The Masked Singer runner-up JoJo was recently a guest on Demi Lovato’s podcast 4D. The pair talked about a variety of topics, including body image and the pressure to look a certain way as an artist.
JoJo also touched on her experience on The Masked Singer earlier this year. The singer finished Season 5 in second place, performing as the Black Swan. She says it helped her regain her confidence on stage.
JoJo Says ‘The Masked Singer’ Gave Her Confidence
As Lovato pointed out, JoJo had to cancel her tour last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The singer took the opportunity to write more, and even to release a Christmas album called December Baby. However, she admitted that the experience made her wonder, “Can I still sing? Can I still sing live? Can I still perform?”
“Doing the show The Masked Singer that I did earlier this year kind of gave me a confidence back of performing, because I hadn’t been in front of people for a little while,” JoJo explained. “It’s kind of, I feel like, if you don’t use it, you lose it. It’s not always true, but it’s like riding a bike. I had to get back in practice.”
JoJo said it had been around a year and a half since she last performed on a stage. She joked that it only takes her a few months to decide, “I suck now.” She and Lovato agreed that their perfectionism is often a blessing, because they can feel good about the time they put into their projects.
JoJo also talked about the pressures she’s felt from her management in the past about body image, and how it affected her life. She said she “felt like a little girl” who thought too much about certain people’s opinions.
“I was so self-conscious about what somebody in my life that was working with me thought about what I was eating, that I never ordered what I wanted to eat when I went out,” JoJo recalled. “Because I just knew that they would be like, ‘I can’t believe she ate that the night of a video shoot.'”
JoJo said she was told that other girls were working out more and dieting, and she felt pressure to do the same. At 18, she was put on a strict diet and took injections from a nutritionist. She said it took her years “to reclaim my relationship with food, or my body.”
The singer said that these days, she feels good when she works out, but it’s not about results. “Now I’m more interested in routines and pleasure and balance, enjoyment,” she said. “And knowing that this is the one body that I have … so I need to take care of it and engage with it.”
Words by:
Jill O'Rourke Jill O’Rourke is a contributor at Talent Recap, writing news stories and recaps for shows like ‘AGT,’ ‘The Voice,’ and ‘American Idol.’ She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and Film Studies, and has been writing about pop culture since 2012, with previous bylines at Crushable and A Plus. Jill spends her free time binge-watching sitcoms and daydreaming about life as a hobbit
