JoJo brings NGL to Showbox SoDo
NGL, I didn’t have Joanna “JoJo” Levesque dropping an EP on my 2025 bingo card, but we shouldn’t be surprised. Like many of you, I was well aware of JoJo’s biggest singles, “Leave (Get Out)” and “Too Little Too Late,” through my younger years, and they still linger in the back of my mind. As a teenager during its release, I rooted for its continued domination over the Total Request Live charts on MTV. After two platinum albums, JoJo seemed to disappear for quite some time before releasing the next one 10 years later. If you’re wondering what she was doing all those years, then you’re in luck.
Early last year, JoJo announced her now-released memoir titled “Over The Influence.” To quote her own announcement:
“This is a story of addiction, generational trauma, fame on a developing brain, lies, love, stamina, spirituality, resilience, and reinvention. It’s insight into the evolving music industry over the past two decades and a cautionary tale that I want to be the one to tell.”
On top of releasing new music, writing a memoir, and planning a tour, last year JoJo made her Broadway debut in Moulin Rouge! The Musical.
Opening for JoJo was Emmy Meli, singer of the hit “I Am Woman” that went viral on TikTok with lyrics that promote positive self-imagery. Meli currently has one 7-song album titled “Hello Stranger.” We were treated to one unreleased track titled “On The Rocks.” She eventually closed with her viral hit, which felt like the perfect song of the night as the crowd erupted in cheers at her mention of it being International Women’s Day. Continuing on the theme, Meli reminded us of the terrible fact that Google has removed calendar references to events including International Women’s Day, Black History Month, Pride Month, and Jewish Heritage Month. She follows this up by reminding us that we must be louder than ever with our support for our friends, family, and those we care about.
JoJo’s stage was set up with her drummer atop a high platform on stage right and a ramp down to the other band members. Another celebration of International Women’s Day, JoJo gave a shout-out to this being her first full woman tour band. Amid slowly flashing lights, JoJo appears posed next to the drummer with a spotlight shining down on her. As she struts down, she opens the show with “off again,” the intro track off her latest EP titled “NGL.” With the EP fresh off the press, she sprinkles other songs from it through the rest of the show and compliments her fans for being with her through everything, especially “Day 1 Team JoJo.”
Midway through the set, JoJo sets us up for multiple covers of the night with Drake’s song “Marvin’s Room.” A few songs later we got SZA’s “Love Galore.” I know it’s not Drive, but I’m still a bit sad there were no Ben Stiller cameos. Next up was a cover of SWV’s song “Weak,” where JoJo asked the audience for any singers in the room. Through lots of cheering and pointing, JoJo brought up one person named Kaylee. While I’m not sure on the spelling of her name, I am sure that she absolutely blew everyone in the audience away. She was definitely prepared, as she had mentioned that she sang the same song at karaoke the night before.
While I was hoping for her to close the show with her song “Leave (Get Out)” solely based on the chorus, she did perform the song near the end of the show. As soon as the song started, every person in the crowd brought out their phones to capture that nostalgic moment, taking us back to the early 2000s. It’s been 21 years since her debut hit was released, but JoJo is still selling out shows at Showbox SoDo thanks to her continuously award-winning hits. She closes out the show with one of her most streamed tracks from the new EP, “Porcelain.” If you’ve been off the JoJo train, it’s not “Too Little Too Late” to get back on.
