| REAL NAME |
JOANNA LAVESQUE |
| DATE OF BIRTH |
NOVEMBER 20, 1990 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH |
FOXOBORO, MASSACHUSSETTS |
JoJo
A singer. A songwriter. A prodigy.
With just a few notes, she's made some
of the most influential men and women
in America stop in
their tracks to find her, and meet her. She
possesses a rare talent that has enchanted
talk show hosts, celebrities and audiences
throughout the United States. And she's
determined to take the music world by storm.
Her name is JoJo.
In the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts
JoJo grew up in a home filled with song.
Her mother, a church soloist and trained
musical theater performer, would practice
hymns and arias alike while a young JoJo
watched, listened and learned. She imitated
her mother's incredible range as well as the
sounds that breezed through the family's
home stereo: Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin,
Whitney Houston and Etta James.
"When I was two years old, I would
sing nursery rhymes. I would do riffs
on them and make them jazzy," JoJo remembers.
It was at this early age that she taught herself to
interpret the pop and blues tunes she heard with
her own distinctive and unique style.
Eager to perform in venues other than
her living room, JoJo searched for her
first big break. She found it in a small newspaper
clipping that advertised an audition for CBS-TV's
Kids Say the Darndest Things On The Road In
Boston. Her soul and passion left the producers
speechless and she was immediately given a spot
to perform. Once JoJo hit the stage, Bill Cosby,
the show's host, asked her to sing a little something
for the people-packed Faneuil Hall. JoJo belted out
a show-stopping rendition of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" which earned her an overwhelming response from the audience.
(As well as from Bill Cosby, himself.)
A phone call from The Oprah Winfrey show
followed soon after, inviting the young girl to
appear on the show. "When it came to performing,
I just had no fear," says JoJo.
All at once things began to happen.
Calls from talk show producers and
music festival organizers began to pour in.
JoJo did them all, singing at places as
diverse as a Boston Celtics basketball
game and the Republican National Convention.
But it was at McDonald's 2001 Gospelfest
(at Town Hall in New York City) where JoJo
brought down the house with one single song.
On a bill with music greats such as Melba Moore,
JoJo let loose her pipes on "I Believe in You and Me," Whitney Houston's smash hit from The Preacher's Wife.
"The place went crazy!" JoJo exclaims. "They gave me
a standing ovation, and when I walked off stage, Cissy Houston, Whitney's mother, said to me 'You did a great
job out there.'" Such a glowing endorsement was simply priceless to the young singer.
While appearing on the TV show, America's Most Talented Kids, JoJo was noticed by a man in the audience who introduced
her to Vincent Herbert, famed producer
and owner of Da Family Entertainment. JoJo was
signed to Da Family and offered two major recording contracts before finding her perfect match with Barry Hankerson and
his label Blackground Records, home
to Toni Braxton, Timbaland & Magoo, and the late
Aaliyah.
After being signed to Blackground, JoJo spent the
next four months recording tracks for her self-titled
debut in New York, Miami and Los Angeles, working
closely with famed producers such as Soulshock &
Karlin (Whitney Houston, Craig David), Vincent Herbert (Destiny's Child, Toni Braxton), Mike City (Brandy),
Brian Morgan (SWV), The Underdogs (Tyrese, Ruben Studdard), and writer Static (Aaliyah, Ginuwine).
"It was a great experience working with them in the
studio. Everyone had such an incredible vibe, and
that comes through in the songs," JoJo enthuses.
The album showcases JoJo's talent, not only as a
singer, but as a songwriter as well. She penned
three tracks for JoJo, including: "Keep On Keepin' On",
"Yes or No", and "Sunshine". Her favorite cut, "Keep On Keepin' On" is especially close to her heart.
"It was really hard when I was younger.
We were the lowest income people in our town,
" she explains. "My mom and I lived in a rundown one-bedroom apartment and we lived off very little money.
I wrote "Keep On Keepin' On" because I knew
I wasn't the only one going through hard times,
" she says.
The final product is an album infused with assured,
confident vocals and lyrics that speak way beyond
JoJo's tender years. The ballads are deep and soul-filled,
and the up-tempo tracks are bumping and make
you want to dance. Her music strikes the perfect balance between
attitude and innocence-which is exactly what JoJo is all about.
