If you know JoJo, you know anything goes for the singer/songwriter. She kicked off 2021 by releasing her latest single “American Mood,” which follows her 2020 Good to Know album and Christmas record “December Baby.”
While JoJo is known for taking an R&B approach to her music, on “American Mood” she changes the game with a more folky, country-inspired twist with a lot of finger-picked guitar. In the Joni Michell-inspired track, you can clearly hear her powerhouse vocals that are usually hidden throughout beats in her previous releases.
The message of the track is clear, addressing immaturity and privilege in America.
“Whaddup whaddup it’s me again / I’m well informed and ignorant / But you’ll never catch me close my eyes / Aren’t you ever curious / About someone else’s experience? / Just tryna make the most out of their lives.” In a world that’s still so full of hate crime and racism, these lyrics makes you stop for a moment and realize that there’s still a large amount of work to do in order to live peacefully.
In an Instagram post, she wrote, “My friends and I wrote this song a few years ago, and it continues to apply to the moment. I didn’t want my heart to be misconstrued so I held it close to my chest until now. This song doesn’t offer any solutions, instead a humble reflection inspired by the moment.”
It has been announced that proceeds from the single go to the “I Have a Dream” foundation, which provides individualized social, emotion, and academic support to young people from low-income communities.
Is there an Americana-influenced album on the way from JoJo? We can only hope because her voices fits this genre perfectly.
JoJo is one of the most criminally underrated female vocalists in the industry. She’s such a versatile artist who continues to push herself to the core and fits into any genre with complete ease. All-hail queen JoJo.
