Joanna Noëlle Blagden Levesque (born December 20, 1990), professionally known as JoJo, is an American R&B singer–songwriter, and actress. After competing on the television show, America's Most Talented Kids, record producer Vincent Herbert took notice who asked her to audition for Blackground Records.She rose to fame after releasing her self-titled debut album, which debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200, with sales of 95,000 copies, selling over 3 million copies worldwide. The first single off of the album, "Leave (Get Out)", was released in February 2004. It climbed to #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was certified gold by the RIAA. The single also rose 5 weeks to #1 on the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream, making her the youngest solo artist to have a number-one single in the United States.
She also has a film career. She made her first television appearance by The Bernie Mac Show. In 2006 She starred in two Hollywood films, Aquamarine, her first film debut and RV. JoJo's second album, The High Road, was released on October 17, 2006, and debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 108,000 copies, selling over 2 million copies worldwide. The first single of the album, "Too Little Too Late", was released in August 2006 and reached number three on Billboard Hot 100. The single was certified with platinum by the RIAA..
She has hosted the Ultimate Prom and appeared in the movie True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet which earned her a nomination at the Poptastic Awards . Her third studio album, All I Want Is Everything is yet to be released in early 2010.
Early life and career:JoJo was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, and raised in Keene, New Hampshire and Foxborough, Massachusetts. She has English, Irish, Polish, French, Scottish, and Native American ancestry. She grew up in a one-bedroom apartment in Foxborough, in a low-income family. Her father sings as a hobby, her mother sang in a Catholic church choir and was trained in musical theater. Her parents divorced when she was three.
During her early years, JoJo listened as her mother practiced hymns. She started singing when she was two years and three months old by imitating, everything from nursery rhymes to R&B, jazz, and soul 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.
At age 7, JoJo appeared on the television show Kids Say the Darnedest Things: On the Road in Boston with American comedian and actor Bill Cosby and she sang a song from singer Cher. After auditioning in the television show Destination Stardom, JoJo sang Aretha Franklin's 1967 hit "Respect" & Chain of Fools. Soon after, The Oprah Winfrey Show contacted her, inviting her to perform. She 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. At 6 years old, JoJo was offered a record deal, but her mother turned it down because she believed JoJo was too young for a music career. After appearing on talk shows and the McDonald's Gospel Fest performing Whitney Houston's "I Believe In You and Me" and competing on the television show, America's Most Talented Kids, but have not win the show and lost to Diana DeGarmo. 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 & Karlin.
JoJo's live demo, Joanna Levesque, recorded in 2001, features covers of soul and 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".
Acting career:JoJo has acted since age four. She did local theater, radio, and TV commercials in the New England area, and national TV shows from age seven. JoJo made her professional stage debut at eight in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream as Mustardseed at the Huntington Theater. She received her first union card from the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA) at ten.
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. The film opened on March 3, 2006, opening at number five with $7.5 million.
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.
JoJo stated that "no one hired an acting coach for me on the set of Aquamarine." She announced that she will be billed as "Joanna 'JoJo' Levesque" in her film roles, but that she will still be credited as simply "JoJo" for her music work.
In 2005 she was offered a role as Zoe Stewart in the hit television series Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel, but she turned down the role because she was not really interested doing a television show. She was more concerned with being a legitimate artist, and a film career was not really what she saw for herself.
On August 28, 2007, in an interview with BOP and Tiger Beat online, JoJo stated that she was working on a new film. On September 10, JoJo revealed that she would be traveling to Toronto to film a small screen adaptation of Lola Douglas' True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet and play the role of Morgan Carter with Golden Globe winner Valerie Bertinelli and 90210-star Shenae Grimes, to be broadcast on Lifetime television. The film was released in August 9, 2008 on Lifetime Television and on DVD on March 3, 2009.
According to rumors JoJo was offered the role of Jeanette Miller in the sequel to the film Alvin and the Chipmunks with Drew Barrymore and Miley Cyrus, but these rumors were refuted in 2009. Actress Christina Applegate got the role instead.
Personal life:JoJo and her mother reside in New Jersey, and her recording studio is in Manhattan, New York City. She was home schooled for three years, has stated that "school was definitely a big part of my life". She performs well academically, receiving marks in the As and Bs.
JoJo dated American soccer player Freddy Adu from May 2005 until September 2006. Both met on the MTV show Fake ID Club while she was hosting it. JoJo made an appearance in the commentary box at a New England Revolution home game when they were playing D.C. United. Freddy Adu registered an assist in that game. A Washington Post article in November 2006 reported that the couple split after one year. JoJo mentioned on American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest that she and Adu were still good friends.
JoJo stated that she was single on the October 18, 2006 episode of Live with Regis and Kelly. She was also in the October 2006 issue of Teen People magazine confirming her breakup with Freddy Adu. She said: "I'm single right now and it's good. I'm so young. I'm going to be 16 in December and I'm just so busy. It's hard if you also want to date someone who has a high-profile profession; we were just both consumed with our own world..."
Since 2006 she's a good friend with actress Emma Roberts, Sara Paxton and Robin Williams' daughter Zelda Williams. She appeared with her father on the Behind the scene of JoJo's "Too Little Too Late".
On February 28, 2007, she was ranked at number ten in the list of Forbes top twenty earners under 25 with an annual earning of $1 million.
JoJo announced on her MySpace blog that she will be attending Northeastern University, but she will not hold her career and decided to continue to focus on her music career. In August 2009, she confirmed that she is finished with her High School and will focus very hard on her future projects.In July 2009, JoJo was ranked at number five in the list "Barely Legal: The 10 Hottest ’90s Babies" by Complex.com, after Emma Roberts and Willa Holland.
Lawsuit:
JoJo recently filed a lawsuit in New York against her record label Da Family Entertainment for putting her in musical limbo. The label won't let her out of her contract or let her record a new album. She is seeking $500,000 for her troubles and released from her contract. JoJo was released from her contract in October 2009 and a deal was reached to make Interscope Records her distributing label.
