FAB (song)

JoJo conceptualized the song at the gym while running on the treadmill. JoJo compared her experience with the music industry with that of high school, "I was literally singing in my head, and I was like I can't stand these fake ass bitches in my face. I was like, you know what? I'm not cut out for the shmoozing and the fakeness. I literally can't stand it. I know I'm not the only one that can relate to that."[2]

Although the song is an anthem for calling out fake people in one's life, the track is not just about one gender, but also meant to be a celebration, as JoJo states, "This song is very direct... We've all encountered fake ass bitches, no matter the gender. So I wrote a song about it, calling them out but also celebrating the real ones."[3][4]

Following Remy's release from prison, JoJo sought her out, calling her one of her favorite rappers.[4]

"FAB" was written by Hayley Warner, Jussi Karvinen, Jason Dean, Joseph Kirkland, Reminisce Smith and Joanna "JoJo" Levesque for the latter's long-awaited third studio album Mad Love (2016).[5] The song includes additional vocals from American rapper Remy Ma. It was produced by Jussifer, who also contributed to the song's programming.[5] The track was recorded with guidance by Ryan Gladieux in Atlantic Studios in Los Angeles, California.[5] The mixing of "FAB" 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 song's vocal producer.[5]

"FAB" made its premiere exclusively through The Fader on September 22, 2016, as the second promotional single from Mad Love (2016).[13] JoJo shared the single's cover artwork on her social channels.[14][6][15] Although never officially released as a single to radio, a digital remix EP containing 5 official remixes of the song was released on March 5, 2017, including version by Kemist, RealOnes, DJ Braindead, Giovanny and Wixard.[16][1][17][18]

During a Facebook live Q&A JoJo announced plans to shoot visuals for another song off the album, most likely FAB.[19][20][21] On November 29, 2016, In conjunction with the announcement of the Mad Love Tour, JoJo premiered the music video for the song on her official YouTube Channel.[22][23][24][25] The music video was shot in New York on October 15, 2016 with Director Wes Temhone.[26][27][28][29]

Originally shot in colour but later converted to a black-and-white visual to better convey the song.[30][31][32][33] "JoJo shows all sorts of sass as she sings the anthem among the streets of New York City. And with a saucy addition from Remy Ma in the middle of the clip, there's plenty of inspiration to tell your own haters off in a short three-and-a-half-minutes".[34][35][36][37]

On September 30, 2016, JoJo made her first televised performance of the song on MTV's newest music show "Wonderland", where she also performed album cuts for the first time including "Fuck Apologies" and "Mad Love".[7][10][4] JoJo performed for various radio shows and publications including, Billboard's Live Facebook Stream on October 14, Paper Magazine on October 15 and Perez Hilton's "Perez TV" on October 24 among others. On November 5, 2016, she performed the song live for Revolt TV's "Revolt Sessions" music show.[38][39] In promotion for the album, the song was included in the set list for JoJo's Mad Love World Tour.[40][41]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Mad Love.[5]

Recording

• Recorded at Atlantic Studios, Los Angeles, California
• Mixed at Acacia Sound, Los Angeles, California
• Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York City, New York

Personnel

• JoJo – vocals, writing, vocal production
• Jussi Karvinen – writing
• Hayley Warner – writing
• Jason Dean – writing
• Reminisce Smith – writing, vocals
• Joseph Kirkland – writing
• Adam Hawkins – mixing
• Ryan Gladieux – recording
• Jussifer – producer, programmer
• Tom Coyne – audio mastering