JoJo is the debut studio album by American singer JoJo, released on June 22, 2004, by Da Family Entertainment, Blackground Records, and Universal Records. Incorporating pop and R&B, JoJo was influenced by Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Brown, and Aretha Franklin. While recording the album over an eight-month period, JoJo worked with producers including Brian Alexander Morgan, Soulshock and Karlin, Mike City, Bink!, Kwamé "K1 Mill" and The Underdogs, among others. JoJo co-wrote three out of the seventeen original tracks on the album. The album also includes a cover of R&B group SWV's 1993 song "Weak".
The album was preceded by the release of JoJo's debut single, "Leave (Get Out)", which was a worldwide commercial success. In the United States, the single peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Pop 100 chart, making her the youngest artist in history to do so. In the United Kingdom, the single peaked at number two. Follow-up single "Baby It's You" was released in a new version that features rapper Bow Wow and became JoJo's second top-40 entry in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the song became her second top-10 single, peaking at number eight. The album's third and final single, "Not That Kinda Girl", failed to chart in the United States, but charted moderately in Australia and Germany.
The album debuted and peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200, selling 95,000 copies in its first week. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 15, 2004, denoting US sales in excess of one million copies. In Canada, the album was also certified platinum. In the United Kingdom and Germany, the album was certified gold. The album has sold over three million copies worldwide.
JoJo was mainly promoted through live, televised performances; JoJo appeared on On Air with Ryan Seacrest and performed at the 2004 Kid's Choice Awards. Alongside other artists, JoJo was part of the The Cingular Buddy Bash Tour and she was also the opening act on the European leg of Usher's Truth Tour.
Citing the album's unavailability on streaming services, JoJo released a re-recorded version of JoJo on December 21, 2018. On September 24, 2021, Blackground Records released the original version of JoJo to streaming services and digital platforms.
Background
As a child, JoJo listened as her mother practiced hymns. She started singing when she was two years and three months old by imitating, to R&B, jazz, and soul tunes. On the A&E 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 seven, 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 songs "Respect" and "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".
At the age of six, 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 did 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 and Karlin.
JoJo's live demo, Joanna Levesque, recorded in 2001, features covers of soul and R&B songs, including Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally" (1966), Etta James' "It Ain't Always What You Do (It's Who You Let See You Do It)" (1989), Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools" (1968) and "The House That Jack Built" (1969), The Moonglows' "See Saw" (1956), Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" (1972), and The Temptations' "Shakey Ground" (1975). In 2003, at age 12, JoJo signed with Blackground Records and Da Family and begin working with some producers on her first album.