I was just thinking about the fake people that come in and out of your life, she says.
I was like, Yeah!Fake-ass bitches: F-A-B!'
I just had to sell it.
Credit: Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for MTV
I love thatworking toward something you believe in.
To some people itll be a comeback, but for me its just the next chapter, JoJo says.
Ive been here the whole time.
JoJos rise is an unlikely one.
The Foxborough, Mass.-raised artist signed a recording contract at 12 years old.
And I wasnt pushed to do anythingmy mom was not a stage mother or anything.
I was a precocious kid.
Despite the ordeal, JoJo continued to create music.
And she found a way to release mixtapes and one-off tracks to stoke her devoted fans.
I couldnt believe it, JoJo says.
I called my mom immediately, and we cried.
Within 24 hours she signed with Atlantic Records, which had been courting her for years.
Im not looking to make this new relationship into a family, she says firmly.
Im looking for a business partnership now.
It was exactly this business savvy that appealed to Atlantic.
Shes interested in having a long-term career.
Just when JoJos musical career had a clear direction once again, she suffered a personal tragedy.
Last November her father, Joel Levesque, passed away after a long struggle with addiction.
But recently they had reconnected over dinners and phone calls.
The song brought him to tears.
Thinking about that heartbreaking moment now, JoJo is surprisingly Zen.
I think were searching for things to fill us up, to make us feel worthy of love.
In fact, her late fathers mark is all over the album.
JoJo punctuates the title of each track with a perioda reference to a tattoo she got with him.
Not surprisingly, that track was the hardest one for JoJo to write.
I wanted to start off where I came from and then get to where Im going.
So what is next for JoJowill it be another decade before she releases more music?
Not likely: She has a multi-album deal with Atlantic.
She recently logged session time with Pharrell Williams, one of her heroes.
His creative force is so full, she says.
Hes able to do some left-of-center s and also make pop hits.
And despite her personal and career struggles, JoJo says those ordeals have only made her stronger.
