Intervista su Philippine Daily Inquirer

• Remember her? Returning with two music heavyweights, JoJo reveals to Super what she’s been up to all this time“I HAD NO IDEA THERE WAS GOING TO be media!” gasps 19-year R&B singer-actress Joanna Levesque, a.k.a. JoJo as she arrived at Sofitel Philippine Plaza’s Spiral buffet. Her blue eyes widen with surprise. She turns to one of the organizers and says, “You should have told me. I would have worn makeup! Oh well.”It’s been four years since the mainstream public last heard from JoJo, with her 2006 song Too Little Too Late, and any recent impressions were left by her brief stints on the big screen. Ask anyone on the street who JoJo is; they’d probably cock their head and say “Wasn’t she in that mermaid movie?” or “Siya ba iyung kumanta ng All My Life?”The singer, who starred opposite Robin Williams in the 2006 comedy RV, shares, “I was away from the scene focusing on other things.” Truth is, JoJo, who broke out in 2004 as a 13-year old, didn’t disappear from music. She was admirably focusing on her studies, graduating from high school with honors and is now confirmed to attend Northern University in the state of Massachusetts—a highly competitive school, one might add. Now she’s back, appearing in two songs on Timbaland’s album Shock Value II and working on her third studio album All I Want is Everything.JoJo is one-third of the American music trifecta playing tonight at the SM Mall of Asia. Comprised of herself, pop idol Justin Timberlake and mega-producer Timbaland, they’re performing at the Changing Lives Benefit Concert, an endeavor by the All-Youth Channel (AYC), U92FM, Smart Bro, Smart Buddy and the PLDT Smart Foundation to raise funds for victims of last year’s successive typhoons.JoJo is thrilled to perform in Manila for the first time in her life. “I’m stoked to feel the energy of this beautiful country, which I’ve already got the chance to see a little bit of,” she beams to a roomful of media, including media personalities KC Montero and Vicky Herrera. With her re-emerging in the music scene, how does she plan to shed the image of being that girl from the movies Aquamarine and RV?“I’m not just that girl from Aquamarine or RV,” JoJo asserts. “I’m working on my third album so I’m really excited about that, and working with Timbaland on his album and mine has been a great way to seamlessly reintroduce myself. I did acting but I’ve come into who I want to be as an artist. I’m not just a little girl who doesn’t write songs. I’m really growing into myself.”Her manager Gida Williams adds, “JoJo made a conscious decision with her mother to focus on school. She started in the music business when she was 12. She had two very successful albums and did movies so she took time to finish high school. It was a career decision to put education first.”JoJo’s mother, Diana Levesque, is a guiding presence throughout the singer’s career. Not only was she her first manager; JoJo credits her with keeping her act steady as the fame and attention poured in. “Mom always travelled with me until I turned 18. She made sure I got nine hours of sleep every night, she made sure my school work was done. I credit her for why I’m not off the deep end.” A reason for why she has an image largely clean of intrigue is that she still lives in her home state, instead of the glitzy, fast-paced hills of Los Angeles. “It’s a different scene. Living in Massachusetts until I was 18 was a good thing because I’m not above temptation.”Returning from the academe refreshed her for diving back into music. Backing her up on her third album are Timbaland, The Messengers, and The Neptunes, artists who JoJo calls “wonderful people.” Of her academic days, she shares “I was focused on school, making sure I got good grades and was able to get into colleges. It was a very stressful time. Now that I can focus more on my first passion it feels really good.” JoJo is deferring from school this year, but next year she’s definitely starting college. Her desired degree? “Cultural anthropology. I met with the head of Sociology in my university, and it’s so fascinating!”I notice the word “truth” tattooed on the side of her right hand, so I ask her what “truth” is for her. “Oh, because of my tattoo?” she smiles, and gestures an embrace. “I want to be surrounded by truth. I want to represent what is true. In a spiritual sense, it talks about my faith.” She then laughs. “It’s vague but it’s meant to be a variety of things.” I ask JoJo, whose mother sang in Church choirs, if faith plays a major role in her music and dealing with people. “Faith as in music too, yeah,” she giggles. “Music is spiritual.”