Young fame was a blessing and a curse for Joanna “JoJo” Levesque.
In her new memoir, Over the Influence, out now, the singer and author, 33, recalls skyrocketing to fame at age 13 with the chart-topping hit single “Leave (Get Out)” and the many ups and downs that followed throughout her 20-year career, from record label struggles to addiction.
Today, JoJo’s feelings on child stardom are complex. “It’s just too dangerous to your sense of self, because you don’t know who you are at that time,” JoJo tells PEOPLE, “and then you will be told who you are.”
JoJo began singing as a toddler, influenced by her former singer mom, Diana, and instrumentally inclined dad, Joel. Following their divorce when she was 5 years old, the adolescent vocalist lived with her mom and begged to go to local auditions for TV programs.
Knowing they were living in poverty at the time was a partial motivator. “It wasn’t that I was like, …