Mad Love (JoJo album)

Following the release of "Anything"—the final single from her second studio album The High Road—in late 2007, JoJo stated that she had been writing and working with producers for her third studio album, but would not go into the studio until early 2008.[6] In mid-2008, JoJo said that her third album, then-titled All I Want Is Everything, was scheduled for a fourth quarter release that year.[7] Due to difficulties with her label Blackground Records, the year passed without a release. Following numerous delays, on February 28, 2011, JoJo revealed the album would instead be titled Jumping Trains."[8] The album again did not see a release and JoJo continued to face difficulties with her label. She was subsequently released from Blackground Records in December 2013 and recordings with the label were ultimately shelved.

Senior Vice President of A&R at Atlantic Records at the time, Aaron Bay-Schuck orchestrated the deal and was instrumental to JoJo's signing with the Atlantic Records in January 2014.[9][10][11][12] JoJo then began working on her third studio album for the label. However, on November 9, 2014 it was announced that Schuck would be leaving his position at Atlantic and was appointed the new President of A&R for Interscope Geffen A&M Records thus leaving JoJo without an A&R at the label.[13][14] In an interview with idolator, JoJo spoke about how the change affected the album's development, stating: "The A&R that signed me, Aaron Bay-Schuck, left and went to Interscope... He called me and was like, 'I have this thing. I don't wanna leave you. I don't wanna lose you. But I need to go.' I said, 'I completely understand,' but then I was left at Atlantic again and just kind of didn't know what to do."[15]

On August 21, 2015, JoJo released the extended play III (pronounced "tringle").[16][17] Following its release, JoJo embarked on her second worldwide headlining "I Am JoJo Tour". Initially, the tour and III's release was a reintroduction for JoJo into the industry with a major label backing. During this time, a large portion of the album had already been recorded and all three tracks from III were originally set to appear on JoJo's third album. However, these tracks were ultimately not included on Mad Love, with JoJo explaining "I was given a lot of songs, I was recording a lot of things that didn't feel completely 100% authentic to me."[15]

In November 2015 during the I Am JoJo tour, Levesque's father Joel passed away due to struggles with addiction. JoJo had also broken up with her boyfriend of two years. Following the tour's conclusion in December 2015, Levesque took a 6-day rest from work during the first week of January, where she booked a hotel and spent time with herself and re-evaluated her life. As a result, JoJo decided she was unhappy with the approach the album was taking. This resulted in III becoming its own standalone project, and JoJo began working on new material in the beginning of 2016, with only a few tracks from earlier recording sessions ("I Am" and "Good Thing") making it onto the Mad Love album. From September 9 to 15, 2016, JoJo uploaded short videos of her singing each song from the album on her Instagram account, revealing the track listing of the album.[18]

On July 28, 2016 it was announced that JoJo's third album would be titled "Mad Love". Speaking on the meaning behind the album's title, JoJo stated: "Mad Love. means so many different things, and I loved that about the title. It was one of the first songs that I wrote for this album, and I felt like it kind of shaped the intention of it, of this work. And, a phrase that I use in my family a lot, we say, 'I love you madly.' That's that 'I love you through it all, I love you as you are, I love you in a crazy way, in a deep way, in a way that other people might not understand.' And that's how I feel about music, and that's what my relationship is with my fans, and it's an intense, passionate love. That's also the love that I like to have in my romantic life. So, all of that is represented on this album."[19]

On September 7, 2016, JoJo revealed the album artwork via her social media accounts and announced the album would be available for pre-order on September 16, 2016.[20] The album design was created by Nick Malvone with photos shot by photographer Brooke Nipar. JoJo appears on the cover "looking fierce as ever" while the rest of the artwork is otherwise blurred by paint smears.[21]

On June 6, 2016, prior to any official announcements for release of JoJo's third album. It was announced that JoJo would be joining Fifth Harmony on their 7/27 Tour as a special guest opener in promotion for their second studio album. The North American leg of the tour begun on July 27 in Manchester, New Hampshire before concluding on September 17 in Las Vegas.[22]

On July 26, 2016, JoJo debuted a short YouTube video that delivered a preview of new material, which included "Music" and "Fuck Apologies".[23] The following day, JoJo announced the release of her new album and also released the lead single "Fuck Apologies". to digital retailers. The song's accompanying music video debuted on JoJo's official website the next day.[24]

JoJo performed "Fuck Apologies" for the first time live during her first stop on the 7/27 Tour. She performed a clean acoustic version of the song on the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show on August 1, 2016, along with a cover of Shawn Mendes' "Treat You Better". On September 30, 2016, JoJo performed the song with Wiz Khalifa on MTV's Wonderland, where she also performed "FAB" and "Mad Love". On October 14, 2016, JoJo performed "No Apologies", the clean version of "Fuck Apologies", on Today on October 14, 2016, and on Good Day New York on October 20, 2016.[25] On October 22, 2016, Revolt TV aired an original concert show titled "Revolt Sessions" in which JoJo performed "Fuck Apologies".[26] A Remix EP of "FAB" was released on March 3, featuring production from RealOnes, Kemist & DJ Braindead among others.[27]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	70/100[42]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[43]
Billboard	Positive[44]
Clash	6/10[45]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[1]
Idolator	[2]
The Guardian	[3]
Pitchfork	7/10[46]

The album has received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, it has a score of 70 out of 100 based on 6 reviews.[42] Entertainment Weekly writer Nolan Feeney gave the album a B+ and wrote that JoJo's "well-documented struggles and triumphs inform her long-awaited third LP, Mad Love., and they turn her tales of love, friendship, and family into one bold coming-of-age statement".[1] Idolator writer Jon Reyes gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and wrote that JoJo is "sauntering in with Mad Love sounding totally refreshed".[2] Pitchfork writer Vanessa Okoth-Obbo gave the album 7 out of 10 stars and wrote that "Mad Love. sounds like an album that JoJo needed to make, and one that her fans were waiting for".[46]

Mad Love debuted at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 25,000 album-equivalent units, of which 19,000 were traditional album sales in its first week. It charted three spots lower and with significantly lower sales than her second album.[48] Mad Love also debuted on the Current Billboard Albums & Billboard's Top Digital Albums chart at number 4 and number 2 respectively.[48] It became JoJo's first entry on the chart in 10 years.[48] In its second week Mad Love dropped from number six to one hundred and eleven on the Billboard 200 on the week starting November 12, 2016.[49] In its third week the album left the Billboard 200 chart.[50]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} denotes vocal producer
• ^{^[b]} Track 7, "Honest." contains a hidden track titled "Cold." on the CD and digital versions of the album. It begins first behind "Honest." with the latter commencing approximately one minute and 19 seconds (1:19) into the track.[52][53]

Adapted from AllMusic and the album liner notes.[54]

Creativity and management

Performers

Technical

• Mad Love at AllMusic