Growing up in a suburb outside Boston, teen pop star JoJo learned to sing by imitating her mother. After seeing a newspaper ad, JoJo attended an open audition for the television show Kids Say the Darndest Things: On the Road in Boston. She not only impressed the audience but also host Bill Cosby. Cosby's enthusiasm over JoJo served as a catalyst for Oprah to invite her onto her daily talk show. A string of other national appearances followed until the young singer got her big break on America's Most Talented Kids. Soon after her performance on the show producer Vincent Herbert, known for his work with Destiny's Child, Toni Braxton and the late Aaliyah, signed JoJo with Blackground Records. Under her new label JoJo collaborated with famed producers Soulshock and Carlin, known for their work with Lauryn Hill and Whitney Houston, as well as the production team The Underdogs, who have produced tracks for singing sensations Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez.

JoJo released her eponymous album in June 2004 and achieved the number four spot on the Billboard 200 Chart. The singer's first effort also inched up to number ten on the Top Rhythm and Blues/Hip-Hop Album chart. The album's single "Leave (Get Out)" reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and number fourteen on the Dance Radio Airplay Chart. The video was a mainstay on MTV's Total Request Live and effectively established JoJo as the next up-and-coming teen star.

In 2006 JoJo released her sophomore album, titled The High Road. JoJo's second album proved even more successful than her first and displayed both her personal and musical maturity. The High Road peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 Chart and the album's single, "Too Little Too Late," gained a spot on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks Chart at number twenty-one. The second single off the album, titled "How To Touch a Girl," was penned by the sassy starlet herself. While the suggestive song title raised a few eyebrows, JoJo's fans deemed it a hit and album sales proved audiences accepted her new maturity.