JoJo worried Taylor Swift 'felt bad' for her career struggle
JoJo thinks "kind" Taylor Swift "felt bad" for her career decline when she went to her house with Selena Gomez.
JoJo was grateful for the support of Taylor Swift during her career struggles.
The ‘Leave (Get Out)’ hitmaker – whose real name is Joanna Levesque – spent years unable to release music as Blackground Records had the rights to her recorded voice but didn't have a distribution deal in place, and while she found much needed support in other stars such as the 'Cruel Summer' hitmaker and mutual pal Selena Gomez, a 'Galentine's Day' celebration at the pop superstar's home ultimately left JoJo feeling it was "too late" for her.
In an extract from her memoir 'Under the Influence' published by People magazine, JoJo wrote: "Taylor was so sweet and complimentary, and she seemed excited that Selena had brought me along with her. She mentioned deepcut songs of mine she loved and kept saying how f***** up the lawsuit was, the fact that I couldn’t put out music.
"I don’t remember if she already knew what was going on from social media or if I’d told her about the situation, but she was — in no uncertain terms — letting me know she was on my side and believed in me.
"I appreciated Taylor’s kind words, but I thought I could see in the eyes of everyone else at the party that they felt bad for me.
"Maybe they thought I was never going to get out of this limbo. Or that it was too late for me even if I did.
"Maybe they could tell I didn’t have the money or the parents who could help dig me out of any holes I might find myself in. Maybe they saw the imposter in my eyes. Then again, perhaps that was all my own projection."
The 33-year-old singer delighted in being welcomed by Taylor and Selena, having spent the early days of her career "conditioned" not to be friends with potential chart rivals.
She wrote: "This was such a big departure from the female popstar polarisation of the 1990s and early 2000s.
"It was the 2010s now, and the 'girl boss'/'girl gang' vibe was having a real moment.
"Earlier in my career, I’d been conditioned to keep girls like Selena and Taylor close but never let them really know what I was doing, going through or thinking. To be 'strategic.' But I wasn’t.
" sometimes wished I could be, but I simply liked who I liked and didn’t like who I didn’t like. While some of my peers could 'play the game' like their lives depended on it, I never could quite figure out how to posture and politic and not feel like a big huge phony in the process.
"I genuinely enjoyed these girls, and although two of them were among the most famous women in the world, we had the shared experience of starting out very young, and I was happy to be let into the fold, part of a group.
"We stayed up late, wore sweats and no make-up, laughed until we cried, and ate copious amounts of French fries. It was awesome."
