JoJo has looked back at underage drinking and attending a college party while filming the music video for Too Little Too Late, which turned 20 last month.
The singer, real name Joanna Noelle Levesque, was just 15 when she recorded the track, which became her second big hit, reaching number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 after her debut single Leave (Get Out).
Posting on Instagram, JoJo, now 35, gave commentary on the video and revealed her love interest was a real UCLA soccer player, UCLA Bruins' Mike Zaher, who was months away from turning 21 at the time.
She said she ended up hanging out with Zaher, who was a few years older than her and attending UCLA, and that filming led to underage drinking and going to parties. She called it one of her first times going to a college party.
Sexualised lyrics from a young age
JoJo's comments carry some irony given that several of her songs have been called inappropriate for a teenager because of their risque lyrics. Some tracks touch on satisfying a woman and barhopping, subjects critics have said were unsuitable for a girl her age.
JoJo holds writing credits on some of these songs, including How to Touch a Girl, though they were largely written by a male songwriting team. Leave (Get Out), her debut single recorded when she was 13, was written by four men, Soulshock, Kenneth, Alex Cantrell and Phillip "Silky" White. Its opening verse includes the lines "I've been waiting all day here for you bae" and "I hold on to my pillow tight, and think of how you promised me forever."
How to Touch a Girl, released in 2006 when JoJo was 16 and written when she was younger, credits her alongside Billy Steinberg and Josh Alexander. Its lyrics include "Feel somethin' happening, could this be a spark? To satisfy me, baby, gotta satisfy my heart" and "Do you know how to touch a girl? If you want me so much, first I have to know."
Not That Kinda Girl, released in 2004 when JoJo was 14, was co-written by Neely Dinkins, B. Cola, Pietro and Muhammad Jordan, and includes the line "Don't go bar-hoppin', chillin' on the block." Even Too Little Too Late opens with JoJo asking a love interest to "come with me, stay the night."
Speaking to Uproxx in 2020, JoJo said being 13 was so weird, singing lyrics that grown.
Criticism over her image
At the height of her fame, parents and critics accused the record industry of sexualising JoJo, saying her styling was too sexy and mature for her age. A record industry insider told the Irish Examiner that some parents felt it was inappropriate for someone her age to dress in such provocative clothes, adding that although she did not wear anything too revealing, the attire was not usually seen on 13-year-olds.
Her look has continued to draw comment, with Reddit users discussing her styling last year. One user wrote that shots were angled to disguise her height and that her clothes, makeup and older-looking peers made her seem 16 to 18 despite being a middle schooler singing about deep romances. Another wrote they never considered she was 12 or 13 in her photos. A third said MTV marketed her with a young-20s Vegas cocktail waitress aesthetic that was not sold as a teen image at the time.
Years-long legal battle over her music
JoJo also fought a years-long legal battle for control of her own music. Her label, Blackground, controlled her voice for seven years and refused to release new music while trying to block other work. She said she wrote hundreds of songs that never came out, describing it as banging her head against a wall wondering if anyone would ever hear the music.
In 2013, JoJo sued the label, arguing that because she was a minor when she signed, she could not be bound to the contract for seven years. Blackground asked for the case to be dismissed and, according to the article, planned to bleed her dry until she gave up.
Blackground eventually stopped functioning and faced lawsuits from several directions as JoJo pushed to free herself from the label. She said her mother worried the fight to break free, including her attempts to find film work, would kill her. JoJo released mixtapes as a loophole that let her continue touring, and claimed during the dispute that the label was effectively holding her hostage by barring her from leaving or releasing music commercially. The standoff led fans to launch a #FreeJoJo campaign on social media.
Like many child stars, JoJo turned to alcohol and drugs during this period, and also used pills in an attempt to lose weight, hoping label executives would back her music if she looked the part. She was released from her contract in 2014 after the multi-year battle and signed with Atlantic Records, quickly releasing several singles and touring.
Fans mark the anniversary
Her third studio album, Mad Love, followed in October 2016. Her fourth album, Good to Know, came out in 2020, and her fifth, Trying Not to Think About It, followed in 2021.
Fans flooded the comments on JoJo's Instagram post marking the 20th anniversary of Too Little Too Late, with many expressing disbelief at how much time had passed. Comments included "Holy s**t, its been that long already?!", "Not 20 years!!" and "20 years later and still blasting this at max volume only now it's after dropping my kids off at daycare."
