Renouveau Media got the chance to interview singer-songwriter JoJo Scott, who is already making waves in the music industry.
Iuliana: Hey JoJo! How are you? Thank you for your time. Given these unusual Covid-19 times, what does a typical day look like for you? How have you adjusted to these times?
JoJo: Hi, thank you so much for having me! My days tend to vary depending on what is on my schedule. I like to stay up late, but I am taking a few music classes that are in the mornings so I normally wake up way earlier than I would like to. Most days I am either taking a music class or lesson and working on bettering my songwriting and production skills.
Iuliana: Growing up, how important was music in your life? Who inspired you to make music?
JoJo: Music has always been a major part of my life, I have always loved singing and I started playing guitar with my mom when I was 9 years old. My mom really pushed me to keep going even when I wanted to quit, she definitely inspired me to keep learning and doing what I love.
Iuliana: Do you think your hometown has influenced the kind of music that you make?
JoJo: I don’t think my hometown (Portland, Oregon) has influenced the kind of music I make as much as it inspired how I have released it. In Portland it’s a really big deal to release an EP or album so it was a huge goal of mine to release an EP that I was proud of and that’s how ‘Growing Up’ was created. Now that I have released an EP my plan is to focus on releasing more singles.
Iuliana: What has been the biggest surprise so far about your music career? What has been an unexpected or welcome challenge to it all? What has been the best part about it all?
Jojo: I think the biggest surprise was how much I still needed to learn, I took that as a challenge to better myself and my craft. I am still learning and trying to better myself in all aspects of my music. I want to do the best I can and make the best music I can! Music is something that I love doing. I do it because of the joy it brings me and also because I hope other people will connect with it. To me the best part of it is people enjoying the music I make and the performances I give.
Iuliana: How do you think you have grown as a musician since you first started making music? What if anything has stayed the same about your music-making process?
JoJo: Over the past 5 years of writing and recording music I think I found my style. Obviously I am still going to grow and develop as an artist, but I am really happy with the aesthetic I have created and right now I’m working on that translating into my recordings. In the beginning I knew how to sing, write songs, and play guitar but I still had a lot to learn. My mistakes and missteps along the way have taught me so many things that have helped me grow.
Iuliana: Tell us about your creative process. What is it like?
JoJo: Whenever I write I usually have an idea or mood that I want the song to be about so I start with lyrics and find chords that I feel fit the message. I record everything in my voice memos and eventually go over the lyrics and edit them until I think it’s good. Recently I have been trying to record demos of all the songs I have written so once I catch up with my list I would like to record demos right after I write the song.
Iuliana: What has been a favorite performance of yours so far?
JoJo: Performing is one of my favorite things to do and every show I play is thrilling. If I had to choose one performance I would probably say my EP release show. I had a specific vision in mind and I planned things out from start to finish. I got to create the space that I had envisioned when thinking of releasing ‘Growing Up’. I also got to get really artistically creative by designing and making merch and graphics for promoting the show, I love getting to see things through all the way both musically and visually. The best part was that so many people I love and care for showed up to support the EP release.
Iuliana: How do you feel about social media? What do you think social media has done for your career so far?
JoJo: To me social media is very interesting. It is used as both an extension of my music and a window into who I am as a person. To me it is important that I use my voice and platform as something positive.
Iuliana: If you could design your dream music video right now, what would it look like?
JoJo: If I could design my dream music video it would look like a 70’s dream. Everyone would be wearing bell bottoms and a lot of happy colors would be swirling around.
Iuliana: Where would you love to hear a song of yours played?
JoJo: Someday would love to hear my music on the radio. I make music that I love in hopes that others will feel connected to it and love it as well. I really love to see people putting my music on their playlists and just enjoying whether it’s on a personal playlist or they post that they are listening to it so others can see it as well. This brings me a lot of happiness.
Iuliana: What’s next for you? Any thrilling new projects coming soon?
JoJo: I am working on a lot of recording and producing right now so hopefully I will be releasing some new music soon. Until then you can stream my EP ‘Growing Up’ and my latest single ‘Your League’ on Spotify or any other streaming platform of your choice!
Follow JoJo on Instagram here.
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