JoJo

Joanna Noëlle Levesque was born in Brattleboro, Vermont to Diana Levesque (born: Diana Blagden) & Joel Maurice Levesque. She has Polish, English, Irish & Scottish ancestry on Diana's side and French-Canadian ancestry on Joel's side. Her mother, a church soloist and theatre performer, would sing hymns when 'JoJo' (qv) was a baby. She grew up being a big fan of 'Whitney Houston' (qv), 'Etta James' (qv), 'Aretha Franklin' (qv) & 'Ella Fitzgerald' (qv). A few years later she wanted to show her talent to the world and found an audition for _Kids Say the Darndest Things (1998)_ (qv). She appeared at the audition and was allowed into the episode on the spot. Then, at 'Bill Cosby' (qv)'s request, she performed Respect for the audience, and got an amazing response from Cosby. That's when the calls started pouring in. First 'Oprah Winfrey' (qv) asked her to appear on her super-popular talk show, followed by the Republican National Convention, the Boston Celtics, and 'Rosie O'Donnell' (qv). However, it was at the 2001 Gospelfest that she brought an entire crowd to its feet. Next she auditioned for _America's Most Talented Kids (2003)_ (qv) competition. She didn't win, but she met a man named 'James Womack' (qv), who introduced her to an executive at Da Family Entertainment. She signed with them, and was offered two contracts before finding her match with Blackground Records. Before her single, Leave (Get Out) came out she toured with the prince of R'n'B, Mr 'Usher' (qv) himself. Finally, her single came out and went directly to the top of the American charts.::JC