Post by CrazyGirl on Jul 7, 2004 4:51:27 GMT -5
This R&B sensation is no average JoJo
She's the youngest person ever to have a video on MTV's hit
countdown show "TRL." But 13-year-old R&B singer JoJo doesn't want
special attention just for being a squirt.
"I don't want to be cut any slack because of my age," she says. "It
happens and it's frustrating."
Then again, there's only so frustrated JoJo can be. Her self-titled
debut album opened at No. 4 on this week's Billboard Top 200 Album
chart, fired by the Top 40 single "Leave (Get Out)."
The song, like most on the album, mimics the commercial R&B of
Brandy, Monica and Aaliyah. But JoJo has a bigger voice than any of
them.
Think: Christina Aguilera at the training-bra stage.
Given her ridiculous age, it's no surprise that JoJo has been honing
that voice "since I could make noise," as she puts it.
Growing up in Foxboro, Mass., (home to the New England Patriots),
JoJo Lavesque listened most avidly to her mother's soul records -
Aretha, Etta James, etc.
Though she has been auditioning for music and acting roles since
toddlerhood, she says her mom is no stage mother. "I know a lot of
crazy mothers like that," she says. "My mom is so the opposite. She
would rather be at home."
Even so, she does manage JoJo. She got her onto Bill Cosby's "Kids
Say the Darndest Things" program as a preteen, which led to an
invitation to perform on Oprah Winfrey's show.
JoJo also sang at the Republican National Convention in Boston four
years ago, though she says "I'm an independent. I'll sing for
anybody who'll listen."
She was too young to try out for "American Idol" (you have to be 16)
but JoJo did sing on "America's Most Talented Kids." She lost. But
that didn't deter her.
"Look at Clay Aiken," she says, about the best-known "AI" runner-
up. "He's bigger than Ruben [Studdard]."
In fact, the "Talented Kids" performance got her the attention of a
production company, which landed her a contract with Barry
Hankerson's Blackground Records (home to the late Aaliyah).
"When I auditioned," she says, "Barry said he saw Aaliyah telling
him, 'Look what I brought for you.'"
Some who've only heard JoJo think she's black. Some who only know
her name mistake her for JoJo of Jodeci.
"Or JoJo the clown from the circus," she laughs. "There are a lot of
JoJos out there."
But not many who are young enough to make Avril Lavigne look like a
crone. If such age comparisons continue to irk the singer, she'll
deal with it.
"The advantage," says JoJo, "is that I have all the time in the
world."
She's the youngest person ever to have a video on MTV's hit
countdown show "TRL." But 13-year-old R&B singer JoJo doesn't want
special attention just for being a squirt.
"I don't want to be cut any slack because of my age," she says. "It
happens and it's frustrating."
Then again, there's only so frustrated JoJo can be. Her self-titled
debut album opened at No. 4 on this week's Billboard Top 200 Album
chart, fired by the Top 40 single "Leave (Get Out)."
The song, like most on the album, mimics the commercial R&B of
Brandy, Monica and Aaliyah. But JoJo has a bigger voice than any of
them.
Think: Christina Aguilera at the training-bra stage.
Given her ridiculous age, it's no surprise that JoJo has been honing
that voice "since I could make noise," as she puts it.
Growing up in Foxboro, Mass., (home to the New England Patriots),
JoJo Lavesque listened most avidly to her mother's soul records -
Aretha, Etta James, etc.
Though she has been auditioning for music and acting roles since
toddlerhood, she says her mom is no stage mother. "I know a lot of
crazy mothers like that," she says. "My mom is so the opposite. She
would rather be at home."
Even so, she does manage JoJo. She got her onto Bill Cosby's "Kids
Say the Darndest Things" program as a preteen, which led to an
invitation to perform on Oprah Winfrey's show.
JoJo also sang at the Republican National Convention in Boston four
years ago, though she says "I'm an independent. I'll sing for
anybody who'll listen."
She was too young to try out for "American Idol" (you have to be 16)
but JoJo did sing on "America's Most Talented Kids." She lost. But
that didn't deter her.
"Look at Clay Aiken," she says, about the best-known "AI" runner-
up. "He's bigger than Ruben [Studdard]."
In fact, the "Talented Kids" performance got her the attention of a
production company, which landed her a contract with Barry
Hankerson's Blackground Records (home to the late Aaliyah).
"When I auditioned," she says, "Barry said he saw Aaliyah telling
him, 'Look what I brought for you.'"
Some who've only heard JoJo think she's black. Some who only know
her name mistake her for JoJo of Jodeci.
"Or JoJo the clown from the circus," she laughs. "There are a lot of
JoJos out there."
But not many who are young enough to make Avril Lavigne look like a
crone. If such age comparisons continue to irk the singer, she'll
deal with it.
"The advantage," says JoJo, "is that I have all the time in the
world."