“I always dreamed of this moment in time where women are much more in the driver’s seat.”

It’s been four years since JoJo released her comeback album Mad Love, and no, she wasn’t “sleeping” on her fans or using the time to relax by the pool with an Aperol Spritz (although she’d love to be doing that right now, and same).

Since 2016, the superstar has flip-flopped between labels, embarked on several worldwide tours, purchased a new home and ended a relationship after ‘cheating’ on her boyfriend, as well as some other “dumb shit”. Let her live!

She fuelled said “dumb shit” into writing sessions for her strongest body of work so far, Good to Know, a nine-track collection of smooth and intricate R&B numbers about empowerment and self-worth.

“This album is wanting to escape yourself but then not being able to, and then realising how important it is to find comfort in being on your own and finding strength in that,” she tells Gay Times.

We caught up with JoJo over Skype to discuss her incredible new album (out today!), how the industry has changed since she told us to Get Out (Leave) in 2003, and the advice she’d give to fans struggling in self-isolation.

JoJo, your hair looks absolutely amazing.
Hi darling! Yo, thank you. If it weren’t for these two braids, I would just be giving you… hat. That’s all I can do! How are you holding up?

I need a wig in that shade. Yeah, I’m doing alright. I’m on Skype with JoJo, so…
[Laughs] You too can have this hair! Trust me, it’s clipped in honey. 

How is self-isolation for you?
I’m doing well, my mom is sitting on the couch behind me.

Hi mum!
She’s being a lurk. She’s a couch lurker. The timing is good because me and mom actually moved from Boston to LA a few months ago, and then… we got locked down. We’re in this together and it’s cool, I’m on a press tour from home and singing a lot from my couch.

What does a press tour from home look like?
A lot of this, a lot of talking to people like this. I haven’t worn heels in two months, so that’s cool and it’s probably good for my feet because normally, I’m going to a lot of places! So yeah, that’s what it looks like, talking to people from technology. 

How does it feel having your first album in four years interrupted like this?
I was just like, ‘Alright.’ You gotta be like water, you gotta go with the flow – as corny as it sounds. You’ve got to go with the flow and you can different shapes, but still be yourself. I love to think about being like water, because water can be vapor, it can be ice, but it’s still water. I was like, ‘Okay, embrace what is.’ Some days are harder than others, because I’m so excited for this music, but I put things in perspective. I am personally consuming a lot of music right now. This is a time where people can really take in the music in a way where there’s no distractions, and there’s real life things going on that are outside of me thinking this is less than ideal rollout situation for my album. People are really struggling, this is not a real struggle – know what I’m saying? 

There’s been a few artists who have chosen to delay their music because of what’s happening right now – was this ever an option for you? 
No, it wasn’t a thought for me. I love that Dua Lipa released her album during this time, and I think that it’s given people a moment to escape. Good to Know is a lot about to escape, especially the beginning of it, wanting to distract yourself and being drawn towards excess. We’re in a time where we don’t have that, we can’t go and distract ourselves, so this music is actually pretty timely, I think. This album is wanting to escape yourself but then not being able to, and then realising how important it is to find comfort in being on your own and finding strength in that. 

You can definitely feel the self-love vibes. 
Yeah, it’s not one straight shot to self-love. It’s like a loop that I’ll probably need to make several times, but it is the desire and practice of self-love, for sure. 

It is your first album in four years. For those who are unaware, what have you been up to during this time?
I changed labels, twice actually. I went from Atlantic to Interscope and then to Warner, and that’s because there were some moving executives around. I was caught up in label musical chairs and I didn’t end up releasing a project on Interscope because my A&R, and the president of my A&R department, went to Warner and was like, ‘Come with me to Warner.’ I was just caught up in things like that, but I wrote hundreds of songs in the past few years and started my own record label called Clover Music, which is now in partnership with Warner. I also re-recored my first two albums, and in the past four years I’ve been on a few tours, bought a home in LA, ended an on-and-off again relationship, cheated on my boyfriend, did a lot of dumb shit that I ended writing about.