Too Mature? (The High Road - JoJo)

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Product:	The High Road - JoJo
Date:	31.01.07 (875 review reads)
Rating:

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JoJo is somewhat of a household name in America, and at the mere age of just 16 that’s something to be proud of. She rose to fame in 2004 with her first album titled “JoJo” which again saw only moderate success over in the UK. At the mere age of 13 she was the youngest person to ever have a Number 1 hit in America and her album also reached Number 4 in the charts over there. Her sound back then was quite young sounding, very pop princess focused and quite naïve. Now she’s back with a more mature sound on her second album titled “The High Road” which was released back in October 2005. This time she promised a more mature, grown up sound (although how grown up you can be at the age of 15 is quite worrying when you hear some of the lyrics) with a more mixed focus on both pop and r n b.

“This Time” has a much more mature sound to it than anything she’s done before; no longer does she sound like a little girl with a liking for cheesy pop. There’s a strong r n b vibe to this track with a great beat underneath the lyrics, it sounds much more like something we’d expect from Mary J Blige or a similar artist. Although I would class it more as a song than a rap we do see JoJo’s ability to venture into the more rapping side of things yet there is still a faint hint of pop here just to ensure that her previous fans will approve of the track! The song itself is about how this time she’s going to let the guy want her and not going to let him get away from, again perhaps reflecting a more mature approach to things – she’s not going to play childish games anymore, “This time I won’t let you get away from me, this time I’m gonna let you take it where it should be, this time I won’t say no.” The second track up is “The Way You Do Me” and again it’s got a firm r n b feel that sounds like something we’d find on a Christina Milian album. It’s really upbeat and quite catchy, one that will have you trying to shake your hips Beyonce style! It’s not one that’s particularly easy to listen to and is much more suited to getting ready for a night out, and not one that you could really sing along to as the lyrics go so fast. “I been trying to think of ways to tell you no, same time I’m thinking I’d be crazy to let you go,” the song itself is quite suggestive, as you’ll no doubt be able to tell by the title!

The third track up is her latest single release and is currently in the top ten at the moment, “Too Little Too Late.” I actually heard this song on the radio about two weeks ago and this is what made me buy the album, I absolutely love it. It’s much more relaxed than the past two tracks and it has more of a slow pop feel to it than the previous two, yet it’s not quite within the cheesy pop field like some of her older material. There’s a really nice feel to this song with some emotive lyrics as it’s about a failed relationship and then trying to get back together but it’s not enough, “It’s just too little too late, a little too wrong and I can’t wait, boy you know all the right things to say, you know it’s just a little too late.” It’s a brilliant song and one that most people who’ve ever had a failed relationship will be able to identify with. “The High Road” is the fourth track on the album and has a mixed genre to it, there’s elements of the previous song but there’s a more raunchy, sex appeal to this track as well. Her voice is undeniably quite sultry on this song and she sings the words with true feeling, “I’m gonna keep walking though it may seem far, I’m gonna keep preaching when life gets too hard, not gonna let you bring me down I’ll take the high road.” Again there are elements of the previous song in this track, how now the relationship has ended she’s going to move on and take the high road so to speak. A really catchy track that will have you singing along in no time!

“Anything” is up next and opens with another artist singing a couple of lines to set the mood before JoJo coming in with her identifiable lyrics and smooth sounding voice. This song is probably the first on the album that actually reminds me of her previous, younger sound although don’t let put you off. Her voice is much stronger now and there’s much more emotion, this track is about how she’s sick of playing games with a guy she likes and now she just wants him to know that she wants him, “Cause I just can’t stay away, there’s nothing that I can do, and baby you can have your way, just as long as I can have you.” Sound wise I’d say this sounds most like the third track on the album in that it makes for really easy listening at any time of the day. This is followed by “Like That” which is a brilliant track, it starts off quite light sounding and flows effortlessly with really soothing backing music. It’s the most ballad like song on the album so far and sounds like something that could be found on a Delta Goodrem type album. It also shows off her voice brilliantly despite it not being one of my favourite tracks on the album, “Caught in a maze I can’t find my way back, but I’m trippin I love how you do me like that.” As you can probably tell there’s a lot of sexual references on her new album!

“Good Ol” is a really catchy track that starts off with a great, low key pop feel to it and unusually it slows down towards the chorus. I really like the feel of the track itself although the lyrics are again quite sexual sounding, “We can go the distance homie cause I’m always neutral, give me the green light be there in no time, play the right position baby you can have it all.” Wouldn’t really be the best song to start singing aloud as you’re walking down the street or doing the dishes! Not really got a lot more to say on this track as it isn’t really one of my favourites and I do tend to skip it really. However it’s followed by “Coming For You” which is a brilliant track, it’s more of a love song that the majority of the other tracks on the album and has quite a naïve feel to it. There’s also a great crescendo and uplift as you get to the chorus which really does lift your mood if you’re listening to it and feeling a little low, “I’m breaking down I just can’t take it anymore, I won’t let you go you know I’m coming for you, no matter what it’s gonna take I gotta make this move, you’re the one that I chose.” There is a Hilary Duff sound to this track which does make it seem a little teeny bopper almost but I think she just about pulls it off.

“Let It Rain” has quite a quick pace to it and again has echoes of Mary J Blige with the same quirky beat, quick lyrics that almost verge on rapping. The chorus however has a very soft and positive feel to it, her voice is very light and angelic sounding. There’s a very innocent vibe to this track in the chorus before the verse hardens slightly. It’s a song about how you often need to let go of the past and the pain to let it rain with love in your life when you find that special someone, “Cos I see the sunlight whenever we touch, all day and all night is never too much, afraid of my feelings and falling too deep, but everybody’s had this happen one time or another when you meet someone that sets your heart free.” This is followed by “Exceptional” which has a Disney type feel to it and reverts back to the pop princess type song that could easily be featured on a Jessica Simpson album. It reminded me slightly of Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” track although by no means does her voice compare to Christina’s in this track. It’s a relaxing and mellow track which makes for easy listening and has a naïve, sweet feel to it, “You’re just perfect just how you are, just how you are, you’re exceptional, the way you are, don’t need to change for nobody.”

The tenth track is “How to Touch a Girl” and instantly reminded me of the 1990s band The Honeyz, it’s got a smooth yet sexy feel to it with mellow background music and JoJo’s voice soaring easily over the music. Again I could imagine this on a Disney track, featuring children growing up and discovering love, it’s got that same sort of innocent feel that you find on Disney soundtracks. The track itself isn’t really one of my favourites, it’s a bit wishy washy and some of the lyrics are a bit cringe worthy, “I think I could like you, but I keep holding back, as I can’t seem to tell, if you’re fiction or fact.” The next song up is “Note to God” and one I always skip, it’s very solemn sounding and pessimistic with dull beats in the background sounding almost like an organ. It’s a very honest song and one that a lot of people could probably identify with but it doesn’t really fit on the album, not in this position anyway, and it certainly doesn’t fit in with the image JoJo has created so far with her music. She croons quite a lot on this track and it does show off her voice fairly well although it is a little serious for her classic genre, “Give us the faith to carry on, give us hope when it seems that hope has gone, cos it seems like so much is going wrong, on this road we’re on.”

We revert back to the typical JoJo sound now, with a more soft pop sounding song “Do Whatcha Gotta Do.” It’s not really an upbeat track again suggesting her new found maturity in comparison to her earlier material but it is quite soothing. By this point, at the thirteenth track of the album, I do start to get a little tired of her singing and especially this track doesn’t do much to inject energy or vitality into the album. Arguably it’s a track that would be better suited to putting you to sleep than anything else, “Every song that I hear, the memory of you, please leave me alone, and no matter what please don’t regret all the times you pretend you don’t see me.” The penultimate track on the album is “I Can Take You There” which opens with her light voice sounding very faint; it’s probably one of her most mature sounding tracks on the album as she doesn’t seem to feel the need to belt out sexual lyrics. Instead it’s catchy and something that would do well in the r n b charts today, “Baby, I want you to practise till, practise till you are prepared, I can take you to the championships.” The final track is her main hit from her first album “Leave – Get Out” which is a classic pop track screaming of girl power and one that I really liked when it first came out, and it hasn’t lost any of its appeal now, “Hope you know that when it’s late at night, I hold onto my pillow tight, and think of how you promised me forever.”

And so there you have JoJo’s second album. It arguably has a more mature sound than her first album although at the tender age of 16 I would suggest that maybe she’s matured a little too much on this offering. The majority of songs seem to have sexual connotations which although is appealing to the majority of the music listening world, surely it’s not setting an appropriate example to girls her age to be going out, attempting to seduce men, etc. I do worry that she may have peaked too early on in her career. As for whether or not she’s got staying power I’m not too sure, I don’t think this album will be the end of her but she’ll have to step up her game in the future in my opinion. In conclusion there are a few really good tracks on this album, especially her current single “Too Little Too Late” but there are also a fair few tracks that I can see myself skipping when listening to the album in future. As such I’d give this album 3 out of 5 stars, a good effort with some good tunes, but not quite good enough for me!

Thanks for reading.

Summary: The second album release from American singer JoJo.