JoJo is getting candid about the ups and downs of her career and the friendships that have come with them. In an exclusive excerpt from her upcoming memoir, Over the Influence, obtained by People, JoJo opened up about her friendship with Selena Gomez and recalled attending a Galentine's Day party at Taylor Swift's house, where she felt pitied by fellow attendees.
JoJo, whose real name is Joanna Noëlle Levesque, rose to prominence in the early aughts thanks to her hit "Leave (Get Out)," which she released when she was just 12. Now 33, she is looking back at her career in Over the Influence, which releases on September 17, 2024.
In the new excerpt, JoJo recalls meeting Selena Gomez through their mutual friend Francia Raisa. JoJo says it was "a breath of fresh air to be around someone who had started in this industry at such a young age, just like me, and was still so down to earth and open."
Though JoJo admitted to feeling "the occasional twinge of pain or jealousy" witnessing Gomez's career while she herself was dealing with conflicts with her record label, she found solace in her "relative anonymity."
One day, Gomez, who has famously referred to Taylor Swift as her "only friend in the industry," invited JoJo to a Galentine's Day party at the "Fortnight" singer's house. JoJo admitted to feeling a sense of sisterhood from the hangout despite being conditioned to be "strategic" with her female friendship earlier in her career.
JoJo recalls Swift being "sweet and complimentary." She also mentioned how Swift tried to show support as she was going through the lawsuit with her record label, which prevented her from releasing new music, which felt bittersweet.
"I appreciated Taylor's kind words, but I thought I could see in the eyes of everyone else at the party that they felt bad for me," JoJo writes in the book. “Maybe they thought I was never going to get out of this limbo. Or that it was too late for me even if I did. Maybe they could tell I didn't have the money or the parents who could help dig me out of any holes I might find myself in. Maybe they saw the imposter in my eyes. Then again, perhaps that was all my own projection.”
If you want to read the entire except ahead of the release of Over the Influence, head over to People.
