JoJo

Background

Joanna Noëlle Levesque, popularly known as Jojo, was born in Brattleboro, Vermont. She grew up in Keene, New Hampshire, and Foxborough, Massachusetts. Her ancestors are Irish, Polish, and French. Her father is Joel Maurice Levesque, and her mother, Diana Levesque, was trained in musical theater and sang in a Catholic church choir. Jojo was raised by her mother as an only child after her parents split when she was four years old. “JoJo” was a childhood nickname for her. Levesque made an appearance on Bill Cosby’s television show “Kids Say the Darndest Things: On the Road” in Boston when she was seven years old, singing a Cher song. In 2002, she performed on Maury during a “Kids-with-talent” segment at the age of eleven.

Levesque signed with Blackground Records and Da Family in 2003 when she was 12 years old and began working with producers on her first album. “Leave (Get Out),” her gold-certified debut single, was released in 2004. Levesque broke a record with this single’s release after she become the youngest solo artist to have a number one single in the U.S. (at the age of 13) when the track reached number one on the Mainstream Top 40 chart. “JoJo,” her debut album, debuted at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, selling 95,000 copies in its first week and reaching the Top 40 on the U.K. Albums Chart.

Levesque was cast as Hailey in “Aquamarine” in 2006, starring Emma Roberts and Sara Paxton. The film was released on March 3, 2006, and debuted at number five with a budget of $7.5 million. On April 28, 2006, her second major picture, “RV,” a comedy starring Robin Williams, was released. It debuted at number one and grossed $69.7 million in its first weekend. In 2021, she competed in the fifth season of “The Masked Singer” as ‘Black Swan.’ She finished in second place, making her the first female runner-up on the show.