect" on Bill Cosby's Kids Say The Darndest Things. She went on to appear on Oprah Winfrey and the talent show America's Most Talented Kids in addition to performing at numerous conventions and sports events.
At the start of the new millennium JoJo signed with Da Family Entertainment, a deal that eventually led to a recording contract with urban label Blackground Records. Her debut album was written and recorded with a number of leading R&B producers. This polished set of urban-influenced pop was heavily promoted after its release in June 2004, although most of the attention was focused on the attendant US Top 20/UK Top 5 summer hit "Leave (Get Out)". There was also some negative critical reaction in the media with several commentators complaining about the overly sexual image used to promote the singer, who was only 13 when "Leave (Get Out)" hit the charts.
Further acting work ensued with JoJo appearing in the televsion series American Dreams, and the movies Aquamarine and RV. She returned to the US charts in September 2006 with the single "Too Little, Too Late".
DISCOGRAPHY: JoJo (Da Family/Blackground 2004)***, The High Road (Blackground/Universal 2006)***.
FILMOGRAPHY: Developing Sheldon (2002), Aquamarine (2006), RV (2006).

Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Copyright 2008 by Muze Inc.; all rights reserved.