10 Years Strong: JoJo's Journey

Today marks the 10 year anniversary of vocal powerhouse JoJo releasing her debut, self-titled album, so I thought it would only be right to highlight JoJo’s musical journey over the last decade.

Most of us found out about the Boston native when she released her smash debut single “Leave (Get Out)” at the age of 13, that earned her the title of the youngest solo artist to have a #1 single in the U.S. Following “Leave (Get Out)”, Jo released another popular single from her debut album, “Baby It’s You” and continued building momentum and increasing her fan base. Her success continued with the release of her sophomore album The High Road in 2006, that spawned the hit singles “Too Little, Too Late” and “How to Touch a Girl”.

After the release of The High Road, Jo ran into legal issues with her label at the time, Blackground Records and she was unable to release music commercially, but that didn’t stop her from fighting hard and continuing to pursue her passion. While dealing with the contractual issues with Blackground, Jo released two mixtapes, Can’t Take That Away From Me and Agápe (in addition to a couple of singles), to hold fans over and to show how she had grown as an artist over the years.


In January, it was revealed that JoJo had finally gotten out of her sticky situation with Blackground, and signed a deal with Atlantic Records. Fans and fellow artists alike were ecstatic to know that one of the most raw, powerful, and honest voices in the industry had finally won the 7 year long battle with her former label. Jo wasted no time getting back in the studio and cooking up some sonic addiction for all to hear.

Shortly after signing to Atlantic, Jo released an EP entitled #LoveJo that was released on Valentine’s Day via Soundcloud. The 4 track EP includes covers of classic tracks like Anita Baker’s “Caught Up in the Rapture” and Phil Collins’ “Take Me Home”, as well as JoJo’s rendition of “Glory”, inspired by opera singer Kathleen Battle.


Jo’s journey goes to show that even though you may face extreme hardships when traveling on the road to success, it’s possible to triumph over adversity and come out on top. Jo is an inspiration not only to fellow artists, but to her supporters as well due to her unrelenting willpower and determination to make her voice be heard. JoJo has been my favorite artist since that first album dropped 10 years ago, and I’m looking forward to seeing how much more she’ll accomplish within the next decade.

Be sure to keep up with JoJo’s journey via Twitter and Instagram.