After releasing the best breakup song ever at the ripe age of 13 (becoming the youngest solo artist in history to top the Billboard chart), JoJo solidified herself as a pop culture mainstay. She released a string of other hit singles and starred in Aquamarine (the, ahem, other most iconic mermaid movie ever). In honor of her April 11 Broadway debut as Satine in Tony Award-Winning musical Moulin Rouge! The Musical, we visited her backstage at the AI Hirschfeld Theatre in New York City to chat about her early pop career, overcoming imposter syndrome, and following your heart.
B+C: So you're now three performances in! What's the biggest surprise about being on Broadway?
JoJo: The most surprising thing about Broadway is probably the backstage choreography — everything that's going on behind the scenes to make it look seamless on stage. Because some costume changes that I'm doing are 25 seconds. And I'm in 12 different costumes that are like crazy corsets, sucked in! But there's a seamlessness to the choreography that's going on backstage that has to exist. Otherwise people can collide. So that is pretty surprising!
B+C: I love that! Some leading ladies don't always acknowledge all the backstage work that goes in.
JoJo: I think that's I just have so much respect for all the different departments that are here because it really is a team sport. This is a sport — it's an Olympic event, what's going on here. So I love our sound department, I love our hair and makeup. It's the costumes, the stage directors, the props, the security — everything matters here and I love that. It's awesome.
B+C: That's amazing! We would love to hear how your early career as a recording artist has prepared you for stepping into a stage performance on Broadway.
JoJo: You know, I have kind of been preparing my whole life for an experience like this. And touring is one thing — I tour a lot and I absolutely love that. But it's very much kind of me in the front, then my band who I absolutely love behind, and then singers. They're my friends and family, but I employ them. And this [Moulin Rouge! The Musical]? We're all equal on this stage. It's not like my show — it's all of our show. So my experience with being a touring artist and recording artist definitely prepared me. I have the stamina and the muscle memory of preparation, and I have the discipline to stay in good health and everything during something like this. But it's different too, because I'm getting lifted in the air and I'm descending from the ceiling and I'm twirling in the dark and I'm quick changing more than I've ever thought I ever would. It's like taking my experience from tour to the 100th degree.
So, you know, my career in pop music since I was a fetus has definitely readied me for this moment too, because Moulin Rouge! The Musical is a pop show. This is a rock show, like we're singing songs that we all grew up knowing that are kind of in our body. And that's one of the magical things about this, because it's nothing but hits. I just get to sing all these other people's smashes, which is really fun, and something I don't always do. I love doing covers, but this is like, all my favorite covers on steroids. Literally.
B+C: What are some of the most challenging aspects of stepping into a role on Broadway versus being a recording artist and touring?
JoJo: I definitely had some impostor syndrome popping off in my mind, because people work their whole lives to get an opportunity like this. And then I reminded myself, so did you. You know what I mean? I've been doing this for almost 20 years, and I'm still so young. I really revel in the opportunity to sing act, dance, and to be a part of a community. I would say that's the the thing that I enjoy the most — the spirit of collaboration and community and all the stuff that's going on behind the scenes.
And the biggest challenge is just the schedule. This schedule is not for the faint of heart. If you want to have a chill day, this isn't for you. You really kind of need to dedicate yourself to vocal health and just discipline. And then find fun in what you do. But if you want to be smoking and drinking, you probably can't do this!
B+C: That's very true! So Moulin Rouge is obviously such an iconic show and movie, and it has extended into so many different mediums at this point. What have you tried to bring into your version of Satine?
JoJo: I tried to bring the fact that she is really a sex worker to this role, like this woman has had such an unbelievable life. I just really have spent a lot of time with the script, with the movie, with our version here in the theater. I've just thought a lot about what it means to be a courtesan and that she made a life for herself. It has not been pretty, it has not been handed to her — she's made a lot of sacrifices and choices.
And even in what some of her own friends think, where she's being "selfish," she's actually being selfless. She's trying to save her friends and family here at the Moulin Rouge, while also allowing herself the experience of taking a chance at love — it's just a lot of conflict, and I wanted to bring that to the role. Yes, I get to sing the songs, but also bring a groundedness because I — in some ways — can relate to her. She was on the streets at 13 years old. And so was I in my own way.
B+C: What is your favorite number in the show?
JoJo: I love doing the Duke song. When I sing with the Duke...the Duke is just such a bad*ss and he's like, a sexy *sshole. There's all this sexual energy — we're just like rare. Love that number!
B+C: What is your favorite costume in the show?
JoJo: These costumes are insane. Catherine Zuber spent so much time and thoughtfulness, and there's dozens and dozens — if not hundreds — of people that went into making all these costumes, and mine were remade from the ground up. They are next level...the best things I've ever had on my body. My favorite one is probably the green fairy [costume]. There's a part of the show where I come down from the ceiling — again — and I am a chaotic energy, a taunting siren getting into Christian's mind and ruining his life.
B+C: How are some of the experiences of pop music and pop show tunes different from each other?
JoJo: I think all of it is related. Our soundtrack is so dope! The mash ups — which I'm a big mashup girl — are sick. We have "Rolling In The Deep" and "Crazy," which is probably one of my favorite things to sing actually in the show. They're pop, and show tunes and pop music are different, but related. We're encouraged in the show to sing more in a pop style while staying true to placement and vocal health to be able to sing every single night.
I will say that pop singing can be more dangerous to the vocal cords than pop singing in a musical. It's coming from a different place. In pop, we're giving a lot of vocal fry and we can be a bit more rocked out, but if you do that [on Broadway] you will probably have to call out the next show. You know, it's all about what can you do to sustain.
B+C: If your life was a jukebox musical, what would the theme song be?
JoJo: That's hysterical! I'm gonna say "Carry On" by Crosby Stills, Nash, and Young. Because yo — just keep carrying on, just keep going! He's just like, "If you had known better, you would have done better, and now and you're learning. Go your own way, I'll go mine." Just do your thing, keep carrying on — that's life.
People are like, "Wow, you're so resilient. You keep going?" I'm like, is there another way? Keep going. You win when you don't give up! That's that's the key, that's the secret.
B+C: That's actually great life advice, too! What has the show taught you about love, truth, beauty and freedom?
JoJo: It has taught me a lot actually. As I'm watching the show, or as I'm thinking about it, I'm like...if I was Satine, I would choose The Duke. Straight up, she's looking for life insurance, she's looking for a way out of this difficult experience that she's had. And yet, she chooses to be true to her heart.
That is something that I've wrestled with in my life just because of the fact that I come from nothing. I don't have anything to fall back on. It's just about making a way for yourself, and Satine's taught me that you have to follow your heart. You have to choose love. And you have to choose your friends and family, your chosen family — that's really what life is about. And she lives and dies on that.
While we learned a lot from our 2000s icon, JoJo also told us that the fans are incredible. She said, "Broadway fans are amazing, so the stage door is lit.“ If you catch her at the stage door, be sure to tag us in your pics on Insta! 😘
Did you see JoJo in Moulin Rouge! The Musical? Let us know in the comments, and sign up for our email newsletter to keep up with all your fave popstars!
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Header photo by Bruce Glikas
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