Jojo interview about her style

It's been a while since we were all singing along to "Too Little Too Late" on the radio, but Jojo is back and ready to release her third album! Jumping Trains is set to drop later this year, and will be a whole new sound for the former Aquamarine star. She sat down with CosmoGirl to talk about her new sound, dealing with some tough personal drama, and of course, her beauty routine for summer!

CosmoGirl: How long have you been working on this album?

JoJo: It's been about two and a half years.

CG: Are the songs from the beginning of the process really different from the more recent ones?

J: Completely. I've been through a lot, both personally and professionally, and the album that I started to record two and a half years ago is a different album from the one that exists today. I even changed the album title. First it was All I Want is Everything, and now it's Jumping Trains.

CG: You call it "pop with an anger management problem".

J: Once you hear it, you'll be like, "Yep! That makes sense." It's on the edge and it's aggressive, but you don't forget the fact that I'm still a girl. You still have that feminine vulnerability.

CG: What triggered the shift in direction?

J: I just went through a lot, with family and personal relationships, and I think I became kind of hardened, or just a little edgier. Angsty. And I think that instead of wearing all black, I just expressed myself musically. I just wanted to show that I'm tough and whatever you throw at me I can handle. An "I'm gonna break your heart before you break mine" type of sensibility. And I think that's what you hear in this record.

CG: How do you stay strong?

J: I'm lucky to have a great support system in my friends and some of my family. If you have those people that you trust, go ahead and fall back into them and let them be your hammock and cocoon and let them embrace you. It's okay to open yourself up because I don't think it's right to bear the burden alone. I also like to take long drives sometimes and listen to, John Mayer. That really helps me! Sometimes I'll just be crying, driving down by the beach. I like to go look at scenery. It centers me and I'm able to release and then feel hopeful. Music really does that for me.

CG: Is that what your music is going to be like? It sounds like there are a lot of really fun, dance-y songs [like her new song, "The Other Chick"] on there.

J: I want people to connect to my lyrics, but also have fun. Even in the songs where they're having fun, I'm saying some real stuff. I wanted to have honest, vulnerable moments, even in the songs that you can dance to and have fun with. So it's not a super heavy album, it's just an honest album.

CG: How long ago did you dye your hair? Was that a part of that same change and honest expression??

J: About a year ago, maybe? I was inspired by Colin Farrell in the fact that he's Irish and has freckles but with black hair. I'm a bunch of different things, Irish Polish, Native American, and French, but I wanted to tap into that Irish side and be freckle-y with black hair, so that's what I did.