JoJo Announces ‘Over the Influence’ Memoir: ‘Most Challenging Yet Meaningful Project I’ve Taken On’
For her next act JoJo is telling all. The “Leave (Get Out)” singer born Joanna Noëlle Levesque announced on Tuesday (June 4) that she is releasing a “raw” memoir entitled Over the Influence through Hachette Books on Sept. 17.
“Welp. Wow. So… I’ve been working on this like a madwoman in my little emotional cocoon the past 18 months… and it feels surreal to share this with you today: my very first book- a memoir,” the singer wrote on Instagram along with the cover image: a close up of her face. In a typewritten page posted alongside the cover, the singer explained, “this book is for anyone who has ever felt disillusioned, disconnected, but underneath it all DETERMINED to find themselves and a new way of being.”
The note added that she began working on the book a couple of hears ago when she realized the 20th anniversary of her self-titled debut album was coming up this year, at which point she began jotting down a framework for what would become her life story. “This is a story of addiction, generational trauma, fame on a developing brain, lies, love, stamina, spirituality, resilience, and reinvention,” her statement reads. “It’s insight into the evolving music industry over the past two decades and a cautionary tale that I want to be the one to tell.”
She continued, saying that it has been “a trip” to look back and see the “blind spots and patterns and the fear that was the driving force behind many decisions. But also the unbelievable blessings.” She said that her definition of success has gone through a number of revisions since she began her career at age six. Today it is about “happiness and connection. Getting to be a part of things that make me proud and allow me to earn a good living.”
She stressed that she wrote “every single word” of the memoir, and admitted, “I’m nervous. It’s the most challenging yet meaningful project I’ve taken on.”
The singer appeared on shows including Kids Say the Darndest Things, America’s Most Talented Kids and Destination Stardom before getting signed to Blackground Records and Da Family Entertainment and releasing her 2004 debut album, which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 album chart thanks to debut single, “Leave (Get Out).” Her third album was then repeatedly held up amid a dispute with her record label, leading to her leaving and signing with Atlantic Records in 2014, which released her third LP, Mad Love, in 2016. Over the years she has also guested on a number of TV shows, including American Dreams, Hawaii Five-O and Lethal Weapon.
After releasing her 2021 album Trying Not to Think About It, JoJo made her Broadway debut as Satine in Moulin Rouge! The Musical in 2023.
Hachette describes the memoir as “breathtakingly candid,” saying it “holds nothing back as she brings her against-the-odds story of adversity and triumph to center stage. From being raised by parents who were both battling addiction and depression, to emerging victorious in a never-ending lawsuit with her record label, to putting the fragmented pieces of herself together after a maddening period of rebellion and self-betrayal, she takes the reader through the turbulent years that led her to where she is now: releasing new music under her own imprint, performing in shows and festivals around the world, headlining a Broadway show, and beyond.”
Check out JoJo’s Over the Influence announcement below.
Gil Kaufman
Billboard
