JoJo reflects on 20th anniversary of her self-titled debut album

JoJo was released on 22 June 2004, by Da Family Entertainment in partnership with Blackground and Universal records. Featuring her breakout hit single, "Leave (Get Out)", and the Bow-Wow collaboration, "Baby It's You", and debuted at number four on the Billboard charts.

"It was created while I was a public school 6th grader, commuting into the city from the suburbs with my Mom who was raising me all on her own," JoJo wrote, reflecting on the process of making the album. I’m GRATEFUL to all the creatives who somehow made an outcast 12 year old feel cool and accepted. To have been a vessel for these songs and for people to have seen something special in a little girl with a big voice from a small town south of Boston changed my life forever.

• “JOJO” 20th ANNIVERSARY •

June 22nd, 2004 my mothafuckin debut album was released. It was created while I was a public school 6th grader, commuting into the city from the suburbs with my Mom who was raising me all on her own. The process of writing a memoir has brought back…

— Joanna (@iamjojo) June 22, 2024

"Now I can officially say I’ve been doing this for 20 years. And it’s 100% ONLY because of my fans," she continued. "Supporting and growing alongside me from the very beginning (or from whenever it is you got here) is what has kept me GOING. YOU have made me feel SEEN and LOVED. We’ve weathered storms and walked through deserts where it looked like nothing was ever going to change. But it DID. It always DOES."

JoJo urged fans to celebrate the milestone with her by re-listening to the original album, and also giving the re-recording a spin. Because the album was never available on streaming services, she re-recorded it in 2018, where it reached number 13 in the Billboard charts.