In The Dark

Aug. 31, 2010 6 comments Media, Disappointment, Expectations, Jojo Levesque, New Single

I’ve always loved Jojo; I used to be such a huge fan of her. I say “used to be” because it seems she’s drifted away from the artist she used to be – the artist who whose success was based on pure talent, who wasn’t just trying to be like everyone else.

Yesterday night, I listened to Jojo’s newest song, “In The Dark” on Rap-Up.com. I’ve been waiting so long for her comeback – it must’ve been like 3 or 4 years already – and when she actually returns, I get disappointed.

This song isn’t her. This song doesn’t showcase her amazing voice or unbelievable range; it just made Jojo sound like everyone else – singers who think auto-tuning is a proper replacement for talent. Except, unlike everyone else, she actually does have talent and doesn’t need all this extra editing. I probably wouldn’t even be typing this post she had just lessened the auto-tune in this song.

To me, it’s like she’s going backwards. Just listen to her at 8 years old:

at 13 years old, being the youngest person ever to get a #1 single on the Billboard Charts, with this song:

and at 15 years old (though she was already 16 in this video), breaking another record by having her song make the biggest leap on the charts (from #66 to #3), with this song:

At 19, she seems to be lost. I remember her being such an inspiration to me; breaking so many records and doing so much at such a young age, yet still remaining so grounded. She’s still an inspiration to me, in that sense, but I just don’t find her music that entertaining anymore. A lot of people seem to like this new song of hers, and I have to admit that it is a nice song. I just wish that it wasn’t edited this much.

For now, I’ll just wait here, hoping that whatever song she releases next would be more like the Jojo we knew before: a truly talented artist, who didn’t need auto-tuning to show us that she could record an amazing song.

Original Thumb Image Source: Rap-Up.com

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Comments

Georgina

I know what you mean. :| It makes me depressed too, especially when my mum just starts shouting at me for every little thing, once she’s angry at my dad or brother. It’s not only angering but it makes me pretty damn upset that just because she’s in a bad mood she has to yell at me.

The first time I heard Jojo was when she sang Get Out (Leave). I loved that song, even though I’ve drifted from that kind of music now.

Auto-tuning is so common in mainstream music these days. I think it’s just done way too much. As you said, it makes Jojo seem like everyone else.

It reminds me of when Armor For Sleep, my favourite band, broke up… and the lead singer Ben Jorgensen went and worked on an electro-pop project using effects and auto-tuning and that kind of stuff. People were disappointed. I wasn’t, because I could still hear the beauty in his voice and his talent.

I guess it’s so typical, but sometimes we can only hope that it’s just a phase and that these artists are just trying their hand at something, something temporary.

Sometimes, and I learned this in one of my classes on regulatory media – it is the label they’re signed up on that makes them keep singing the same doozy stuff, just so they can all get the money from sales and everyone’s happy. :(

Marina

Wow. Jojo. I personally have never been a great fan of her but I don’t not like her either. I do like some of her songs but I do agree that the new song isn’t as good as the older ones. Thanks for posting this, I never knew that she started singing when she was 8!

Kelsey

I was just looking at that the other day in fact. D: I heard that’s not going to be on her actual album though; it’s just an experiment. If she does release that, you’re right; she’s going to be sounding like everyone else. I know I was surprised when she first came out because she can actually sing and doesn’t have her voice covered with fancy technology. :U We’ll just have to wait and see I guess.

Clarisse

I know that it’s not going to be on her album, but I do hope that the songs that will be won’t sound like this. I just really don’t want her to end up just sounding like everyone else and not sounding like herself anymore.

Gabi

I hate when I dream about my websites. It makes me realize that I spend way too much time on the internet.

I can’t say I was ever a big fan of Jojo. I liked who two most popular songs to a certain extent, but they were never my favorite. She is a very talented girl though. It’s really a shame that she resorted to autotuning. Very rarely can I stand any sort of autotuning. It frustrates me when people who actually can sing use it. What ever happened to raw, natural talent in pop music?

Nugget

Thank you. And thank you for thinking about me when you think of chickens. XD

Oh, school. We all dislike it, but we still need to get an education. A love-hate relationship, I think.

I used to hear about Jojo all the time. I was about to buy one of her CDs when I was 10 but then I forgot about it. She was pretty popular, but now I don’t hear much of her.
It’s the same with Joan Jett. She was really popular in the ’70s and ’80s. She was in an all-girl rock band and then made her own band, making hit singles that got on the top of the charts. Now she’s not as popular. I love her old music much more.
One big thing that I’ve noticed about her is that she looked as good now as she did when she first started her career.