JoJo paid tribute to Amy Winehouse by covering “You Know I’m No Good,” a cut off the late soulstress’ classic album Back to Black, during her free show at the Hard Rock Cafe in Detroit on Sunday night. Seated beside her guitarist, the big-voiced songstress tore the roof off the house with a compelling acoustic interpretation that would make Amy proud.
JoJo’s relationship takes a turn for the worst in the Benny Boom-directed video for “Disaster,” the first single from her third album Jumping Trains. The pop star heats up the screen with British actor Rafi Gavron in the action-packed clip, for which a preview aired on MTV’s “10 on Top.”
“I am so excited about this video,” JoJo told Rap-Up TV. “There’s fire and stunts and motorcycles, and this lead actor who plays my boyfriend, Rafi Gavron. I think it’s sexy and young and rock ‘n’ roll. It’s definitely gonna be a reintroduction for me.”
Catch a sneak peek before the full video premieres on Tuesday.
During her trip back home, JoJo took some time out to visit with young patients at Children’s Hospital Boston. The 20-year-old singer, who is currently performing free shows on her Hard Rock Cafe tour, put a smile on the kids’ faces as she decorated Halloween cookies and posed for photos with them. JoJo’s video for “Disaster,” the first single from her upcoming album Jumping Trains, will premiere next week.
JoJo caught Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” and turned it into an acoustic jam during her hometown show at the Hard Rock Cafe in Boston last night. The 20-year-old songstress showed off her natural talent as she soared through the cover backed by a female guitarist.
In addition to “Grenade,” she also performed her hits “Too Little Too Late,” “Leave (Get Out),” and latest single “Disaster” off her upcoming album Jumping Trains, due early next year.
JoJo previously covered Rihanna’s “What’s My Name?” during her stop in Baltimore. The intimate free shows, which raise awareness for breast cancer, continue on to Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Indianapolis, before wrapping in Chicago on November 1.
JoJo stopped by KTLA 5 in Los Angeles yesterday to perform “Disaster,” the first single from her upcoming album Jumping Trains. The 20-year-old singer, who recently wrapped her tour with Joe Jonas and Jay Sean, was joined by her band as she delivered the pop-rock tune.
“I wasn’t able to do things that other artists were able to do because I was so young,” said JoJo, who was 13 when she made her debut. “So now I’m able to go out, explore the world, work really, really hard, and just rock out with my band and tour.”
In Part 2 of our conversation with JoJo, the pop songstress shares why she decided to tone down her performance of “Marvin’s Room” while touring with Joe Jonas and Jay Sean.
“I think after the third show I stopped doing the explicit version of ‘Marvin’s Room’ because I was looking out into the audience and seeing these young girls, some of them as young as seven, eight years old,” JoJo tells Rap-Up TV. “I could not go back onto my bus and feel good about myself. I couldn’t look into the eyes of the mothers and say, ‘F— that new girl.’ I felt really bad.”
While you may catch her singing the explicit version at other gigs, JoJo felt a sense of responsibility to her younger audience. “I didn’t feel comfortable as a young woman and a role model to be doing that.”
The singer, who will release her third album Jumping Trains next year, was hesitant about remixing Drake’s song at first, and was surprised at the overwhelmingly positive reaction, even from Drake himself. “We had some communication and I know that he was receptive to it and said some really nice things about it, and that was so amazing for me to hear.”
Also find out why JoJo wants to refrain from releasing more remixes and what she’s currently listening to on her iPod.
JoJo is officially back. The pop powerhouse, who wraps her tour with Joe Jonas and Jay Sean on October 6, is returning to the spotlight after a five-year absence with her upcoming third album Jumping Trains.
In the first part of her interview with Rap-Up TV, the 20-year-old singer explains why she chose “Disaster” as her first single, the concept of the video (“It’s sexy and young and rock ‘n’ roll”), the big name producers she worked with (Rodney Jerkins, Danja, Da Internz, and a “spacey” collaboration with Boi-1da), and her favorite song on the album.
The material will showcase her diverse taste in music. “In any type of record that I do, you’re gonna hear my R&B influence, even some hip-hop influence, and definitely a soulful vocal delivery, but I really like to rock,” she says. “I’m just feeling a little angsty lately, so I really want to headbang and rock out.”
Expect to hear a more mature JoJo when the project arrives in early 2012. “I paid so much attention to the subject matter and making sure it was honest and nothing was sugar coated and that it wasn’t a polite record. I just wanted it to be real.”
JoJo lit up the red carpet in a fuchsia and red cocktail dress at the 9th Annual Teen Vogue Young Hollywood party at Paramount Studios in Hollywood last night. Her fellow 20-year-old Rye Rye brought some “Sunshine” while entertaining the chic crowd with music off her upcoming debut Go! Pop! Bang!, including her single “Never Will Be Mine.”
Solange, beaming in a yellow skirt, worked the ones and twos throughout the evening. Earlier in the day, she had a scare when she lost her bag containing her laptop and son’s passport. But she found it in time for the gig. “God is good! My bag was found at the police station! My driver left it in the parking lot!” she tweeted. “There are good people in the world!!!”