JoJo Was Occasionally 'Jealous' of Pal Selena Gomez's Career, New Book Reveals
JoJo Levesque, known for her powerful voice and early 2000s hits, admitted that even she sometimes felt a bit jealous of her friend Selena Gomez’s career.
In her book, Over the Influence: A Memoir, which came out on Tuesday, September 17, the 33-year-old singer shared details about her life, career and relationships, including her occasional insecurity about Gomez.
In an excerpt People published on Friday, September 14, JoJo said, “I can’t lie; I felt the occasional twinge of pain or jealousy at the outward differences in our lives and careers. But then I’d quickly reel myself back in: the level of fame she had was overwhelming to me.”
“It just seemed like there was no sense of freedom for her to explore the world and be wherever and whoever she wanted to be. I imagined that must be suffocating. It made me grateful for the relative anonymity I had whenever I walked down the street,” she wrote.
Despite feeling envious of Gomez, JoJo leaned on her for support.
“For Galentine’s Day, Selena invited me to Taylor Swift’s house so we could all celebrate," she wrote.
"Taylor had this arts and crafts section set up where we took pictures of ourselves and slapped them on this cute questionnaire where we described our best qualities (and our worst ones), the things we were looking for in a guy, and the reasons why we were currently single," the author added.
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Aside from the special bond she had with Swift, 34, and Gomez, JoJo also wrote about her other past experiences.
"This is a story of addiction, generational trauma, fame on a developing brain, lies, love, stamina, spirituality, resilience, and reinvention," JoJo wrote in a statement about the book.
"It's insight into the evolving music industry over the past two decades and a cautionary tale that I want to be the one to tell," she added.
This is the first time she has explained her story in her own words.
“I’ve never written something so long,” she told Bustle in June.
“I’m normally writing three-minute songs. I’m in a season of life where I want to say and do things that scare me a little bit. And this scared me because I knew that if I was going to tell my story, that I was going to be grossly raw with it, and very, very honest," she continued.
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The actress, who is currently on her book tour, gushed about the book release.
"OVER THE INFLUENCE is OUT NOW. Yesterday was day 1 of my book tour/ signing events and we kicked it off in my home state of Massachusetts at @allshewrotebooks. Thanks for hosting me and coming out to support ya girl. So much gratitude for this moment and everyone who has helped make it possible. #overtheinfluence Northvale, NJ I’ll see you tonite," she said via social media.