JoJo has had a long and continually winding path to get to where she is now, which is truly an exciting time in her career. She recently announced a new album, Good To Know, and today, the singer shares a pair of Honda Stage performance videos for “Joanna” and “Sabotage,” the first two singles she released on her own Warner Records label imprint, Clover Music.
“Joanna,” titled after her real first name, is a soulful tune that has an autobiographical vulnerability, which JoJo channels into a confident and powerful live performance. Lyrics include, “Do you still have the same range / That you did when you were 14, girl,” and, “Your sh*t don’t even go that hard / Why can’t you just play your part? / Speaking of which, where did your acting career go?”
“Sabotage,” meanwhile, is a more upbeat track, the subtle, head-bobbing groove of which shines through in this particular rendition. While the theme of the song isn’t as focused on the specifics of JoJo’s life as “Joanna” is, it’s still a personal tune on which she reflects on her perceived propensity to ruin relationships.
Between performances, JoJo speaks about the emotional times she experienced during her career struggles, saying, “Some days, I felt like I did want to give up. Family members were encouraging me to go to something else. They were like, ‘You’re a smart girl, Jo. Go do something else!’ I was like, if I don’t give this my all, I’ll never forgive myself because music is my first love. It’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was a little girl, and I didn’t want to let the business, or the industry, or anything like that take that love away from me.”
JoJo also turned in an acoustic, personality-filled rendition of “Man.” On the song, JoJo shares how comfortable she is with her independence and insists that if she does decide to settle down with somebody, they better be worth it. The message lines up with the overarching theme of her upcoming Good To Know album, which she says is about “how to be empowered but still knowing that I do want, eventually, to have a great partnership with a great man.”
Watch JoJo’s performances of “Joanna” and “Sabotage” above.
JoJo is a Warner Music artist. .
