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Jojo Profile |
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Birth Date: December 20, 1990
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Birth Place: Foxborough, Massachussetts, USA
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Birth Name: Joanna Noelle Levesque
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Height: 5'4"
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Biography |
JoJo -- birth name Joanna Levesque -- was born on December
20, 1990, in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Her father was a blues
singer, while her mother, Diana, sang in a church choir.
JoJo's parents divorced when she was 4 years old, and she
lived with her mother, moving often. By the time of her
parents' split, JoJo had already started singing nursery
rhymes and pop songs.
When JoJo was 6, she tried out for and performed on Kids Say
the Darndest Things, impressing host Bill Cosby with her
rendition of "Respect." The exposure got JoJo additional
appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Rosie
O'Donnell Show; she went on to sing at a Celtics game and
even at the Republican National Convention.
But JoJo's early fame had its dark side. Even before hitting
it big, it was apparent that her schoolmates were jealous of
her talent. "You could see very early on that the girls
wanted to be like Joanna," said her first-grade teacher,
Julia Haney. But when they couldn't, they got mean,
especially once she made it on TV.
Adding to JoJo's childhood woes was her family's financial
situation. Her mother Diana made a meager living as a
cleaning lady, and the two shared a run-down, one-bedroom
apartment. JoJo had to make do with reduced-price lunches,
hand-me-down clothes, and shopping at Wal-Mart and Kmart.
In 2002, JoJo performed on TV's America's Most Talented Kids
competition. She lost, describing the experience as
"terrible," but some good came from it. An audience member,
impressed with JoJo's performance, introduced her to
producer Vincent Herbert. Herbert signed JoJo to a
multi-album deal with Blackground Records.
In the summer of 2003, JoJo began recording her first album,
the self-titled JoJo. Having written three of the 14 songs
herself, JoJo found singing in the studio to be a different
challenge from singing live. Once JoJo was released in June
of 2004, the young singer became an instant star. Her single
"Leave (Get Out)" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top 40 --
making JoJo, at 13, the youngest singer with that
distinction. She was also nominated for an MTV Video Music
Award as Best New Artist (also the youngest ever), and she
beat Britney Spears' record as the youngest singer to debut
at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
As her album reached gold status, JoJo toured Europe as the
opening act for Usher. She also contributed to the Shark
Tale soundtrack, performing the song "Secret Love." She
played a young Linda Ronstadt on the television show
American Dreams, and is currently in negotiations to make
her movie debut in Aquamarine alongside Emma Roberts.
JoJo lives in Edgewater, New Jersey, with her mother, who
acts as her manager. |
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Other
Information |
Likes to wear urban wear clothes such as Abercrombie, Baby
Phat, Rocawear, and Ecko Red.
Is French, Irish, American Indian and Polish.
Has one dog named Sugarpie.
Wrote three songs on her debut album Jojo
Made a duet with Bow Wow in her song "Baby It's You".
Competed in America's Most Talented Kids, but lost to Diana
DeGarmo. However, competiing in America's Most Talented Kids
landed her a record deal.
Her mother earned a living as a cleaning lady and singing
for churches.
She is mentioned in the song Ass Like That by Eminem.
Is the youngest solo artist to have a number 1 song in
America.
Musically, she is a contralto and a coloratura.
After her parents divorced when she was 5 years old, she
lived with her mother and moved often.
Is friends with celebrities such as Sara Paxton and Emma
Roberts, who were also her co-stars in her upcoming film
"Aquamarine"
Jojo's childhood dance teacher's name was Debra Leahy. |
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