15 year old singer JoJo sold 1.5 million copies of her self-titled 2004 debut album. Her single "Leave (Get Out)" was a huge hit for her. JoJo also dabbled in movies with roles in Aquamarine and RV. At this moment she is dedicating her time to her music career. Her new album drops in October.


Are you pleased with the legacy of your first album?
JoJo- The legacy! I don't know about a legacy but am I pleased with my first album. I am pleased with the way that it did. I mean I was 13 and 1.5 at 13 is really nothing to be ashamed about.

I really had no idea you were thirteen the last time I interviewed you. I thought you were older.
JoJo- I got that a lot.

I knew you were a teenager but I thought you were like 15 or 16. Did a lot of people think you were an older teenager?
JoJo-Yes, they did and I was excited about that. When you are 13 you always want to be older. So I was like "Yeah I don't really want to talk about my age you can think what you want."

Yeah. Because last time I interviewed you they were like "Don't focus on the age thing too much." That's why I thought, "Oh she's probably like sixteen."
JoJo-Yeah, I was thirteen.

Did you feel any pressure to stay in the spotlight in between albums?
JoJo-For awhile I was like "Things have really cooled down I can go to the mall no problem now," and I was like "This is weird." But did I feel the pressure to stay in the spotlight? Not really. I knew taking the time off to do two movies over the span of a year would really make people forget because the public does forget when you are gone. They are like "Where did she go? Did she die? What happened?" And that's why I thought it was funny when P!nk named her album "Im Not Dead," because just because she was gone for so long people must have thought she fell off the face of the Earth. No, I wasn't really concerned about it because I don't do things just for publicity. I'm not about being on the cover of tabloids or anything like that.

Being a teen singer how involved are you with the business aspect of your career? Do you sit in on meetings and stuff like that?
JoJo-I do sit in on meetings. I just had a meeting with my record company vice-president a few nights ago with my mom. It's important for me to know what's going on because since I'm young I want to develop into a good business woman when I get older. I think its good to start now because I don't want to be ignorant to the situation. I don't want people to be able to take advantage of me because you always hear stories about young stars being exploited or taken advantage of but at the rate we are going now I don't think that's going to happen. My mom is so involved in this and she really has my best interest at hand and we have a good team of people around us.

Listen to JoJo discuss the business aspect of things

When you covered the song "Weak" by SWV were you familiar with the song beforehand?
JoJo-I had heard it. My aunt was a big fan of SWV and loved that song. When I got into the studio Brian Morgan was there and Vince the executive producer of my album hadn't told me I was going to record the song. Brian was there who had did the song originally and wrote it for them and produced it. I really the way it turned out.

Did you get a chance to get any feedback from any of the group members regarding the song?
JoJo-Yes. Co Co. Which is really cool. She is an incredible singer I got to meet her and she liked the record.

What can you tell me about your new record?
JoJo-I can tell you that you should go get it when it comes out.

Of course I'm a fan.
JoJo-It's really something that I put a lot into. I was working on it sporadically for 9 months. So it wasn't anything that was rushed. It really happened over time and we recorded like 35 songs and narrowed it down from there. Worked with everyone from Scott Storch and Swizz Beats to Diane Warren and SoulShock and Karlin. It's eclectic it's not just hip-hop & R&B and it's not just pop and rock. I feel like as a teenager we don't listen to one style of music we like good music. So, it doesn't matter if its reggae if its pop, if its punk rock, I like everything and I think that is kind of articulated in this record.

Listen to JoJo discuss her new album

You know sometimes you see artists and they get frustrated in the studio did you have any frustrating moment while recording this new album?
JoJo-Yes but I'm always pushing myself. With the first album, because I was really young, I was twelve, if a producer would tell me I didn't quite do something right I would take it really personally and I'd be like, "But really I'm trying." Because I wanted it to be so right and I felt like if he was correcting me he didn't like me. But that's not true at all at the end of the day we're both in it to get the best record. So yes there are frustrating moments but I just take it as once you get through the frustrations and the hard times you will get a really great end result.

Now you've done movies but have you ever considered doing a sitcom?
JoJo-I've been approached to do sitcoms before but as of right now it's not something I'm interested in.

What about a reality show? Would you ever consider a reality show?
JoJo-I would never consider a reality show.

Why?
JoJo-Because privacy is important to me. I actually just had A&E for about four days. They were doing a special about young stars just profiling different people like Ziggy Marley, because they started young, Smokey Robinson, Beyonce, other people and just even having them there for that long was overwhelming. I was like "Wow…" I like my privacy.

Now RV was a big hit for you do you have any more movies in your immediate future?
JoJo-I'm reading scripts and having fun doing that and reading books that are about to be adapted, but I'm not going to do anything until I'm done with this album. I want to take off some time in between the second and third album and maybe do a film because I had such a good time and it's cool to be in one place but music is where my heart is right now.

Speaking of music and film combined would you ever want to do a musical type of film?
JoJo-I'm open to that. For awhile I was saying that I didn't want to do a movie and combine my music with movies because I wanted to keep them kind of separate but I don't know, never say never I guess.

Do you ever really get on Myspace?
JoJo-Yes. Sometimes. I have a new Myspace its Myspace.com/jojoonline and I felt so bad because my record company had to shut down dozen of imposters who were like saying they were me. I just don't understand why someone would want to pretend to be someone else but all that aside now I do check my Myspace and I love to see the comments that people write. I can really see how people can get addicted to Myspace.

JoJo talks about Myspace

Do you ever have a chance to check out any of the Internet gossip blogs?
JoJo-I never check out any of the Internet gossip blogs. I think that is the beginning of the deterioration of your spirit. Sometimes, especially if you try to look up stuff about yourself it can really break you down. I try to not listen to negativity because it really makes me sad and ruins my whole day.

It's better like that. I'm an author and I don't like reading stuff about me. I'm like "Enjoy my art."
JoJo-Yeah, enjoy your art exactly.

Your voice is amazing. Would you ever consider doing a Broadway play?
JoJo-Thank you very much. I would consider doing a Broadway play. I just heard that Usher is doing Chicago and I nearly fainted. I was so excited. The fact that he's doing it really opens up doors for other artists to break into Broadway. I am 100% looking to do Broadway one day.

Who would you consider your music industry role model?
JoJo-Beyonce. I think she is the perfect example of a strong woman and just a talented person. She's a songwriter, she's a dancer and she's an incredible singer and I don't think anyone can touch her right now.

Do you think you'll go to college one day?
JoJo-Yes, I do.

You've done so many grown up things like world tours and winning awards. Do you still feel like a teenager?
JoJo-Yes, I still feel like a teenager. I still live in Massachusetts which is where I was raised when I was younger. I'm hanging out with my little cousins and my aunts and uncles and friends I've had for years so I definitely feel like a kid. I still have to do school so that makes me very teenager-ish.

Related Links-http://www.jojoonline.com
http://www.myspace.com/jojoonline