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By Mike Snedegar
Contributing Entertainment Writer
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Joanna "JoJo" Levesque, the singer-songwriter known for her powerhouse vocals and chart-topping iconic hits like "Leave (Get Out)" and "Too Little Too Late," is stepping into a new role as a New York Times best-selling author.
Her debut autobiography, Over The Influence, offers a raw and unfiltered look at her life behind the music, chronicling her struggles, triumphs, and journey to self-discovery. The title itself is a nod to her personal battle with addiction and her fight to break free from the constraints imposed by the music industry at a young age.
Newsweek spoke with the singer and actress between showings of Moulin Rouge on Broadway in New York City, where she is currently in her 2nd run portraying the character Satine. When asked about her book being a bestseller, she said, "Life unfolds in ways that I did not expect it to; I'm just really taken aback that this now this is a part of my journey. Being able to say that my story is a bestselling memoir. I have an amazing team; there are just so many things that go into it. I'm loving this chapter of my life, it's really unexpected and really fulfilling."
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JoJo became a household name as a teenager, bursting onto the scene in the early 2000s. Her mature voice quickly captivated audiences, and her debut self-titled album went platinum. However, the songstress was grappling with intense personal and professional challenges behind the scenes. Over The Influence delves into the toxic relationships, industry manipulation, and pressures of fame that nearly derailed her career and mental health. "My main thing was that I wanted to be truthful and transparent. I was interested in going in chronological order, so I kind of used that framework. And I started out with jotting down one hundred different things that I could remember from as early as I could remember. I used that as a jumping-off point. I would jump around, though also, I learned so much because this was something I had never done before," she recalled.
In the book, Jo gets candid about her experience with alcohol and dealing with loss, detailing the impact that years of living under a microscope had on her sense of self-worth. She shared her path to recovery, offering readers a deeply personal perspective on how she learned to reclaim her power, both as an artist and a woman. She said, "There was probably about eight drafts of this before publication. The first draft was brutal and pulled no punches. This draft is a result of me being pain painstakingly mindful of still telling the truth while not being unkind to anyone. That was my intention; I didn't want to hurt anyone."
Over The Influence also highlights her fight to regain control of her music career after years of legal battles with her former record label. These battles kept her from releasing new music for nearly a decade, stunting the momentum of her early success. Through perseverance and legal victories, she eventually returned to the industry stronger than ever, releasing critically acclaimed albums like Mad Love and Good to Know. She told Newsweek, "I was taking things personally for way to long, I wish that I had understood earlier that you cannot live for anybody else's opinion or validation." She continued on the importance of taking care of yourself, noting, "At the end of the day, it really is a business, and it's gonna move in the way that benefits them, and you need to look out for yourself and your own soul. And your own experience and integrity. The business doesn't give a f**k about your integrity; you have to care about that more than anything. I wish I had learned that lesson sooner, but I don't live with regret. If anything, I just feel like now it puts me in a position to help and empower others. Because I can speak about it from a standpoint where I know it wholeheartedly."
For Jo, writing this autobiography was not just about reliving her past — it was about setting herself free from it. Her new album is an empowering story of resilience, offering hope to anyone who's ever felt lost or underestimated. It's a testament to Jo's strength, both as an artist and a person – along with her willingness to be vulnerable with her fans. She told Newsweek, "I'm just not available to compromise in the same ways that I was when I was younger, and that really just comes with experience. The compromise wasn't worth the consequence of that, feeling depressed and ashamed for not having the courage to march to the beat of your own drum. I am really inspired by the new wave of girls that are doing it in music seemingly on their own terms with just none of the constraints and playing the political game behind the scenes."
Jo is also focusing on the future; with the release of her new single, "Porcelain," she continues to let her life inspire her art. The single is an upbeat track about starting over. Revealing her songwriting process, she said, "To be honest, I don't like to think about genre; I just like to think about what feels good to me and explore different sounds and melodies. New York City was inspiring me. I was writing the book, and I was starting to feel like I was accepting all of these different parts of myself that I felt ashamed about. All these things that I had done, people that I had been, I was thinking about how sometimes you just need to stop forcing things to be something other than what they are and just allow things to happen. I wanted to have the first musical offering to kind of coincide with the book release; "Porcelain" felt like it would be like the one to go with. I've been working on new music. I want to be able to put out a whole body of work that feels thematic and consistent, and then to be able to tour. I miss touring, and seeing my fans up close in that way and performing my original stuff."
With this new chapter, JoJo continues to inspire with her authenticity – reminding us all that it's okay to fall apart and put yourself back together.
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