“I got locked in the bathroom of the venue,” the singer says. “It's actually on TikTok. I think it went a little viral, and that was so funny. The handle broke off from the inside or something, and it was just like the opener had gone on, and I could hear my band on, and I'm like, ‘Oh my God, I can't get out of this.’ So that was a funny memory. It all worked out just fine, but whooh, what a feeling.”
Besides that incident, JoJo still loves Dallas and the city’s welcoming hospitality. She and her team frequently discuss the city’s friendliness.
“I was just talking to Katie, my other manager who's been a part of my life and team since I was just a fetus,” JoJo says. “That's my sister. And we were just talking about how much we love the South and that Southern hospitality. I know that's such a cliche, but it really is true. It's something I really appreciate. It just feels like a warm welcome, people looking you in the eye and shaking your hand, showing you the best of their city.”
Before the show, JoJo is excited to eat traditional Southern food and is accepting recommendations for the best brisket in DFW.
“I love Southern food. I love Deep Ellum," she says. "Yes, that area is so dope. And I think the last time I was there, I was vegan. I'm not vegan anymore, so I'm going to eat. I eat everything right now. I try to be thoughtful because I feel better when I follow an anti-inflammatory diet. But I'll tell you what, I absolutely love brisket, ribs, meat and chicken. I would really like to find a place to get some really, really good chicken. Preferably not fried. Maybe a different preparation. I do love barbecue.”
A soulful mezzo-soprano, the Massachusetts entertainer found success in 2004, at the age of 12 when she became a pop sensation with her debut single, “Leave (Get Out)." In 2020, she won a Best R&B Song Grammy for her hit song “Say So,” a collaboration with R&B singer PJ Morton.
She's also released seven albums that produced fan-favorite singles such as “Too Little Too Late,” “Baby It’s You” and “Disaster.” With distinct new chapters in her life and career, she returns to North Texas on her nationwide Too Much to Say Tour. It's JoJo, the superstar everyone knows, but this tour spotlights Joanna Levesque, the person.
The singer wrote a book last year, the memoir Over the Influence, that chronicles her journey from being raised by parents with addiction issues to facing her own struggles with depression and self-medication, ultimately emerging victorious in a prolonged lawsuit with her record label. It became a New York Times Best Seller in September 2024.
“I wanted to reconcile my own journey and make sense of it by putting it all out in front of me, seeing it in black and white, and it was a very illuminating process for me, and I'm just grateful that nobody got hurt in the process and I made it out, and it actually ended up being a good thing," she says. "So this tour, Too Much to Say, is continuing on that theme of vulnerability and a feeling liberated from it. So there's definitely a free, liberated feeling of also understanding where I come from, where I've been, and where I want to go, and feeling a lot more in control and a lot more excited and at peace with all of those pieces.”
JoJo never fathomed becoming an author, let alone securing a coveted honor on her first book. That accomplishment proved to her that life is full of ups and downs, ebbs and flows.
“It is just another example of life being a great surprise,” she says. “Life is full of things that you never expect to happen, and I'm super grateful for the delightful surprises. Because some surprises are like, oh, whoa, I was not ... I don't like that one. But this was really a delightful surprise, and it's been a real joy in my life to share my story and to have it be received in a positive way because I was nervous writing my memoir and I was like, is this weird to do right now at this time? But I wanted to celebrate the fact that I've been in the game for 20 years and I had mixed feelings about it.”
The singer attributes her success to her team and their support and encouragement.
“I wrote these sticky notes to myself while I was writing the book as well, and I had never written something this extensive before,” she says. “I didn't know what I was doing, but I jumped and hoped the net would appear. And I also was surrounded by incredible people. I had a great team. My editor, could not have done this without her. She held my hand."
JoJo says she spoke the best-seller honor into existence.
“So I had these sticky notes and I wrote, while I was writing the book, I had it on my laptop, in my mirror, on my dashboard," she says. "It said, ‘You are a New York Times bestselling author.’ So I didn't know that that would come to fruition, but now I'm like, ‘Oh, OK. There's something.’ So now I'm asking myself, what is the next thing I'd like to see happen in my life and career? What would I like to contribute? What do I have to share? And I just have some ideas, and I want to ... It's exciting.”
The tour supports the book and her new EP, NGL, released in January. The album marks JoJo’s first fully independent album. NGL includes the catchy “Nobody,” “Porcelain" and “Ready to Love.” She is unbound by expectation on the latest album. Her most personal performance yet, the show will balance the book and new music in sections.
“We broke the show up into chapters,” she says. “So there's a reason for why certain songs go together. There's certainly a flow to it, and I think that my fans will really enjoy the thoughtfulness that me and my musical director, Wow Jones, put into making it this way. I've been thinking about this for months because I've been really excited to get back out on the road. It's been years.”
While promoting her memoir on tour, JoJo recalls naming the tour as she began writing the book, relating it to her journey of unloading everything to find her freedom.
“It's called Too Much to Say because before I started writing the book, I literally felt like there was just so much that I had been holding onto that had been weighing me down that I was ashamed of, embarrassed by, that I didn't understand about myself or my own journey," she says. "And through putting it in black and white and having people even share their own stories with me, it just made me feel just ... I don't know, for lack of better words, a lot better and a lot freer. So yeah, that was a long-winded way to answer your question.”
While the tour aims to promote her new output, JoJo also intends to perform her classics, allowing the moment to arise based on the vibes, taking it back to her Broadway days.
“I am open to the moments that the audience and I create together. So I never really know what the most wonderful part of the night is going to be because it is different in every city," she says. "And that's what's amazing about being a live performer is that you just never know. I would say that being on Broadway really reminded me of that because I was performing so frequently and I'd be in the same venue, but the alchemy between the performers and the audience created something different every night.”
An all-female band will join the singer on tour, making the event even more special. This is an empowering display for the superstar.
“This is going to be really cool because, first of all, this is my first time taking out an all-female band,” she says. “They are so incredible and I love them as humans and as musicians, and that's going to be a really special experience for me being this deep into my career and never having done that, never having all women on stage. And to be honest, I can't wait to hear the crowd singing back some of these new songs. That's always a real treat and a test and seeing what sticks. I just put out this project just a few weeks ago, so it's going to be amazing to hear how that all sounds.”
A loyal fan base that continues to support an entertainer for over 20 years is rare. JoJo doesn’t take her fandom for granted and has never grown accustomed to it. It continues to surprise her even today.
“I never feel used to it because I don't expect it,” she says. “I have no expectation. I'm always very surprised to be so supported in what it is that I'm putting out and I'm very grateful and yeah, I'm super fortunate because to have longevity and to continue to get to live out my dream in a different way, in a way that feels most fulfilling right now is just really very, very lucky.”
The singer remembers getting through life's hardships through substances. Now, at her strongest, she wants to be present for the experience.
“I was numb,” JoJo says of those dark days. “I didn't feel like I could handle my feelings, so I self-medicated. I was too afraid of what might happen if I actually ... I don't know. It was just, like, I wasn't really in touch. So now that I'm coming into this and I'm really feeling much more present and all that, I'm just looking forward to whatever that is, and I think that it's going to be a really special tour. I'm looking forward to this more than I've ever looked forward to getting out there because I just feel stronger than I ever have.”
JoJo appreciates fans for supporting her through that journey, and says having unequivocal support from a valuable team is essential for an artist. She remains with the majority of the same team with which she started her music career.
“I would be lost in the woods if it weren't for Katie Gallagher, my manager,” she says. “And we have a unique relationship because she started at the label that I was first signed to. And so we have that like, ‘Whoa, that was interesting’. And we also learned a lot through being in that situation, and it bonded us in an incredible way. And we decided that we wanted to continue to grow together. And now, it's been almost 20 years of us working in some professional dynamic.”
JoJo entered into a distribution agreement with BMG, relishing the life of an independent artist and the freedom it brings. She has the power to design her team as she sees fit.
"Now that I'm independent, I get to hire my own publicist and I get to hire my own marketing and digital," she says.
Her support system includes Randy Jackson and even "stylists that are collaborators and producers."
"I feel like I'm building my dream team right now, and it's allowing me to do things that I haven't been able to do in the past, and it's really beautiful,” she says.
With all the excitement surrounding her tour, fans have naturally raised the question of whether JoJo will write a sequel to her best-seller. The singer isn’t ruling out another book, but first she wants to experience more of life.
“I mean, after I finished writing the book, I'm like, ‘OK, so how am I going to live out this next chapter? How am I going to live a life that's worthy of the next book?" she says. "Between love and life and career and family and hopefully helping other people in their journey and wellness and health and all that stuff. So I'm so excited and curious as to what this tour will inspire, and I'm just really excited.”
Wednesday evening will be an emotional occasion for the singer and her fans alike. As a 20-year veteran who has endured every high and low that comes with fame, she acknowledges her fans for their unconditional love.
“It truly means so much to me,” JoJo says with palpable gratitude. “I do not take it for granted when people choose to put their hard-earned money toward coming to spend time with me. And I know that time is the most valuable thing as well. So it means so much that we can all get together and be little weirdos who love music. I appreciate the community that we built. I'm proud of Team JoJo, and I can't wait to see everybody, I think we're going to make some memories.”
JoJo brings her Too Much To Say Tour at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26 to The Factory in Deep Ellum, 2713 Canton St.
