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JoJo Information
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'JoJo' (born 'Joanna Noé«lle Levesque', on December 20, 1990) is a teenage American pop singer.
Biography
Joanna Noé«lle Levesque was born in Foxborough, Massachusetts. She is of French (Levesque comes from French for Bishop and Noé«lle means Christmas), Native American, Irish and Polish descent. JoJo currently resides in Edgewater, New Jersey, across the river from Manhattan, which is where she does her studio recording.
Early life and career
Growing up on the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts, JoJo listened and learned as her mother practiced hymns. She started singing when she was two years old by imitating her mother, but quickly put her own spin on everything from nursery rhymes to pop tunes. Her parents divorced when she was five years old.
An ad in the paper announced open auditions for Kids Say the Darndest Things on the Road in Boston. Having immediately been given a spot to perform, she sang Aretha Franklin's "Respect". Bill Cosby and the crowd at Faneuil Hall responded overwhelmingly in favor. Soon after, The Oprah Winfrey Show contacted her, inviting her to perform. Reminiscing, she says that "when it came to performing, I just had no fear".
JoJo - debut
Appearances on talk shows and gospel festivals followed, but it was her appearance on the television show America's Most Talented Kids (even though she lost to Diana DeGarmo) that brought the call from record producer Vincent Herbert. The former Aaliyah, Toni Braxton and Destiny's Child producer had the young singer signed to Blackground Records and arranged sessions with famed producers like The Underdogs, Soulshock and Karlin.
JoJo made her big musical break in 2004 with her platinum-selling debut single, "Leave (Get Out)". The track became an international hit, peaking at #12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at #2 on the UK singles chart. When the single hit #1 on the Top 40 Mainstream, she became the youngest solo artist to have a #1 song in America. Her debut album, the platinum-selling JoJo, followed; it peaked at #4 on the US Billboard 200 and within the top forty of the UK charts. She co-wrote two of the album's songs, as well as writing and co-producing one full track. Her second single, the gold-selling "Baby It's You", featured a duet with Bow Wow (although the album version did not). The song peaked at #22 in the US, though it went top ten in the UK. The last single off the album, "Not That Kinda Girl", failed to make waves on the charts, due to underadvertisement and a music video considered off-par with her previous work.
Trivia
*Likes to wear urban clothes such as Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Baby Phat, Rocawear and Ecko Red.
*Has one dog named Sugar Pie.
*Is a Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, and Boston Celtics fan.
*In 2005, Eminem mentioned her in his single "Ass Like That".
*JoJo appeared in a third season episode of the television series American Dreams as Linda Ronstadt auditioning for American Bandstand with the song "That'll Be the Day".
*Was congratulated by Cissy Houston.
*Performed acoustic cover of Foo Fighters hit "Times Like These" at a European radio station
*Her first album was a live demo featuring covers of such classics like "Mustang Sally", "It Ain't Always What You Do", "Chain of Fools", "See Saw", "Superstition", "The House That Jack Built" and "Shakey Ground". She performed it backed by a live house band led by George Murphy. The cd is only available on eBay.
*Has 3 unreleased songs in the US which are "Butterflies", "I Need to Know" and "Back and Forth" (not an Aaliyah cover but it does borrow its lyrics).
*Participated in a tribute to the victims of the 2004 Asian Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina called "Come Together Now".
*Her favorite local eatery "Puffin's Gourmet Cafe" recently shut its doors forever.
*When she auditioned for Barry Hankerson, he told her that Aaliyah's spirit had brought her to him and thats how she knew Blackground Records was the right label.
*Her first major tour was the Cingular Buddy Bash Mall Tour with Fefe Dobson and the Young Gunz.
*She has friends who happen to be family members of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney and President George W. Bush.
*She was personally requested by First Lady Laura Bush to perform at the 2004 Christmas In Washington special.
*Her favorite underwear is "turquoise with the Sesame Street cast sitting on a rainbow".
*Thinks that R. Kelly is a musical genius and loves all his albums from 12 Play to TP-3: Reloaded
*Bears a striking resemblance to Tony Levin.
*Favorite bands to "rock out" to are Queen and The Darkness.
*Hosted and performed at "Hope Rocks" Concert to benefit City of Hope where she was poked fun at by comedian Dan Levy.
*Has divorced parents, her mother lives with her in New Jersey and her father lives in New Hampshire.
*She was initially nervous about releasing her first single because of the aggressive guitars featured in the song's chorus and bridge; she preferred to introduce herself as a soul artist.
*Was scheduled to appear on MTV's Punk'd but reportedly would not sign the release form to air her episode because she didn't want her young fans to see her swearing.
*She's attended to the movie premieres of Shark Tale and Zathura
*On TRL the stats for "Leave (Get Out)" coincidentally aligned to spell "666". This meant the video landed in the number-six position on the countdown for the second day in a row, and the total days spent on the countdown was six.
*Despite performing at several events for Republicans, she said in a YM Magazine interview that "I don't agree with the things that Bush has done in office. I'll leave it at that" in response to a question about who she'd vote for if she were 18.
*Her least favorite sports teams are the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers (all of them are Rivals with her favorite teams).
Discography
| Album information |
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| 'JoJo' | *Released: June 22, 2004 (U.S.)
*Singles:
**"Leave (Get Out)" US#12 UK#2
**"Baby It's You" US#22 UK#8
**"Not that Kinda Girl" (Failed to chart in US and UK)
Filmography
*2002: The Bernie Mac Show (Television/Michelle (in episode "Bernie Mac Dance Party"))
*2002: Developing Sheldon (Film/Young Elizabeth)
*2004: American Dreams (Television/Linda Ronstadt)
*2005: All That (Television)
*2005: Romeo! (Television)
*2005: Skunked TV (Television/Herself (in episode "Swine Song")
*2006: Aquamarine (Movie/Hailey)
*2006: R.V. (Movie/Cassie)
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