JoJo is back and sounds better than ever, is the music as good as her voice?

JoJo has finally released another body of work, an EP titled NGL, to follow her most previous album Trying Not to Think About It released back on October 1, 2021.

NGL, the EP, dropped on January 24^th of this year, and includes eight tracks that altogether span only 22 minutes. (However, the first track, “off again,” is really a prelude of sorts, lasting for only 23 seconds.)

Let’s cut to the chase: I came here for JoJo’s insane talent and she did not disappoint when it came to vocals. However, whoever worked on the production of this project…really did her a disservice. For example, Track 4, “Porcelain,” sounded like something I’ve heard before – and not in the nostalgic way, but in the unoriginal way – and the beat drops in “One Last Time” were boring and only felt sort of well-executed. The effort she was putting into her work vastly outweighed whatever lackluster-attempt-at-being-invested her accompanist provided.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Joanna “JoJo” Levesque (@iamjojo)

This EP didn’t really scream “groundbreaking,” but damn, does she sound good. The layers of vocals we hear in “Start Over” are crazy, and her runs…yummy; made me think that she and UK girl group FLO should collaborate. (Go check out my review of their debut studio album Access All Areas here.) JoJo flexes her versatility when it comes to range in “Nobody,” serving up low, sexy tones, while in “Too Much to Say,” she fires off resonantly like a rocket.

Also, to her credit, lyrically NGL presents very self-supporting, self-forgiving, and internally reflective messages. JoJo has done the inner work on herself and you can tell. A round of applause for babygirl because that is not an easy journey to live, but it’s a good one.

@billboard

New York City’s impact 🗽🍎 @iamjojoofficial tells Billboard about her just-announced EP #NGL — and reveals the two songs she’s most excited for fans to hear at her SoHo event celebrating her memoir ‘Over the Influence’ with @Spotify. #music #interview #popmusic #jojo #joannalevesque #interview #memoir #nytbestseller #newmusic #billboard

♬ original sound – billboard

My top two favorites off this EP are probably Track 5, “Ready to Love,” and the final track, “Porcelain: Reimagined.”

“Ready to Love” sounds like a modern take of a 90s track about being unabashedly obsessed with someone, both in love AND in lust.

“Porcelain: Reimagined” is a piano-only version of Track 4, and – my GOD – this is when she truly got to shine. While I was unimpressed with the version of this song served up halfway through the EP, this stripped-down version – one of breathtaking purity brought by JoJo alone – left me in awe. A whole element of emotional depth was drizzled onto this track simply because of the way it was executed. Maybe when you’re that good, you don’t need manufactured beats and rhythms; just you and a single instrument.

I’m looking forward to listening through this again, as well as going back through her entire discography. I’ve been such a fan of hers ever since hits “Leave (Get Out),” “Too Little Too Late,” and “High Heels.” (Also – when she starred in Aquamarine! My little nostalgic heart loves that movie!)

I think she’s just so vocally advanced that whichever producer worked on this for her couldn’t keep up.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5