October 1, 2024 • 32 mins
JoJo is known for her chart-topping hits like “Leave (Get Out)” and “Too Little Too Late,” and she’s back in the spotlight with her powerful new memoir, Over the Influence. JoJo opens up about her journey through the music industry — from her meteoric rise at just 13, the challenges that silenced her voice for years, and the peace she’s been able to find (and protect).
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello Sunshine.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Hey, Bessie's Today on the bright Side. We're joined by
the chart topping superstar Jojo. Maybe you're like me and
Danielle and JoJo's hits like Leave get Out and Too Little,
Too Late. We're the soundtrack to your youth too. But
what happens when that voice is silenced? We'll find out
when we unpack her new memoir, Over the Influence. Jojo
(00:25):
is back, y'all, more empowered than ever and sharing for
the first time how she's reclaiming her career, her story,
and her voice. It's Tuesday, October First, I'm Simone.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Voice, I'm Danielle Robe and this is the bright Side
from Hello Sunshine, a daily show where we come together
to share women's stories, laugh, learn.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
And brighten your day.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
All right, we're both so excited for today's guests.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Joanna Jojo Leveck. You all know her.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
She burst into the spotlight at just thirteen years old
when she released her her self titled debut album.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
It was a huge success.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
It went on to sell over four million copies and
became JoJo's first platinum record, and her hit from that album,
Leave Get Out, made Jojo the youngest ever solo artist
to have a debut number one single in the US.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I still sing that song all the time.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
I was just about to say the exact same thing.
Her songs still live rent free in my head. I'll
just be going about my day and then all of
a sudden, Jojo has me in a choke hold again.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I mean, especially with TikTok, they're everywhere once again. They
never really went out, but they're having a resurgence for sure.
Jojo released her second studio album, called The High Road,
just two years later, and it featured her second smash
hit too Little, Too Late, which I know we've all
sung along too on road trips in the shower if
a man leaves us all the time.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Definitely sung about heartbreak at a time when I didn't
even know what heartbreak was. So thank you for that education, Jojo.
You know, in the early two thousands, Jojo was truly
everyone where I mean movies, magazines, radio, TV, you name it.
But then it felt like Jojo just kind of disappeared,
leaving a lot of her fans wondering where did she go. Well,
(02:11):
it turns out a dispute with her record label left
her silence for years, and she finally took them to
court to get out of her contract. I can't imagine
how difficult that must have been, not just for her,
but also for her family. I mean, she was just
a child navigating this massive talent and music career and
trying to find herself. And we've all heard the stories
just about how brutal this industry can be.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
It's not lost on me either, the irony, right Like,
she is known for her voice, and yet she was silenced,
and I think it left a lot of people wondering
what if, what would have happened had she not had
her career ripped away from her like that.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
For sure, there was a big question mark there for
a lot of us. And now she's back and putting
all the rumors to rest. She's setting the record straight
herself in her new memoir, Over the Influence. It's this raw,
vulnerable depiction of her life and for the first time,
she's telling her own story in her own words. And
to quote the chart stopping singer, she is ready to
be counted the f in. She is here with us
(03:12):
now too, Jojo. Welcome to the bright side.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
Thank you. It feels good to be here on the
bright side.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
We have been waiting fifteen years for this moment. No, Lie,
I have to tell you. Your talent is undeniable, and
you've always had so much to say, not just through
your music, but your words too. And you're out with
your new memoir Over the Influence, and it really lays
bare the experiences that you went through as a teenager
(03:40):
breaking into this industry. And I went to Google your
name last night, and so many of the headlines came up.
Every few years it would say Jojo reclaims her powerhouse voice.
And as I was reading your book, I'm like, Okay,
there's been reclamations a few times. You've really been fighting
for that. It feels like this is the time. What
(04:02):
does it feel like to finally tell your story in
your own words?
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Oh my god, it feels right on time. You know.
People are like, why now, And I would say, because
I have the strange experience of having a twenty year
career at thirty three, so I kind of wanted to
make sense of a lot of the things that confused
me for so long. But yeah, I went back and
(04:27):
forth about like, can I do my own story justice?
Do I even know how to? I've only written three
minute songs really but before you know what I mean, Like,
I was like, can I even do this? I don't
want to sell myself short, but I also couldn't put
it in the hands of anyone else. I've done that
in different ways, and just betting on myself is kind
(04:49):
of where I'm at and trusting my own internal guidance
system saying even if other people don't understand or agree,
it just doesn't matter anymore. I just and that, I
think is like the gift of being thirty plus, because
in my twenties I just did not feel that way.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Okay, Jojo, I got to get real with you for
a minute. Oh my god, please, you are a true superstar.
Your songs had top forty in a choke hold, including
you a Girl and Danielle. You've been in major studio films,
on magazine covers, national TV, and then it feels like,
kind of out of the blue, everything came to a
(05:27):
halt and you stepped out of the spotlight. I ask
this on behalf of all Jojo fans around the world,
because I know you're really tight with your fans, and
you know how invested all of us are in you
in your career.
Speaker 5 (05:38):
Just in you as a human.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Tell us what happened, tell us what happened when you
stepped out of the spotlight, and why, Oh.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
It was so not my intention, you know, I was
feeling all the momentum that was happening in my career.
I mean, I had back to back really successful albums
in my teens, and then I basically kind of became
a victim of music industry circumstance and politics and things
(06:08):
that are not sexy, but basically like a label that
lost their funding and was no longer a functioning record label.
But then they wouldn't let me go, and then I
didn't own my voice, so I couldn't do anything with it,
like just a shit show and made me feel like
so embarrassed because I didn't want like my fans or
my family to worry about me, and they were like,
(06:29):
they're killing your career, You're about to die on the vine.
I'm like, no, it's gonna be fine, because I just
never wanted anybody to feel bad for me, even though
I was like pretty devastated and ultimately just wanted to
be able to put music out and continue on that
path that I was like that we had started on
when I was twelve thirteen years old. So in the
(06:50):
stepping out of the spotlight, it was not for a
lack of trying, Like I was recording hundreds of songs
over the years and fighting really hard behind the scenes
to the point where I lost that fight from just
fighting so long and so hard to no avail.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Yeah, it kind of feels like imprisonment because like music
is all you had known since you were like five
seven years old. Were there moments during that time that
you thought this is it for me? Or did you
have faith it would be okay.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
I have a resilient spirit and I'm optimistic, like I
can see the silver lining, I can see a bright side.
But there was a point where I no longer saw
a light at the end of the tunnel. Where I
also had maintained optimism for years and tried different things,
and then I was like, you know what, Actually I'm
a lost cause, like because then I like fell deep
(07:43):
into depression and then like self sabotaging behaviors and addiction
and just trying to like deal with the emotions that
I had been suppressing because I didn't want people to
worry or feel bad or anything like that.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
They literally took your voice. It was like you were
like the little mermaid.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
I mean, I started to feel bad for myself. I
started to feel like I was this thing that people
could talk about in the industry, and people were like, Oh,
if only we could sign her or we could work
with her, she was available to do this, but I
wasn't because I legally didn't own my voice, couldn't do
anything with that. And I think that the truth about
(08:23):
my story and what I talk about in Over the
Influence is that a lot of my fans know and
really helped me through that period of time with like
the free jojo movement, with like creating awareness around what
was going on behind the scenes with my label at
the time. But that's just a small sliver of my
story because I also believe that, yeah, you can have
(08:44):
like a set of circumstances that are happening in your life,
but you can make different choices with them, you know.
I think that I really kind of embodied that, Like
people were telling me that I was a victim, and
I was like, you know what, yeah I am. And
I think Over the Influence is the journey of saying
that feels terrible. I hate that narrative and I am
(09:07):
similar to what you said earlier, like I have to
reclaim the way I look at things and live my life,
because what is life about if not to like experience
joy and connection and possibility.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
You know, yeah, you don't get to tell me when
my story ends.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Exactly, no, right, But I certainly felt like it was
over a lot, and because I just I gave up
on myself, you know, several times.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
Well.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
I also I wonder about that because you were thirteen
years old when you just exploded onto the scene. You
were the youngest artist to have a single atop the
top forty charts. I mean, people were praising you and
waiting on you hand and foot everywhere you went. And
I wonder what happens to your psyche, to your emotions,
like when that NonStop avalanche of validation, as you wrote
(09:55):
in your book, goes away.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
It went away in like the heightened you know, crazy,
when you have a number one single, it can be
an onslaught of just everybody kissing your ass and all that.
But I heard somebody say this, and it's kind of
true that if you're ever famous, you're kind of famous forever.
And the truth is that people treat you unrealistically, So
(10:21):
I think that that created like a false sense of
first of all, not really knowing who genuinely likes me
or what people's intentions are. Because I started so young,
I think that that was like a tender spot for
me because I was already bullied as a kid. I
already didn't think that people liked me, so then when
people started to being nice to me, I'm like, what
(10:42):
is this about? But I definitely did get my sense
of self worth from being popular and outside of school.
But when my music was particularly popular and I really
needed that validation, that can be an addictive thing, and
that's one of the things that influenced so many of
(11:03):
my decisions throughout the years, personally and professionally. Was like
seeking that validation, because when fame gets into your system,
it's like putting heroin into a prepubescent creature. You know.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Yeah, how old were you when you recorded get Out twelve?
You weren't even thirteen. That's so wild. I read that
you didn't initially connect with the song and you didn't
want it to be your first single. It obviously was,
and it had major success, But I'm wondering what happens
to your brain? As a young person and as an
(11:36):
artist when they're not listening to you.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
I never saw myself as a pop singer. I always
felt like a soul singer. Those were the singers that
I admired and that I studied and looked up to.
And I kind of had like an aversion to say it,
say it the mainstream that just wasn't I don't really
like that shit, Like I wasn't that into the boy
(12:01):
bands and the girl bands and stuff like a little bit,
I guess, but I was more like, no, it's about
Areta and Eda James and even Ella Fitzgerald more on
the jazz side. That's what I resonated with. So with
Leave Get Out, I just didn't get it. I just
didn't really like because that wasn't my world of listening
to a bunch of pop records. I didn't get it.
(12:22):
That was the first instance of me going along for
the ride and my mom, who is very very much
an earnest, true down to earth person. She's very heart
forward and leads just with who she is, and that's
the first time that I really broke with her and
I was like, no, I'm going to listen to what
these people who know better than us are saying oh wow,
(12:44):
because she was like, you don't like the song, I
don't like this song, blah blah blah. But I'm like, no,
I think they know what they're talking about and we
should just go. Because she was managing me at the time,
but she was concerned that her daughter was being molded
and shaped into something that I like, Naturally.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Did that sort of rupture your relationship with her was
at the beginning?
Speaker 4 (13:07):
Probably, I would say when I started to have a
lot of success, that deepened that rupture. Because it's hard
enough being a single mom having a girl only child,
where we were so so close, and then she was
managing me and we had no experience in this game
because it is a game in this system. It was
(13:28):
like trial by fire and it was really really challenging
on our relationship and what that did to my brain,
Like how you asked, I think that it taught me.
It conditioned me to say, how you feel doesn't matter.
And I'm not saying that other people were like how
you feel doesn't matter, but that's the subconscious messaging that
I very quickly understood.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
There's one story from your book that I think is
going to have every stop every millennial girl in her tracks.
You almost signed a record deal with Britney Spears.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Can you give us the day on that?
Speaker 4 (14:01):
I know that is so crazy. When I was like,
I don't even think I was ten yet, I was
maybe nine or ten. I called into the local Top
forty station in Boston because someone was like, oh, they
they're giving tickets away to their summer concert. I always
wanted to put myself in positions to be seen and
to sing for people like I really wanted that. So anyway,
(14:21):
long story short, I ended up winning the tickets. So
my mom and I went and I sang my way
through security from one security guard to the next. Ended
up meeting Britney Spears, and I did, and I still
do think that she's amazing. I loved Baby one more
time when it came out, like there's some soul in that.
First of all, I think it's an a dope record.
(14:42):
She was saying that she was going to start a
production company. Her and her attorney at the time, Larry Rudolph,
were going to start something, and basically a few weeks
after meeting her, a contract was sent to our little
apartment in Massachuset. It was about signing to her production company,
(15:04):
and my mom was like you no, you're too young,
and I'm like, you hate me, you bought you wish
death upon me, like you want me to die, because
I was like, this is a chance, Like we're never
going to get better than this. I'm grateful that she
didn't go with that because first of all, ten, I
mean not that twelve is much older, but ten is crazy.
(15:25):
Ten is crazy, and I don't think Britney ever put
out any artists on her production company, so you know,
I thought I was shelved. I just don't even think
my career would have gotten off the ground because sometimes
it's riskier to sign to an artist's label.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Well, this actually makes me think of something that you
wrote on your Instagram recently. You're doing the series of
posts where you were giving advice to your younger self,
and there was one that you wrote to your thirteen
year old self and you said, quote, not every opportunity
is for you say no to the ones that don't
feel right, so you can be available to say yes
to the things it do.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
What did you have in mind when you wrote that.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
If you're saying yes to everything from a place of fear,
that you're never going to get another opportunity. Then you're
not really checking in if it's like, if it's in resonance,
not only just does it feel right, but let me
lay this out in black and white, does it make sense?
All these things? So that's really generally what I was
thinking of. But I do think that regardless of how
(16:25):
anything panned out with my former label that I was
assigned to at first, that was meant to unfold that way.
I'm incredibly grateful for the foundation that it set up
for me to live a life that I really enjoy.
And if anything else had been different about it, if
I had said yes to something, then I wouldn't have
been able to say yes to the thing that actually
(16:49):
was a part of my destiny.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
I think we are loving this conversation, but we need
to take a quick break.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
We'll be right.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Back, and we're back with Jojo Jojo.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
The other day, I saw this woman from like the
Harvard a cappella group on stage performing a Whitney Houston song.
Speaker 4 (17:17):
Oh my god, they're so good. I love the Harvard
Acapella group. I saw that exact thing.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
They're unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Yeah, she was killing you know what I'm talking about. Yes,
she was so killing.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Oh I'm not in music. I just reposted it because
I was like, this woman is just so embodied. Yes,
And so I'm watching it back and all of a sudden,
I started crying. M And I realized that I started
crying because she looked like the world had not hit
her yet, Like there was no like harassment, There was
(17:48):
no like, there was no the stuff that you get
from just being a woman in any industry, particularly in
Hollywood or in music. You have really been through it,
Like reading your book. I don't want to give it
all away to people, but like you have gone to
the depths of your soul and back again. And I'm
wondering when you look at people that are like young
(18:11):
women coming up or somebody who's like just like on
the precipice of it, what do you feel like, what
do you wish you could say to them to kind
of like protect that that thing that I was feeling
in that video from that girl.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Oh, I love that. That's such a beautiful thing for
you to feel and for her to be reflecting out
into the you know, the joy that like unbridled connection,
yes to whatever it is to source creation like it's
so dope, it's so beautiful. And I think about this
a lot because I really like, I've always been an
(18:48):
old soul, but now I'm old enough that I can
be that eccentric, experienced, artsy auntie to people. And I
want to be so to answer your question, and there's
so many things I would say, and that's part of
why I did like that little series of the advice
that i'd give, you know, my younger self, but I
would say, just be so unapologetic about doing what is
(19:13):
right for you, doing what feels right for you, and
following that thing that lights you up, following that joy.
Like I mean, maybe she goes to Harvard for music
or something, but maybe that's just like a passion of
hers and then she's also studying something else, and I
think that's a side thing. Don't let those side things go.
Don't lose yourself to your ambitions or to climbing. I
(19:36):
don't think that that's worth it. I think that the
example that like Simone Viles has been setting for young
women is so important and so different than what we
saw where it's like burnout, exhaustion. Just just push it
to the max. And look, I have done that in
(19:58):
my own ways, and I've broken many times. And I
think that someone as famous and as influential as she
is to say no, she's really teaching young girls and
grown ask girls like myself how to be a whole
person and not just a machine because we're not.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Well.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
You've gotten me thinking about just the contrast between what
it was like to be a pop star in the
late nineties early two thousands versus today, and I think
some aspects have improved for young female pop stars. I
think when you were coming up, there was this widespread
sexualization of young girls from I mean the time that
(20:38):
they were pre teens to teenagers. I read in your
book that you actually didn't want to be perceived as
more sexual necessarily, but like older and more mature, Like
you wanted to present this older air to the people
that you were around. And there was this quote, Jojo
that hit me like a gut punch when I read it.
You were talking about when you looked in the mirror
the first time that you had gotten professional makeup done,
(21:00):
and you said, I didn't see a thirteen year old
girl anymore. I saw an eighteen year old pop star.
And that's exactly what I hoped other people would see too. Yeah,
and I don't want to put this like framing on
it that might not be there for you, So correct
me if I'm wrong with this framing. But do you
feel like that perspective cost you anything? Looking back on.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
It personally cost me? Yeah, I was in such a
rush to grow up. I never wanted to be a kid.
I thought it was inconvenient to the work that I
wanted to do, and to the money that I wanted
to make, to my ambition. It just was. And first
of all, why was I that way? That's a whole
other conversation, like why was this little girl feeling like
(21:41):
I needed to make a way out of no way
for me and my mom and all these things? And
I wanted something different. But I was embarrassed to be
so young, Like I did not look at it as
a cool thing. But then when the youngest artist to
have a number one on the top forty chart, I'm like, oh, so,
I guess this is a good thing in other people's eyes.
(22:01):
But I still felt so alone because the closest people
in age to me were eighteen like that were in
music at that time or in film and television and stuff.
So I just I felt like an outlier, even more
so than I already did, just being like a girl
(22:21):
who got bullied and felt like a bit of a
little weirdo. And do I think it cost me anything?
I think that being in a rush for cycles to
complete or for like seasons to go faster, I'm sure
that cost me something. I think that not being around
(22:43):
kids my age, that's exactly what I wanted. I wanted
to be around the adults and everything. But do I
think that I would have benefited from maybe going through
that uncomfortable process with other people my age, Yeah, I
think so probably.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
Okay, I need to get key about your music for
a second with you. So I just saw that viral
clip with Adele Bawling singing one of her songs, and
I wanted to ask you which one of your songs
is most likely to give that to you.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
I would say that the one that I tend to
get emotional with was a song called music from my
album Mad Love, because I wrote that shortly after my
dad died, and I was thinking about what has been
the most consistent relationship in my life, and it's been music.
It's that has been the thing that has been always
(23:40):
there for me. I could always count on it. I
could always even comforting myself with just singing some melodies.
It feels good the way it reverberates in my chest
and then comes out, like the lyric can take on
different forms depending like who I'm singing it to, because
(24:00):
when I'm in front of my fans and I'm singing,
who would I be without you? It's so very much
for them. If it weren't for their belief and support,
I don't know that I would have made it through
a lot of the times that I had, So that
one always gets to me.
Speaker 5 (24:18):
Jojo.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
It's clear that you care deeply about fairness. I mean,
you mentioned wanting to be a civil rights attorney when
you were younger if you didn't end up doing music.
And I feel like Jojo fans collectively, we are all
invested in fairness for you. I mean, there was a
free Jojo movement. We all feel like you were wronged
after all that you've been through in this business.
Speaker 5 (24:39):
What does justice look like for you?
Speaker 2 (24:41):
And I don't even know if that's the right word,
but like, what does freedom look like for Jojo?
Speaker 5 (24:45):
Ooh?
Speaker 4 (24:47):
Freedom just looks like following what actually sparks joy right
now and makes me feel like a little kid and
where I can be connected to community and purpose. And
I think that in having nothing to hide, that's freedom
as well. So I kind of wanted to like blow
up my own spot and be like, here's some embarrassing
(25:08):
things that I did. Here's some things that like you're
not supposed to do, or some blind spots that I had.
I do think that freedom is saying this is just
what it is, this is just where I'm at, and
releasing shame. And I was carrying around so much of
it for a variety of different reasons, and some of them,
(25:32):
like guilt can sometimes help change behavior and maybe that
can be a good thing, but the shame and embarrassment,
I think freedom is letting go of those things. And
I think the freedom is in the present.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
Okay, I'm about to ask you a question, and I
don't want it to come off rude, because I want
you to know how big of a fan I am.
I bought a ticket to your concert before COVID hit.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
Oh thanks, Cinya.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
But when I read your book and I'm thinking about
all that you have been through, and my question is
coming from a place of thinking that you are just
one of the most talented people. Do you ever sit
with yourself and think my music career should be so
much bigger right now?
Speaker 4 (26:14):
I appreciate that question and the way you prefaced it too,
but I'm I'm not offended by that, and I'm glad
that we're talking about it.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Thank you for being open to that.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
Oh yeah, I really want to answer it, honestly, I'm like,
do I think that. I think that there was a
moment where I definitely felt like that and where I
felt entitled and deserving of being one of the biggest stars.
Speaker 5 (26:41):
In the world.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
But I got to be so honest with you, that's
just that's not my passion anymore. It's not my aspiration
to compete on that level. I can't play the game anymore.
Like I just have to unsubscribe from some of those things.
I was hurt so badly at such a soft, impressionable
(27:04):
formative time that I'm way too sensitive for that. And
I think that on the other side of like accepting,
which happened pretty recently, I would say in the past
like four years, like I want to make music that
I dig and I want it to resonate with enough
people to where I can make an impact on them,
(27:25):
and I can have a great career and talk with
cool people and have access to more connections and opportunities
and things like that. But do I want to compete
or make a certain type of I just I don't
think I can. I just can't do that anymore physically, emotionally,
I just can't. So I don't know if that answers
your question or if I kind of talked around that
(27:47):
in a circle. But I'm not making music with that
intention anymore, and I was for a while. I'm interested
in how I can help support other younger people on
their journey too, while they're going through a lot of
the things that I went through in their own things
and personal stuff. Because I just don't have the stomach
for it anymore.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
It's time for another short break, But don't go anywhere,
because when we come back, Jojo is telling us all
about the importance of protecting her peace. And we're back
with Joanna Jojo Levek.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
I think my favorite thing that you've said throughout our
whole conversation, Jojo, is how you answered Danielle's question about
whether you feel like your career should be bigger because
I think so many people, myself included in your twenties,
you have this vision or perception of what your career
is going to look like, but you have no idea
the cost, the relational collateral that's a part of that,
(28:47):
the sacrifices. And it sounds like at the end of
the day, you have discovered that peace is more priceless
than any of that.
Speaker 5 (28:55):
And I just think that that is such an important message.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
I definitely love my career and love being busy and
being in community and all that stuff, but yeah, my
piece and being able to look at myself in the
mirror and feel good about myself and not be constantly
thinking that I need to go against what feels right.
Like I realized that like my addictive tendencies were kind
(29:22):
of stoked by wanting to get outside myself, I would
numb those things that discomfort that I was feeling. I
would need the attention of a guy or like a
love affair, and like just like being wrapped up in
a whole thing because I wasn't satisfied in my career
or with trying to please other people. And I have
(29:42):
a tattoo in white ink that you can't see because
I'm so pale. It's like pretty much the same, but
it's PYP protect your piece.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
PYP is the new pyt I have. This is amazing.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
One of my best girlfriends, not Done, She's an amazing
songwriter artist. She would say it all the time. She's like,
pyp PYP. I'm like, I'm gonna get tattooed. We should
get that tattooed. She's like, yeah, and anyway, I got
a tattooed. She didn't. Pip is that feels like a trick.
It feels like a trick. No, but pyp is the
is the message. Yeah, protect your piece. Like you said, Simon,
(30:14):
It's just I think a lot about how life is
short and how I always say, God willing life is long.
I mean, you know what I'm saying, because you never
you never know when when your time is and we
get one shot, get one shot, and living for other
people's ideas about your life sucks.
Speaker 5 (30:34):
That's it. I think we got our episode title, protect your.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Pathaya your piece, Yeah, Jojo. These kinds of conversations make
me so grateful that I get to do my job.
So thank you. I know someone feels the same way.
Thank you for your heart today.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Oh my god, well I feel the same way. Thank you, guys.
I so appreciate it. I love talking about this stuff,
about the journey of the a person, just trying to
experience brightness and joy. So thank you so much for
having me Jojo.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
We're so proud of you, girl. Yeah, I'm so proud
of you.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
I'm genuinely so happy for you, like you just seem
like you just seem like you have so much peace.
And I'm so happy that you're in Mulan Rouge, one
of my favorite shows. I'm so excited for this next
Jojo Eraich.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
You please tour again so that I can make the show.
Speaker 4 (31:25):
I promise it's going to be the best tour yet.
So I can't wait. And I gotta have you backstage.
I got to I got to see you.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
Oh my god, You're so sweet.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
Thank you guys.
Speaker 5 (31:34):
Thank you be there.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Jojo is an award winning singer, songwriter, actor and author
of Over the Influence, which is in bookstores right now.
She's sorry in Mulan Ruse the Musical on Broadway through
October thirteenth.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
That's it for today's show.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
Tomorrow it's Wellness Wednesday, breast cancer surgeon and women's health advocate,
doctor Christy Funk joins us for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Listen and follow The bright Side on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Join the
conversation using hashtag the bright Side and connect with us
on social media at Hello Sunshine on Instagram and at
(32:18):
The bright Side Pod on TikTok, and feel free to
tag us. Simone Boys and Danielle Robe
Speaker 2 (32:23):
See you tomorrow, folks, Keep looking on the bright side.
Hello Sunshine.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Hey, Bessie's Today on the bright Side. We're joined by
the chart topping superstar Jojo. Maybe you're like me and
Danielle and JoJo's hits like Leave get Out and Too Little,
Too Late. We're the soundtrack to your youth too. But
what happens when that voice is silenced? We'll find out
when we unpack her new memoir, Over the Influence. Jojo
(00:25):
is back, y'all, more empowered than ever and sharing for
the first time how she's reclaiming her career, her story,
and her voice. It's Tuesday, October First, I'm Simone.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Voice, I'm Danielle Robe and this is the bright Side
from Hello Sunshine, a daily show where we come together
to share women's stories, laugh, learn.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
And brighten your day.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
All right, we're both so excited for today's guests.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Joanna Jojo Leveck. You all know her.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
She burst into the spotlight at just thirteen years old
when she released her her self titled debut album.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
It was a huge success.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
It went on to sell over four million copies and
became JoJo's first platinum record, and her hit from that album,
Leave Get Out, made Jojo the youngest ever solo artist
to have a debut number one single in the US.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I still sing that song all the time.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
I was just about to say the exact same thing.
Her songs still live rent free in my head. I'll
just be going about my day and then all of
a sudden, Jojo has me in a choke hold again.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I mean, especially with TikTok, they're everywhere once again. They
never really went out, but they're having a resurgence for sure.
Jojo released her second studio album, called The High Road,
just two years later, and it featured her second smash
hit too Little, Too Late, which I know we've all
sung along too on road trips in the shower if
a man leaves us all the time.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Definitely sung about heartbreak at a time when I didn't
even know what heartbreak was. So thank you for that education, Jojo.
You know, in the early two thousands, Jojo was truly
everyone where I mean movies, magazines, radio, TV, you name it.
But then it felt like Jojo just kind of disappeared,
leaving a lot of her fans wondering where did she go. Well,
(02:11):
it turns out a dispute with her record label left
her silence for years, and she finally took them to
court to get out of her contract. I can't imagine
how difficult that must have been, not just for her,
but also for her family. I mean, she was just
a child navigating this massive talent and music career and
trying to find herself. And we've all heard the stories
just about how brutal this industry can be.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
It's not lost on me either, the irony, right Like,
she is known for her voice, and yet she was silenced,
and I think it left a lot of people wondering
what if, what would have happened had she not had
her career ripped away from her like that.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
For sure, there was a big question mark there for
a lot of us. And now she's back and putting
all the rumors to rest. She's setting the record straight
herself in her new memoir, Over the Influence. It's this raw,
vulnerable depiction of her life and for the first time,
she's telling her own story in her own words. And
to quote the chart stopping singer, she is ready to
be counted the f in. She is here with us
(03:12):
now too, Jojo. Welcome to the bright side.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
Thank you. It feels good to be here on the
bright side.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
We have been waiting fifteen years for this moment. No, Lie,
I have to tell you. Your talent is undeniable, and
you've always had so much to say, not just through
your music, but your words too. And you're out with
your new memoir Over the Influence, and it really lays
bare the experiences that you went through as a teenager
(03:40):
breaking into this industry. And I went to Google your
name last night, and so many of the headlines came up.
Every few years it would say Jojo reclaims her powerhouse voice.
And as I was reading your book, I'm like, Okay,
there's been reclamations a few times. You've really been fighting
for that. It feels like this is the time. What
(04:02):
does it feel like to finally tell your story in
your own words?
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Oh my god, it feels right on time. You know.
People are like, why now, And I would say, because
I have the strange experience of having a twenty year
career at thirty three, so I kind of wanted to
make sense of a lot of the things that confused
me for so long. But yeah, I went back and
(04:27):
forth about like, can I do my own story justice?
Do I even know how to? I've only written three
minute songs really but before you know what I mean, Like,
I was like, can I even do this? I don't
want to sell myself short, but I also couldn't put
it in the hands of anyone else. I've done that
in different ways, and just betting on myself is kind
(04:49):
of where I'm at and trusting my own internal guidance
system saying even if other people don't understand or agree,
it just doesn't matter anymore. I just and that, I
think is like the gift of being thirty plus, because
in my twenties I just did not feel that way.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Okay, Jojo, I got to get real with you for
a minute. Oh my god, please, you are a true superstar.
Your songs had top forty in a choke hold, including
you a Girl and Danielle. You've been in major studio films,
on magazine covers, national TV, and then it feels like,
kind of out of the blue, everything came to a
(05:27):
halt and you stepped out of the spotlight. I ask
this on behalf of all Jojo fans around the world,
because I know you're really tight with your fans, and
you know how invested all of us are in you
in your career.
Speaker 5 (05:38):
Just in you as a human.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Tell us what happened, tell us what happened when you
stepped out of the spotlight, and why, Oh.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
It was so not my intention, you know, I was
feeling all the momentum that was happening in my career.
I mean, I had back to back really successful albums
in my teens, and then I basically kind of became
a victim of music industry circumstance and politics and things
(06:08):
that are not sexy, but basically like a label that
lost their funding and was no longer a functioning record label.
But then they wouldn't let me go, and then I
didn't own my voice, so I couldn't do anything with it,
like just a shit show and made me feel like
so embarrassed because I didn't want like my fans or
my family to worry about me, and they were like,
(06:29):
they're killing your career, You're about to die on the vine.
I'm like, no, it's gonna be fine, because I just
never wanted anybody to feel bad for me, even though
I was like pretty devastated and ultimately just wanted to
be able to put music out and continue on that
path that I was like that we had started on
when I was twelve thirteen years old. So in the
(06:50):
stepping out of the spotlight, it was not for a
lack of trying, Like I was recording hundreds of songs
over the years and fighting really hard behind the scenes
to the point where I lost that fight from just
fighting so long and so hard to no avail.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Yeah, it kind of feels like imprisonment because like music
is all you had known since you were like five
seven years old. Were there moments during that time that
you thought this is it for me? Or did you
have faith it would be okay.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
I have a resilient spirit and I'm optimistic, like I
can see the silver lining, I can see a bright side.
But there was a point where I no longer saw
a light at the end of the tunnel. Where I
also had maintained optimism for years and tried different things,
and then I was like, you know what, Actually I'm
a lost cause, like because then I like fell deep
(07:43):
into depression and then like self sabotaging behaviors and addiction
and just trying to like deal with the emotions that
I had been suppressing because I didn't want people to
worry or feel bad or anything like that.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
They literally took your voice. It was like you were
like the little mermaid.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
I mean, I started to feel bad for myself. I
started to feel like I was this thing that people
could talk about in the industry, and people were like, Oh,
if only we could sign her or we could work
with her, she was available to do this, but I
wasn't because I legally didn't own my voice, couldn't do
anything with that. And I think that the truth about
(08:23):
my story and what I talk about in Over the
Influence is that a lot of my fans know and
really helped me through that period of time with like
the free jojo movement, with like creating awareness around what
was going on behind the scenes with my label at
the time. But that's just a small sliver of my
story because I also believe that, yeah, you can have
(08:44):
like a set of circumstances that are happening in your life,
but you can make different choices with them, you know.
I think that I really kind of embodied that, Like
people were telling me that I was a victim, and
I was like, you know what, yeah I am. And
I think Over the Influence is the journey of saying
that feels terrible. I hate that narrative and I am
(09:07):
similar to what you said earlier, like I have to
reclaim the way I look at things and live my life,
because what is life about if not to like experience
joy and connection and possibility.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
You know, yeah, you don't get to tell me when
my story ends.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Exactly, no, right, But I certainly felt like it was
over a lot, and because I just I gave up
on myself, you know, several times.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
Well.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
I also I wonder about that because you were thirteen
years old when you just exploded onto the scene. You
were the youngest artist to have a single atop the
top forty charts. I mean, people were praising you and
waiting on you hand and foot everywhere you went. And
I wonder what happens to your psyche, to your emotions,
like when that NonStop avalanche of validation, as you wrote
(09:55):
in your book, goes away.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
It went away in like the heightened you know, crazy,
when you have a number one single, it can be
an onslaught of just everybody kissing your ass and all that.
But I heard somebody say this, and it's kind of
true that if you're ever famous, you're kind of famous forever.
And the truth is that people treat you unrealistically, So
(10:21):
I think that that created like a false sense of
first of all, not really knowing who genuinely likes me
or what people's intentions are. Because I started so young,
I think that that was like a tender spot for
me because I was already bullied as a kid. I
already didn't think that people liked me, so then when
people started to being nice to me, I'm like, what
(10:42):
is this about? But I definitely did get my sense
of self worth from being popular and outside of school.
But when my music was particularly popular and I really
needed that validation, that can be an addictive thing, and
that's one of the things that influenced so many of
(11:03):
my decisions throughout the years, personally and professionally. Was like
seeking that validation, because when fame gets into your system,
it's like putting heroin into a prepubescent creature. You know.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Yeah, how old were you when you recorded get Out twelve?
You weren't even thirteen. That's so wild. I read that
you didn't initially connect with the song and you didn't
want it to be your first single. It obviously was,
and it had major success, But I'm wondering what happens
to your brain? As a young person and as an
(11:36):
artist when they're not listening to you.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
I never saw myself as a pop singer. I always
felt like a soul singer. Those were the singers that
I admired and that I studied and looked up to.
And I kind of had like an aversion to say it,
say it the mainstream that just wasn't I don't really
like that shit, Like I wasn't that into the boy
(12:01):
bands and the girl bands and stuff like a little bit,
I guess, but I was more like, no, it's about
Areta and Eda James and even Ella Fitzgerald more on
the jazz side. That's what I resonated with. So with
Leave Get Out, I just didn't get it. I just
didn't really like because that wasn't my world of listening
to a bunch of pop records. I didn't get it.
(12:22):
That was the first instance of me going along for
the ride and my mom, who is very very much
an earnest, true down to earth person. She's very heart
forward and leads just with who she is, and that's
the first time that I really broke with her and
I was like, no, I'm going to listen to what
these people who know better than us are saying oh wow,
(12:44):
because she was like, you don't like the song, I
don't like this song, blah blah blah. But I'm like, no,
I think they know what they're talking about and we
should just go. Because she was managing me at the time,
but she was concerned that her daughter was being molded
and shaped into something that I like, Naturally.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Did that sort of rupture your relationship with her was
at the beginning?
Speaker 4 (13:07):
Probably, I would say when I started to have a
lot of success, that deepened that rupture. Because it's hard
enough being a single mom having a girl only child,
where we were so so close, and then she was
managing me and we had no experience in this game
because it is a game in this system. It was
(13:28):
like trial by fire and it was really really challenging
on our relationship and what that did to my brain,
Like how you asked, I think that it taught me.
It conditioned me to say, how you feel doesn't matter.
And I'm not saying that other people were like how
you feel doesn't matter, but that's the subconscious messaging that
I very quickly understood.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
There's one story from your book that I think is
going to have every stop every millennial girl in her tracks.
You almost signed a record deal with Britney Spears.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Can you give us the day on that?
Speaker 4 (14:01):
I know that is so crazy. When I was like,
I don't even think I was ten yet, I was
maybe nine or ten. I called into the local Top
forty station in Boston because someone was like, oh, they
they're giving tickets away to their summer concert. I always
wanted to put myself in positions to be seen and
to sing for people like I really wanted that. So anyway,
(14:21):
long story short, I ended up winning the tickets. So
my mom and I went and I sang my way
through security from one security guard to the next. Ended
up meeting Britney Spears, and I did, and I still
do think that she's amazing. I loved Baby one more
time when it came out, like there's some soul in that.
First of all, I think it's an a dope record.
(14:42):
She was saying that she was going to start a
production company. Her and her attorney at the time, Larry Rudolph,
were going to start something, and basically a few weeks
after meeting her, a contract was sent to our little
apartment in Massachuset. It was about signing to her production company,
(15:04):
and my mom was like you no, you're too young,
and I'm like, you hate me, you bought you wish
death upon me, like you want me to die, because
I was like, this is a chance, Like we're never
going to get better than this. I'm grateful that she
didn't go with that because first of all, ten, I
mean not that twelve is much older, but ten is crazy.
(15:25):
Ten is crazy, and I don't think Britney ever put
out any artists on her production company, so you know,
I thought I was shelved. I just don't even think
my career would have gotten off the ground because sometimes
it's riskier to sign to an artist's label.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Well, this actually makes me think of something that you
wrote on your Instagram recently. You're doing the series of
posts where you were giving advice to your younger self,
and there was one that you wrote to your thirteen
year old self and you said, quote, not every opportunity
is for you say no to the ones that don't
feel right, so you can be available to say yes
to the things it do.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
What did you have in mind when you wrote that.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
If you're saying yes to everything from a place of fear,
that you're never going to get another opportunity. Then you're
not really checking in if it's like, if it's in resonance,
not only just does it feel right, but let me
lay this out in black and white, does it make sense?
All these things? So that's really generally what I was
thinking of. But I do think that regardless of how
(16:25):
anything panned out with my former label that I was
assigned to at first, that was meant to unfold that way.
I'm incredibly grateful for the foundation that it set up
for me to live a life that I really enjoy.
And if anything else had been different about it, if
I had said yes to something, then I wouldn't have
been able to say yes to the thing that actually
(16:49):
was a part of my destiny.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
I think we are loving this conversation, but we need
to take a quick break.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
We'll be right.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Back, and we're back with Jojo Jojo.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
The other day, I saw this woman from like the
Harvard a cappella group on stage performing a Whitney Houston song.
Speaker 4 (17:17):
Oh my god, they're so good. I love the Harvard
Acapella group. I saw that exact thing.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
They're unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Yeah, she was killing you know what I'm talking about. Yes,
she was so killing.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Oh I'm not in music. I just reposted it because
I was like, this woman is just so embodied. Yes,
And so I'm watching it back and all of a sudden,
I started crying. M And I realized that I started
crying because she looked like the world had not hit
her yet, Like there was no like harassment, There was
(17:48):
no like, there was no the stuff that you get
from just being a woman in any industry, particularly in
Hollywood or in music. You have really been through it,
Like reading your book. I don't want to give it
all away to people, but like you have gone to
the depths of your soul and back again. And I'm
wondering when you look at people that are like young
(18:11):
women coming up or somebody who's like just like on
the precipice of it, what do you feel like, what
do you wish you could say to them to kind
of like protect that that thing that I was feeling
in that video from that girl.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Oh, I love that. That's such a beautiful thing for
you to feel and for her to be reflecting out
into the you know, the joy that like unbridled connection,
yes to whatever it is to source creation like it's
so dope, it's so beautiful. And I think about this
a lot because I really like, I've always been an
(18:48):
old soul, but now I'm old enough that I can
be that eccentric, experienced, artsy auntie to people. And I
want to be so to answer your question, and there's
so many things I would say, and that's part of
why I did like that little series of the advice
that i'd give, you know, my younger self, but I
would say, just be so unapologetic about doing what is
(19:13):
right for you, doing what feels right for you, and
following that thing that lights you up, following that joy.
Like I mean, maybe she goes to Harvard for music
or something, but maybe that's just like a passion of
hers and then she's also studying something else, and I
think that's a side thing. Don't let those side things go.
Don't lose yourself to your ambitions or to climbing. I
(19:36):
don't think that that's worth it. I think that the
example that like Simone Viles has been setting for young
women is so important and so different than what we
saw where it's like burnout, exhaustion. Just just push it
to the max. And look, I have done that in
(19:58):
my own ways, and I've broken many times. And I
think that someone as famous and as influential as she
is to say no, she's really teaching young girls and
grown ask girls like myself how to be a whole
person and not just a machine because we're not.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Well.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
You've gotten me thinking about just the contrast between what
it was like to be a pop star in the
late nineties early two thousands versus today, and I think
some aspects have improved for young female pop stars. I
think when you were coming up, there was this widespread
sexualization of young girls from I mean the time that
(20:38):
they were pre teens to teenagers. I read in your
book that you actually didn't want to be perceived as
more sexual necessarily, but like older and more mature, Like
you wanted to present this older air to the people
that you were around. And there was this quote, Jojo
that hit me like a gut punch when I read it.
You were talking about when you looked in the mirror
the first time that you had gotten professional makeup done,
(21:00):
and you said, I didn't see a thirteen year old
girl anymore. I saw an eighteen year old pop star.
And that's exactly what I hoped other people would see too. Yeah,
and I don't want to put this like framing on
it that might not be there for you, So correct
me if I'm wrong with this framing. But do you
feel like that perspective cost you anything? Looking back on.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
It personally cost me? Yeah, I was in such a
rush to grow up. I never wanted to be a kid.
I thought it was inconvenient to the work that I
wanted to do, and to the money that I wanted
to make, to my ambition. It just was. And first
of all, why was I that way? That's a whole
other conversation, like why was this little girl feeling like
(21:41):
I needed to make a way out of no way
for me and my mom and all these things? And
I wanted something different. But I was embarrassed to be
so young, Like I did not look at it as
a cool thing. But then when the youngest artist to
have a number one on the top forty chart, I'm like, oh, so,
I guess this is a good thing in other people's eyes.
(22:01):
But I still felt so alone because the closest people
in age to me were eighteen like that were in
music at that time or in film and television and stuff.
So I just I felt like an outlier, even more
so than I already did, just being like a girl
(22:21):
who got bullied and felt like a bit of a
little weirdo. And do I think it cost me anything?
I think that being in a rush for cycles to
complete or for like seasons to go faster, I'm sure
that cost me something. I think that not being around
(22:43):
kids my age, that's exactly what I wanted. I wanted
to be around the adults and everything. But do I
think that I would have benefited from maybe going through
that uncomfortable process with other people my age, Yeah, I
think so probably.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
Okay, I need to get key about your music for
a second with you. So I just saw that viral
clip with Adele Bawling singing one of her songs, and
I wanted to ask you which one of your songs
is most likely to give that to you.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
I would say that the one that I tend to
get emotional with was a song called music from my
album Mad Love, because I wrote that shortly after my
dad died, and I was thinking about what has been
the most consistent relationship in my life, and it's been music.
It's that has been the thing that has been always
(23:40):
there for me. I could always count on it. I
could always even comforting myself with just singing some melodies.
It feels good the way it reverberates in my chest
and then comes out, like the lyric can take on
different forms depending like who I'm singing it to, because
(24:00):
when I'm in front of my fans and I'm singing,
who would I be without you? It's so very much
for them. If it weren't for their belief and support,
I don't know that I would have made it through
a lot of the times that I had, So that
one always gets to me.
Speaker 5 (24:18):
Jojo.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
It's clear that you care deeply about fairness. I mean,
you mentioned wanting to be a civil rights attorney when
you were younger if you didn't end up doing music.
And I feel like Jojo fans collectively, we are all
invested in fairness for you. I mean, there was a
free Jojo movement. We all feel like you were wronged
after all that you've been through in this business.
Speaker 5 (24:39):
What does justice look like for you?
Speaker 2 (24:41):
And I don't even know if that's the right word,
but like, what does freedom look like for Jojo?
Speaker 5 (24:45):
Ooh?
Speaker 4 (24:47):
Freedom just looks like following what actually sparks joy right
now and makes me feel like a little kid and
where I can be connected to community and purpose. And
I think that in having nothing to hide, that's freedom
as well. So I kind of wanted to like blow
up my own spot and be like, here's some embarrassing
(25:08):
things that I did. Here's some things that like you're
not supposed to do, or some blind spots that I had.
I do think that freedom is saying this is just
what it is, this is just where I'm at, and
releasing shame. And I was carrying around so much of
it for a variety of different reasons, and some of them,
(25:32):
like guilt can sometimes help change behavior and maybe that
can be a good thing, but the shame and embarrassment,
I think freedom is letting go of those things. And
I think the freedom is in the present.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
Okay, I'm about to ask you a question, and I
don't want it to come off rude, because I want
you to know how big of a fan I am.
I bought a ticket to your concert before COVID hit.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
Oh thanks, Cinya.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
But when I read your book and I'm thinking about
all that you have been through, and my question is
coming from a place of thinking that you are just
one of the most talented people. Do you ever sit
with yourself and think my music career should be so
much bigger right now?
Speaker 4 (26:14):
I appreciate that question and the way you prefaced it too,
but I'm I'm not offended by that, and I'm glad
that we're talking about it.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Thank you for being open to that.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
Oh yeah, I really want to answer it, honestly, I'm like,
do I think that. I think that there was a
moment where I definitely felt like that and where I
felt entitled and deserving of being one of the biggest stars.
Speaker 5 (26:41):
In the world.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
But I got to be so honest with you, that's
just that's not my passion anymore. It's not my aspiration
to compete on that level. I can't play the game anymore.
Like I just have to unsubscribe from some of those things.
I was hurt so badly at such a soft, impressionable
(27:04):
formative time that I'm way too sensitive for that. And
I think that on the other side of like accepting,
which happened pretty recently, I would say in the past
like four years, like I want to make music that
I dig and I want it to resonate with enough
people to where I can make an impact on them,
(27:25):
and I can have a great career and talk with
cool people and have access to more connections and opportunities
and things like that. But do I want to compete
or make a certain type of I just I don't
think I can. I just can't do that anymore physically, emotionally,
I just can't. So I don't know if that answers
your question or if I kind of talked around that
(27:47):
in a circle. But I'm not making music with that
intention anymore, and I was for a while. I'm interested
in how I can help support other younger people on
their journey too, while they're going through a lot of
the things that I went through in their own things
and personal stuff. Because I just don't have the stomach
for it anymore.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
It's time for another short break, But don't go anywhere,
because when we come back, Jojo is telling us all
about the importance of protecting her peace. And we're back
with Joanna Jojo Levek.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
I think my favorite thing that you've said throughout our
whole conversation, Jojo, is how you answered Danielle's question about
whether you feel like your career should be bigger because
I think so many people, myself included in your twenties,
you have this vision or perception of what your career
is going to look like, but you have no idea
the cost, the relational collateral that's a part of that,
(28:47):
the sacrifices. And it sounds like at the end of
the day, you have discovered that peace is more priceless
than any of that.
Speaker 5 (28:55):
And I just think that that is such an important message.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
I definitely love my career and love being busy and
being in community and all that stuff, but yeah, my
piece and being able to look at myself in the
mirror and feel good about myself and not be constantly
thinking that I need to go against what feels right.
Like I realized that like my addictive tendencies were kind
(29:22):
of stoked by wanting to get outside myself, I would
numb those things that discomfort that I was feeling. I
would need the attention of a guy or like a
love affair, and like just like being wrapped up in
a whole thing because I wasn't satisfied in my career
or with trying to please other people. And I have
(29:42):
a tattoo in white ink that you can't see because
I'm so pale. It's like pretty much the same, but
it's PYP protect your piece.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
PYP is the new pyt I have. This is amazing.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
One of my best girlfriends, not Done, She's an amazing
songwriter artist. She would say it all the time. She's like,
pyp PYP. I'm like, I'm gonna get tattooed. We should
get that tattooed. She's like, yeah, and anyway, I got
a tattooed. She didn't. Pip is that feels like a trick.
It feels like a trick. No, but pyp is the
is the message. Yeah, protect your piece. Like you said, Simon,
(30:14):
It's just I think a lot about how life is
short and how I always say, God willing life is long.
I mean, you know what I'm saying, because you never
you never know when when your time is and we
get one shot, get one shot, and living for other
people's ideas about your life sucks.
Speaker 5 (30:34):
That's it. I think we got our episode title, protect your.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Pathaya your piece, Yeah, Jojo. These kinds of conversations make
me so grateful that I get to do my job.
So thank you. I know someone feels the same way.
Thank you for your heart today.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Oh my god, well I feel the same way. Thank you, guys.
I so appreciate it. I love talking about this stuff,
about the journey of the a person, just trying to
experience brightness and joy. So thank you so much for
having me Jojo.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
We're so proud of you, girl. Yeah, I'm so proud
of you.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
I'm genuinely so happy for you, like you just seem
like you just seem like you have so much peace.
And I'm so happy that you're in Mulan Rouge, one
of my favorite shows. I'm so excited for this next
Jojo Eraich.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
You please tour again so that I can make the show.
Speaker 4 (31:25):
I promise it's going to be the best tour yet.
So I can't wait. And I gotta have you backstage.
I got to I got to see you.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
Oh my god, You're so sweet.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
Thank you guys.
Speaker 5 (31:34):
Thank you be there.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Jojo is an award winning singer, songwriter, actor and author
of Over the Influence, which is in bookstores right now.
She's sorry in Mulan Ruse the Musical on Broadway through
October thirteenth.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
That's it for today's show.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
Tomorrow it's Wellness Wednesday, breast cancer surgeon and women's health advocate,
doctor Christy Funk joins us for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Listen and follow The bright Side on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Join the
conversation using hashtag the bright Side and connect with us
on social media at Hello Sunshine on Instagram and at
(32:18):
The bright Side Pod on TikTok, and feel free to
tag us. Simone Boys and Danielle Robe
Speaker 2 (32:23):
See you tomorrow, folks, Keep looking on the bright side.
Host
Simone Boyce
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