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"Music." is a song by American R&B singer-songwriter JoJo from her third studio album Mad Love. (2016). It was written by Joanna Levesque, Jussi Karvinen, Hayley Warner and Justin Tranter, while the songs production was helmed by Jussifer. The song was released as the third and final promotional single from the album on October 7, 2016. Sonically, "Music." is a piano driven pop ballad with R&B influences. Lyrically, the song is a vivid storytelling of JoJo's upbringing, growth, her love for music and family, including and ode to JoJo's father Joel Levesque who passed away in November 2015, while JoJo was in early recording sessions for the album.

The song received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics, with many praising the songs emotional weight and JoJo's raw vocal performance. JoJo dedicated the song to her father and links to the subject matter spoken about in her song "Save my Soul" from her "Tringle" (2015) EP. The song's accompanying music video premiered on JoJo's official YouTube channel on October 7, 2016, it comprised of clips of JoJo performing on stage, recording in studio, and doing interviews as a toddler as well as footage of her parents in a VHS style video. In promotion for her third album, "Music." was included in the set list for JoJo's Mad Love World Tour.

Background
The song was originally titled "Who Would I Be" during the writing and recording process, JoJo opted to change the title to "Music" as the overall subject of the song related to music being her first love. During the recording process for Mad Love. (2016), "Music." was the "most personal" and "most difficult" song to write and record for JoJo while serving as the opening song in the albums sequence. The song has been described as "autobiographical" and "soul-searching" along with "I Am", a song that closes up the standard edition of Mad Love. In an interview with TheFader, JoJo spoke on why opening and closing the album with these two songs was so important, "This album is more for my fans than anything else, who have stuck with me through times where I couldn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, or I thought, Who am I if I'm not doing this? They really gave me the strength to continue and to stay in a positive mind space. So book-ending [the album] with those two records is to give them some background and some insight. If I had ignored what I'd been through, it would have been a little odd." In promotion for JoJo's Tringle, she embarked on the "I Am JoJo Tour" at the end of 2015. Subsequently, during the tours run, JoJo's father Joel had passed away in November 2015 due to struggles with addiction. Following the tour's conclusion in December 2015, JoJo was unhappy with the shape of the album and began re-writing and re-recording the entire album from scratch at the beginning of 2016.

Development
"Music." became the last song written during the whole album process. JoJo recorded the song in only two takes to maintain the emotion she delivered in the song, "the first time I literally choked; the second time I tried to get through it. I don't sound my best when I'm trying to sing through tears, so that’s why I sound frog-ish at the end". Lyrically the song talks about how music has impacted and shaped JoJo's life, her upbringing and childhood, her relationship with her parents "It's just a very personal song and I felt like we covered a lot of ground with the subject matter on 'Mad Love.,' but it was important that I touched on family and music almost feeling like my third parent". Touching on her father's passing she states "For as long as I had known my dad, he had been struggling with his addiction. It was never alcohol — always prescription drugs, but then it became whatever he could get. When I got the call [to say he had died] it was something I had kind of gone through many times before. Like, How is it going to feel when it happens? But I never knew how it was going to feel, of course, until it actually happened. It wasn’t a total shock. I don't know if that makes it easier or harder. Was I supposed to cancel the [Tringle] tour, to honor him? I felt as though he wouldn’t have wanted me to stop, because I’ve been waiting for this moment. So I finished the tour.

Composition
"Music." was written by Hayley Warner, Jussi Karvinen, Justin Tranter and Joanna "JoJo" Levesque for the latter's long-awaited third studio album Mad Love. (2016). It was produced by Jussifer, while the track was recorded with guidance by Ryan Gladieux at Westlake Studios in Los Angeles, California. The mixing of "Music." was done by Adam Hawkins at Acacia Sound in Los Angeles, California and eventually, the mastering was done by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound in New York. JoJo served as the songs vocal producer.

Reminiscing about hearing tension through the walls of her childhood home and feeling lost, Jojo recalls, "Started singing just to get some attention/ Melody to cut through the addiction/ Every song I made turned into wishes/ Some of them came true," she sings in a hush tones about times when her mom cleaned houses and she danced in the hallways dreaming of better times. "Tell me, who would I be without you/ No matter how much we lose every time I bet my life on you."

just wait until you hear her nostalgic new number, “Music.”

The tender piano ballad finds JoJo vulnerably reflecting on what music means to her: “Started singing just to get some attention / A melody to cut through the addiction / And every song I made turned into wishes / Some of them came true.” In the accompanying video, we see old footage of JoJo pursuing her dream as a bright-eyed little girl, performing in talent shows, giving interviews, and recording songs.

The emotional climax, however, comes when JoJo pays tribute to her father, who passed away last year. “Went on the road to make my daddy proud / But I lost him and so I sang to the crowd / My only hope is that he’s looking down / Thinking, Oh my god, my daughter’s doing it now,” she sings. Kleenex, anyone?

as she sings about working for years to achieve her dream of being a singer.

"Started singing just to get some attention/ Melody to cut through the addiction/ Every song I made turned into wishes/ Some of them came true," she sings in the ballad.

It's especially heart-wrenching toward the end of the song, though, when JoJo sings about losing her father, who passed away last year. As clips from her home movies show her father proudly watching from the audience as JoJo performs, she sings, "Went on the road to make my daddy proud / But I lost him and so I sang to the crowd / My only hope is that he’s looking down / Thinking, Oh my god, my daughter’s doing it now."

Watch the beautiful video in full, below:

The story also becomes personal, as JoJo mentions the struggles her family has been through.

“Went on the road to make me Daddy proud, but I lost him so I sang to the crowd. My only hope is that he’s looking down, thinking, ‘Oh my God, my daughter’s doing it now.”

Critical reception
"Music." received majority of positive reviews from contemporary music critics, many praising the songs emotional weight and JoJo's raw vocal performance. Jon Reyes from "Idolator" said it the best way to open up an album after 10 years, "with her huge voice paired exclusively with a piano. It’s an earnest love letter to music itself". Reyes went on to praise JoJo for not "over-singing" the song as easily as she could of much like her contemporaries counterparts that "plague others blessed with pipes like hers". in closing stating "JoJo serenely offers up the words, and a little bit of herself: 'Went on the road to make my daddy proud / But I lost him and then I sang to the crowd / My only hope is that he’s looking down thinking / ‘Oh my God, my daughter’s doing it now." In writing for "Time magazine", Raisa Bruner prasied the songs lyrical content describing it as "both heartbreaking and uplifting" and calling it "a spare, deeply felt love song to the consistent power of music". Meredith Jenks of "Billboard" called the song a "raw piano-ballad opener". In an negative album review for Mad Love. Lillian Andemicael from "The Diamondback" highlighted "Music" as one of the only standout tracks from the album, "an ode to JoJo’s love for song and her late father, elicited such high hopes for the rest of the record. But after I continued listening to the release, it was clear that the opening song only set the bar for disappointment.

In a slightly more postive review for the album Vanessa Okoth-Obbo from "Pitchfork" said it was "encouraging to see that after all this time" the risks JoJo took with the album paid off as sung in the song, "every night I bet my life on you". In a summary for Apple Music the sing was described as a "powerful meditation on her late father". In writing for "The Guardian"s’ The Observer Michael Cragg described the song as a "trampled under the emotional weight". Andy Kellman from "AllMusic" called the song a "soul-baring ballad". Chelsea Stone from "Teen Vogue" called the song a "total emotional throwback to JoJo's own childhood", while in closing describing the songs climax as "especially heart-wrenching" when JoJo sings about her fathers passing. In a seperate review from Billboard, "Music" was described as "emotionally gut-punching" while the songs lyrical content was described as "heart-tugging". Rap-Up magazine stated that JoJo "tugs at heart strings" and called the song a "tear-jerking trip down memory lane" with "soaring vocals".

Music video
On July 28, 2016, JoJo officially announced the release of her third studio album Mad Love. (2016) in a short promotional video which included a snippet of the song and the songs video. "Music." made its official premiere on October 7, 2016 as the third and final promotional single from the album, alongside the songs music video. The music video is a VHS themed compilation that comprises of old home movies and videos from JoJo's childhood, showing her performing on stage from a young age, dancing, acting, doing interviews and recording her first demo in studio as a toddler, as she sings about working for years to achieve her dream of being a singer. Clips of JoJo's father are shown while she was a guest on Kids Say the Darnedest Things, proudly watching from the audience as JoJo performs. Billboard magazine said the music video is and endless tape of "before she was famous footage", calling it a "nostalgic waltz through her memories".

Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Mad Love., Atlantic Records.


 * Recording
 * Recorded at Westlake Studios, Los Angeles, California
 * Mixed at Acacia Sound, Los Angeles, California
 * Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York, NY
 * Personnel


 * JoJo – vocals, writing, vocal production
 * Jussi Karvinen - writing
 * Hayley Warner - writing
 * Justin Tranter - writing
 * Adam Hawkins – mixing
 * Ryan Gladieux - recording
 * Jussifer – producer
 * Tom Coyne – audio mastering
 * Evan Lipschutz – A&R
 * Anne Declemente – A&R administration
 * Gita Willams – management
 * Katie Gallagher – management
 * Chris Smith – management