The Questlove Show - JoJo

Episode Date: August 24, 2026

Questlove and JoJo are NOT close friends. They aren’t—or at least, that’s how they approached this conversation: two pals from different genres and generations who have bonded in recent years, sitting down to see what else they might have in common. For The Questlove Show, the two get into JoJo’s evolution from teen prodigy to Grammy-winning, multi-platinum artist—songwriting camps, vocal discipline, Broadway chops, creative blocks, and what it means to define success on your own terms. JoJo also gets real about periods of feeling low, her family, and why she’s no longer interested in trauma-dumping in the studio—but still wants the music to hit you hard. And, because this is QLS, we go everywhere: Boston accents, mermaid dreams, theater nerd deep dives, the standards for singing in the age of AI, and the story behind her viral flip of “Marvin’s Room” by Drake. This is a conversation about craft, resilience, growing up in public, and choosing joy without losing the soul.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. I survived nine months in captivity, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the Survivor Files. Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable, abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive.

Listen to the Survivor. files with Elizabeth Smart on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Did you hear the new episode of the Hey Jonas podcast? We are at D23. So we'll see who stops by. The cast of Frozen stopped by, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, and Adina Mansell. I audition for Frozen. What?

For Christoph. They said, okay, what are you going to be singing today? I said, I don't know. That must have been why you didn't get it. That's probably one. Plus, John Stamos, Hayden Christensen from Star Wars and more. And I guess I can share that No way.

Listen to the latest episode of Hey Jonas on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, this is Hayes Davenport. And Sean Clements. We host the podcast, Hollywood Handbook. Each week, we talk to someone in show business and try to help them with their careers

and see what they have to offer us. Everyone has a good time, and no one gets mad at their publicists for letting them do our show. We've had a lot of great guests like Sarah Sherman, Adam Scott, Danny McBride, Ben Stiller, and a lot of other big shots it wouldn't be where they are without us. Listen to Hollywood Handbook on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

On the new podcast Solita, we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman. I can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle. I chose option B. I'm Julie Pinero, and I travel by myself because it's a rare space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first. I'm on a mission to reclaim the word Solita, trading the pity for possibility. Listen to Solita on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Questlove show is a production of IHeart Radio. Okay.

Anyway, Lisa just got a moment. Wait, this is starting off the way that I didn't want it to start off. Okay. Wee. Wait, go to breathe. All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Quest Love Show. So, as you know, I have personally spent the greater part of this decade buried in a lot of metaphysical books and self-help books. I've said it over and over again, yada, yada, yada, yada.

But at some point, the brain actually needs a break. And those few times that I've taken a break and went left and, you know, my go-to thing has always been music memoirs. And me picking up a particular music memoir also conveniently lined up with one of my very first game nights in Los Angeles where our pal in front of the show, Jazz Masefus Jones. She basically rolled in with today's guests as her plus one. And I remember the rapid timing of gasps and that went around the room when. when our guests entered game night, and I will say that probably we hit it off famously. So cut to a week later, I am book shopping in the airport,

and boom, there she is on the shelf, staring back at me on her cover. And I thought, okay, let me see what the journey has been for our guest, because I really haven't kept up since, you know, her days of when I first seen her on TRL yesterday, and, you know, in the early arts and whatnot. I got to say, 20 years plus, you know, the resume that she's not going to brag about, being the artist with the, I guess the youngest artist with a number one single.

She's going multi-platinum, a Grammy, of course, for say-so. And not to mention, Satina Mullen Rouge on Broadway. And, yeah, an instant New York Times bestseller memoir called Over the Influence, and which not only I read as a book, but I read with the companion audiobook, and which, to me, that was the game changer of it all. Like, I basically had to read the book twice. And timing has really never worked before in the stars have aligned

in which our guest has finally come to the show. And I'm going to pretend we're not friends in real life. I'm going to keep this really professional. Jojo, welcome to the Questlo show. Amir, I can't believe. Hello, how are you today? How are you doing? I am tickled to be here.

Thank you for having me. I'm honestly honored. Thank you. I'm going to try to keep this professional. Why? Well, okay. However you have, however you want to do it, I'm excited. You know, even though we've been doing this for, I guess you can say, this is 10 years now,

in this particular format, I'm like, shy of a year or a year plus. And so I'm still learning, still reading the comments. Yes, I'm still learning how to navigate this as a solo artist. You know, I'm still on off the wall now. I haven't gotten to thrill of you. So the thing is, is that since we first met and bonded at Game Night, I thought that I would do something a little bit different than I normally do.

Like, I try to do it chronologically. but really I want everyone out there to get your book and read it themselves. And I really, like, Second to Mariah's book, like her audiobook, like for me to hear the story, to come from the person, makes all the difference in the world. When you told me that you were reading my book, I couldn't believe it. And the way in which you, you know, broke things down for me. You really paid attention. You gave me a whole new lease on life about this thing that I had done that I just thought was

kind of just in the ether. So you just thought like, ahead, put a book out there. No, I mean, I just, you never know. And so just thank you for that gift. I admire people with a journey and a story to tell. And so, and more than that,

it's not only a journey, but, I mean, you drop a lot of gyms in there. You know, you're not shy about your shortcomings and where you might have failed. So, I mean, the human thing is happening. And plus, I think at the time I was on my same journey.

of, if we want to call it, the righteous path. And so, yeah, I really admired it. And it's weird for me to come in backwards. I had to start with a memoir and then work my way backwards to your music, whereas everyone got to know you first and did the opposite. Well, you were busy, so I get it. Yes, we were busy, but we're here now. So what I'm trying to do is I'm going to ask you some rapid fire questions

that are mixed up, that probably you haven't been. asked before because I also want to know like the human side of you. So I'm basically encouraging people out there to just read the memoir to get the soup to nuts story of your life. But yeah, there's a lot I want to ask you. So number one, what is your coffee order? My coffee order is a almond milk cappuccino. Simple, no sweetener, blah, blah, blah. I want a local coffee shop. Okay. You support mom and pops and I got you. I got you. Okay. But sometimes when you're middle of nowhere and you're at the airport, I'm at the airport, I will get a cortado. I think...

Cozant's. And just like, just a little bit of... Like, espresso with a little milk, I think is kind of what it is. Cortado? Yeah, cortado. Okay. I think the reason why I'm shy... I'm insufferable.

I'm not the coffee person that I should be because it's just too intimidating to know all those flavors and whatnot and... It is. Mokolados and babadados. No, it's a lot of lotos. And there's no more small, medium and... Exactly. It's just really intimidating.

to me, so I just responded by not having a coffee preference. Yeah, and there's no reason you should. My first therapist said, don't should all over yourself. Okay. I got that. Question number two. What is your greatest fear when you start a new project? I think we've talked a lot about this.

We don't know each other. Okay. We're strangers. My greatest fear when starting a new project is that I won't be able to produce what the feeling that I want to create. So what's inside here has a hard time. Yeah, that I won't be able to manifest that. Because also I am a communal creator.

You know, I'm not a producer. I really enjoy the co-writing process, but I also love coming with my ideas and my lyrics and melodies and all that. But I worry that I won't be able to communicate what it is that is the desire of my heart, if that makes sense. Okay, I believe, based on how I've been following you,

post-pandemic and whatnot on social media. There's one thing I always wanted to know about. So I'm a communal person also, but ours is mostly the jam session on stage. Can you walk me through the process of a typical, like, writers camp? I've seen you do these things where you will gather with,

what looks to be like 20, maybe 25 people. Maybe it's only 11 people. Yeah, I'm like, never 25. That's expensive. It looks a lot. Yeah, yeah. And like, this is a process where you just gather like three over here. Yes.

All right. So walk me through that process. Yeah. So what you're speaking to is like a writer, a camp for a project. I've actually, I've been fortunate enough to be like called into, when I was at a certain publishing company, they would like have their, they rented out a place in France. And they put all of us in a castle. It was crazy. They do these destination things where they'll pair off.

an artist, a co-writer, a producer. Three, I find to be a good number. And three or four sometimes. They'll put you in a room. You'll have a computer and interface and, you know, keyboard or a guitar or whatever. And you'll write that way. And it could start with me saying, I have this idea for a hook, or I have this concept, or I'd like to make a song that sounds like this.

but with this type of percussive difference in the song or whatever or sometimes we all go in and it's like what are we listening to? What are we feeling? It could start from a conversation. And then oftentimes if there isn't magic within the first hour or two,

you'll go to the next idea because I'm sure you've read Rick Rubin's book and I love it. You want to try to follow that magic and that impulse and things like that. So camps can go in different ways. I've done it for my album before. Recently, I got some of my favorite creatives in a room together in Joshua Tree.

That was about five of us. Theron Nephew Feimster, Tommy Parker, Nikki Flores, and David, who works with Neff. And we just stayed up all night and made things in different rooms, and I bopped around, and we finished some ideas. And it can happen like that. I don't know if that makes sense. No, no, I can see it. Yeah. So when's the last time?

that, like, do you trust the process of just you and one creator? I like that a lot. Trying to see this through? It's my preference, actually. Sometimes I can get overwhelmed. I think the older I get, the more I'm better one-on-one, and the more I do trust myself, and I trust my instincts. And that's been a long time of honing that, getting sensitive to that inner-knowing.

Yeah. How much of your soul do you want to expose to your collaborators if, like, if songwriting is the cathartic healing process that songwriters say it is, like, there's got to be a point where at least like the pre-talk is where you talk about where your life has been. Like, okay, well, I got a divorce last year and I had to bury my animal or, you know, like, whatever it is that you're feeling inside. But is there even space for you to just lay out where you are in life so that the person knows what they're working with? I think it's cool, but I also think that using it as a therapy session is not always the most productive thing. It can kind of get in the way sometimes of what the actual objective is personally. I think that there's a time for therapy. And this is just how I feel right now.

Maybe I'll feel different the next time we speak about this. But right now I think that it can be a little self-indulgent sometimes. to go and dump, trauma dump in a session. And there's a time and a place for that. And I've done that so many times over the years. And then I end up writing songs that are about depression or about feeling like, I don't know who I am or I don't know. And you know what?

I actually don't want to put that out in the world. That's actually not what I want my contribution to be right now. Do you know what I mean? I want to act as if. I want to project another truth within me, which is love and strength and resonance and empowerment and creativity and connection and all those things. So I think sometimes we need to come in at least for me and fortify or make a decision about like what it is that we want to do. And we can get to the other stuff later. I think the after session download is sometimes a good thing too.

But I like to be productive in a session and then let's go have a debriefel for a glass of wine after. How long is it typically before you know we got a song? here? I think that by the end of the session, if you've written and laid a first reference of that song, there's a song that I'm working on in my new project that I knew that day. I was like, this is special. This is going to set the tone for this new project. But then it really is the opening it up to other people too.

Does it resonate in the way that it feels to the creatives? Because that is an important part of it. Otherwise, I'll just be making stuff for myself. But I want to connect. That's the desire of my heart is to connect with other people, whether it's one-on-one or whether it's, you know, it's not that I want to pander or cater to what people think I should be doing, but I want it to resonate. So as I start opening it up to other people, is it eliciting a stank face?

Is there a visceral reaction? Is there something that they walk away from it with? So that takes time to know. So Quincy Jones basically said that his number one rule when working on both off the wall and Thriller and Bad was those three records that if he doesn't get goosebumps at one point, he'll throw it in the landfill. Like it'll just go. Are you that person where like the song has to hit you somewhere in your chakra where it's like, or is it? No, because I know some people that are just, I know one songwriter is just a 20-minute person. If he overthinks it, then the magic's going.

So 20 minutes, it's like I stop. Yeah. And that's the song. Anything Quincy says is a yes for me. I'm listening and I want to, you know. But everybody's process is different, right? But, you know, I kneel at the altar of what Quincy does. I mean, so I am looking for some type of visceral reaction at this point in my life because I've done so much over the years that has not felt in alignment, not.

really felt true. Authentically you. And not really felt authentically me. And I'm not saying that it needs to be like, this is exactly where I am, blah, blah, blah. But it has to feel true. It has to feel like, and I'm not saying I've done that in my whole career, but there's been pockets where I've compromised.

So where you are right now from one to 10. And I know this is like you're relearning yourself, the adult version of you and you breaking the chains of like the studio system and all those things that held you back before. So from 1 to 10, where do you feel you are on the number scale as far as like? Oh, God, a number scale? You know, 10 representing, you know, your absolute destination point of this is where I am now and planting my flag.

Or is it still like you're still trying to figure out like what your favorite sound patches are if I like singing slow songs or? I think I am in a process of discovery. I'm in a season of trying things on, but not in the same way that I was trying them on in my 20s. I think my 30s have really felt like such a gift for making it through

my uncomfortable, weird, messy, dangerous 20s. Like, even spiritually dangerous, you know what I mean? Not spiritual, but just like emotionally. Like, I was not a safe place for myself or others. And I feel like, and I write about that in the book. Yeah, no. I wasn't.

Like it's weird meeting you at the destination place. Like I can't fathom what unstable. Yeah. I mean, I was just like, I was just really good for like just getting too drunk and just doing some weird shit. You know what I mean? I really was. So I think now. I mean, the time machine to see what you like at 28.

I'm so glad we didn't know each other then. It wasn't it wasn't the best. But I think that as far as my artistry, I really feel really close. to being at a place that I want to really stay at and being like this is who I am and where I want to stay for quite a while. So I feel really close. I don't want to give it a number

because seven is such a boring number. But I didn't not say that. No, I'm close. I'm close. And my intention with this, with a project that I'm making now is it could be the last thing that I make. You know, and then I just go have some babies

and go F off. But who knows? I could never really say goodbye. I'm Ruby Carr, the host of the podcast, Encore. Check out our brand new episodes featuring music from the show that everyone is reheating as we speak. Heated rivalry. Join me as I go behind the songs that brought Shane and Elia together. I'll tell you the stories of Fice, My Moon, My Man, Wolf forades, I'll Believe in Anything,

and tattoos all the things she said, and how they all became a part of this global phenomenon. Stream Encore on IHeart Radio, Crave, or wherever you get your podcasts. When I was 14 years old, I was kidnapped and held captive for nine months. I survived, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the Survivor Files. I just remember this low, taunting voice next to my ear saying, shut up, don't say anything. Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable. I knew if he woke up, without a doubt, he was going to hurt me.

I started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed, and I just started screaming. They are abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. But these aren't stories about what's taken from them. There's stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to the Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Hoda Kotbby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotbby. If you know me, you know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize

joy. So this podcast lets us uncover those things together through meaningful conversations with fascinating people. Like when my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors and really anybody hoping to stand out. You're not hired just to fill time and space. You're hired to fill the space with you. You have something in your guts.

You go with it. And Sean Johnson recalled the moment she realized her now husband, Andrew, was the one. He was just so unapologetically himself and knew nothing of Hollywood. He hadn't been on a plane before without his family. It was so pure. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. Our town is small taters by most standards, right?

But to the people who grew up here, it's everything. What happens when a quiet Tennessee town becomes the front line in a battle over the future of America? Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land in the area. The first thing you see when it pops up is pioneers in Appalachia. But they weren't just planning houses. We need cities on a shining hill that exemplify and embody it. the Christian way of life. Stop right there.

Is that normal? A podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment. God need men to rule. Great. And decides to fight back. Do not use my hard work to sell your bull-h. They're not just opposing what's being planned for here. Our hometown is not a test tube.

They feel like they're standing in opposition to an entire administration. Guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? Listen to our own. Our Town on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What is the most air quote, diva request on your hospitality rider? Okay, you guys asked me if I wanted snacks here. And I thought it was like a cute thing because I thought you were like, I thought maybe you did that with your guest.

You're like, what weird snacks do you get? So I asked for some weird snacks. I was like, could I have some crispy red grapes? Could I have a Diet Coke? Could I have an Evian? Could I have a charcutory board? And y'all did it. You did it.

But I didn't. I really literally didn't need anything. Shit, this is my show, and I didn't know that we could have a writer. What the fuck? Cousin Jake? Cousin Jake really took care. I thought you were just like sharing your water with me. Like, you want some water in mirror?

I was like, dear. You know. You are so generous, though, especially with your food offerings and everything. So I thought that that was a part of the thing. So anyway, my weirdest request is that I really do like, I do like really mineraly water. So I ask for mineral. really water. Well, mostly I ask that because, especially at the Tonight Show, I see the weirdest of riders when it comes to like serious singers. Oh, okay. Yeah. I mean, I've seen people. What's the weirdest thing?

One particular soul singer wanted onions. Actual onions. Red onions. Honey. Honey. Garlet cloves. Like some people like, they made a Shaqa Khan's writers real, like, as far as like the. Right. Well, she's like, very connected to the earth, a little witchy. She's kind of making potions and lotions and things. I love that. I feel like she's back there like, like,

d'u-d-d-d-l-l-trouble in trouble. Yes! Shut up! What is your potion? Like a cauldron of bl-bl-bl-bl-bl-bl-bl-bl-like. Yeah, one million percent. Okay. I just like some manuka honey.

I'll just take some manuka honey. Okay. Yeah, it's very antimicrobial, healing. You can put it on your face after. You wash off your makeup. I've seen that before. Tarika, when he's, on stage. One of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life is, you know, he'll, because, like, his voice is

his most important instrument. And, you know, he'll have, like, aconation, like, all these sprays and whatnot. But also, there are sprays that are, like, deodorant sprays are also in the same bottle and store hand sanitizer space. Has he made a... At one time, our new tech person put the deodorant in one stage and tweaking with a... Oh, shit. Fuck. Like, we stopped the show because we laugh is so hard. It's hard to recover from.

So that's when I became more, yeah, I became more aware of. Yeah, I travel with like a singer pouch, though. So I have my things in it, like my vocal straws and like singer sprays. Vocal straws? Yeah, so we often like phonate through straws like to kind of loosen up and you can warm up that way. Really? It was like a little straw that you can wear around your neck. It looks like a Coke straw or something.

Like someone has been like, oh, is that a party thing? I'm like, no, I'm a singer. I never knew this existed. Yeah. And you know, just to kind of like, it's nice. Okay. Again, this is all super random. So it's like non-sequit.

What is the most beautiful video? This is a question I never asked before to any artists. Oh, wow. What's the most beautiful video that you've ever seen? Music video. The way my memory is set up, it's not right. But I just want to call out something that I just recently saw that Jacob Collier did. And he's a dear friend and one of my favorite artists.

And he did a video for this song that is also a meditation. And he's like, it's a dream that many of us have had, just flying. And he filmed it overseas. and somehow they were able to like, maybe he was on a string or something, they, you know, got rid of the string. He's flying through the air. And he's flying. Yeah, and it was really touching because I had a, you know, reoccurring dream.

I can't, I hope to have this dream again of flying. Yeah, what is your recurring theme in all in your dreams? Lately, it's been deep. And I've been like bringing it to my therapist and been like, what's the tea here? What's going on? What's the object that's always in your dream? Sharks lately. I've had sharks.

And you know what it is? Are you a mermaid? Yeah, I'm a mermaid. I identify as a mermaid. Okay. No, I think the past couple dreams have been deep ocean and fear of what's underneath. So that's clearly my subconscious being like, come hither, come get to know me more, or else you're going to be afraid of your, you know, sea creatures coming in and getting you or whatever.

So I can't say that I have like a, I used to have dreams of mummies. like coming up from the depths and coming after me and stuff. And most recently I had a zombie dream, which is similar. So I don't know what's going on. Wow, your dreams are cool. Like my dreams are dumb. Yeah, right. Until 35, I was always about to fail chemistry class.

Really? The way, way past graduation, I would wake up of like a final. And I'm like, Mir, you're 32 years old. Like, you're out of high school. But in my dream for the longest, I was always about to fail a class or something. I was about to not graduate in my dream for a very long time because that was a reality. Because I was homeschooled when I was on the road for a long time. So through my 20s, I would wake up in a panic and be like, you're not going to graduate.

And it was really scary. Like, I just was not turning something in or. Right. So I feel that. What? irrational fear routinely scares you to this day. Part two of that is also what actual fear? There's an irrational fear like you dying by jello or, I mean, just like a childhood

fear that you've, you know, people imagine monsters or, you know, a fear of sliding boards. I had a manager who's deathly afraid of shellacked popsicle sticks. Huh? Yeah, like to the point where I offered her $5,000 cash just to hold select popsicle sticks and she couldn't do it. And this is my DJ manager. I mean, you never seen the clips on Mari Polovich with the woman's afraid of pickles? What? You never seen this?

No. Wait a minute. You're of millennial YouTube age. Yes. Scared of pickles? No, I've seen my strange addiction where she's like eating the couch and stuff. But that's... Yeah, well, that's dark.

Yes, I remember that. But if you Google Mari, and they do it just like Jaws, like, you know, camera number four is like, like holding the thing. And she sees it coming and she runs out in the streets. Wow. And then the camera starts chasing her in the streets with the pickles. And, yeah. That wouldn't fly today.

That's unkind. Google. Yeah, yeah. That's crazy. But, like, what is there a fear that you have that's a little? That's irrational. Yeah. Yeah.

I was like, you know what? This is not, I mean, it could happen and it's scary, but of getting a paper cut on my eyeball. Like, it's unlikely. I always fantasize about paper cuts. Really? Not fair. Well, when you think of something a lot that's also fantasizing. True, I guess.

I often dream of like shards of glass. I hate walking barefoot in my kitchen because I always imagine that shards of glass are going to cut me. Okay. So it's that little cut similar. But for you, it's... It's a paper cut in the eyeball. That's... I feel that.

Yeah, exactly. So that's kind of irrational because it's just like how that happened, but I can feel it right now. I can just feel like... Oh, yeah. I'd feel it with you. What's your real fear?

I'm afraid of Dobermans. They're beautiful, but I was bit in the face by one. My nana's Doberman. And I see them on the street, and I'm like, that's a beautiful bitch. But, oh my God. Like, you're... I'm not just saying, I think you're, you're a dog mom.

Yeah, I'm a dog mom. But she ain't a Doberman. She's a much. She's a rescue. And yeah, Dobermans are scary to me. You know, sharks, deep ocean. This is a Boston thing? Like, how much of your life is spent in the ocean?

Not, not much these days. Like, I would be afraid to, like, be on a big boat and, you know, say you're in the middle of a nice ocean somewhere and you're anchors down. and people, do you want to go snorkeling or whatever? Like, I will go, but I'm terrified the whole time. Okay. So trying to face those fears, but. This previous weekend, I just visited Martha's Vineyard where they shot Jaws. Uh-huh.

And also went to the inkwell as well. So it was like my first time seeing, it's way small than I thought it was. Like in my mind, beaches are like the sprawling thing, like Jersey beaches or at least. Massachusetts beaches are. Yeah, it's like a little bit of sand and then just water. Did you like it? It was the most surreal experience I've ever. It was like walking in the Twilight Zone.

Really? Everybody was so nice to me. And like, no, but in a weird, like I'm running for president way. Okay. Everyone was really nice to me. It felt like the Truman Show or something. Yeah, or like the Stafford Housewives like, it's welcome. But it was like every other person.

Like I just had to ease my way down there. So it was. I mean, people do regard you as like the mayor. wherever you go, I think. Not, no, this way is... It felt strange. Yeah. I just went to Nantucket for the first time.

Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard are like two sides of the same coin. Or maybe not. People would probably disagree with that. But me growing up in Massachusetts, these were places that were aspirational to me because it was, you know, it's expensive to go there. So I just went for the first time. One of the reasons why I champion your audiobook so much is your ability to blend in and out of character.

Oh. And you did a Boston accent that was kind of like Lois Griffin, a family guy meets. Oh my God. Mayor Quimby of the Simpsons. Like it's... I want to use it so bad. Please cast me in something where I can be a Boston girl. Yeah, I was going to say, did you ever have, like, you have an amazing speaking voice,

especially for your book. I believe that certain people have a channel place where when they speak, depending on where their chakra is, like it's effective. Have you ever considered, like, voice acting work? Oh, totally, yes. Okay. WME, be sending the auditions my way,

and I slang them out, and I'm, you know, I really would love to do voice acting work. It's fun, it's fun. But particularly, I have such an affinity toward the Boston accent. And I lost it at a young age because I moved to L.A. for a few months for, like, pilot season

when I was 11, and the kids teased me so, bad on when that first day of school at you know in lahabra heights i think is the place where we were near like wittier i was living there and i said uh excuse me where's the bubola and they didn't know what that meant it was another language to them so it meant where's the water fountain the bubola excuse me where's the bubla and i was like and as the whole class erupted in laughter i'm like fuck these kids i'm never i'm gonna lose my accent and i did i guess you know How did you do that?

I don't know. Oh, this self-improse? It wasn't a coach? No, it wasn't a coach. I think that over the years, I just listened to the way other people spoke. And then I tried to speak more like that. Also, I could go in and out of it, you know. So come Thanksgiving or Christmas, whatever event that causes you to hang with family members.

Yeah, yeah. Or go to Boston. Yeah. Does it sneak in? Yeah, it does sneak in. So you do coach switch? I do coach switch, yeah. When I'm around my Uncle Dale, it's, you know, he's.

he sounds like he's speaking another language, you know, like another, you know, another, you know, another language, blah, blah, blah. And it's a lot of... That's how you talk? Yeah, I think so. And there's a lot of Anna, blah, blah, blah. It's interesting, though, because the next generation, I think my generation might be the last to actually have regional accents because I listen to my cousins who are the closest one in age to me is like maybe nine years younger.

They don't have the regional Boston accent anymore. anymore. It's I think it's because of the internet and you know, the interconnectedness of all things but I find that really interesting from a anthropological standpoint of like how did it become this way?

We're losing cursive apparently losing reading as well. No! Anyway, I'm not saying I'm not like saying it's a good or bad thing that we're losing a regional accent. I just think it's really interesting, you know? I think a lot of the things that we held near and dear might fade into the past. I had a question once, you know,

because people are always coming to me and talking about, which kind of sort of taps into a post that you made about singing. I, too, have had thoughts, and the one thing that I've always wondered, I think the key component to the soul music that hits our soul is, unfortunately, I believe that there has to be, a level of trauma that the singer has to go through that shapes that voice.

I mean, it's, or maybe it's not. I mean, you would know. And so I think you're... Well, I think for the most part, like, okay, when I was teaching about James Brown in school, one student's ass, like, does he always have to scream so much? Like, to another generation, the screaming almost. came off as humorous.

And I had to explain to them that, like, for every time I hear James Brown scream, that's some sort of anger that would have come out on another person. But this is his release, his pressure valve release, that's screaming. The pain that you hear Aretha Franklin in, that beautiful pain. A lot of this generation doesn't have that,

which is a great thing, But this also might mean that that level of soul singing might also be in our past. I mean, unless it's also, you know, but as far as vocal turns, okay, last night I saw Baby Rose perform. And, yo, she sounds like, in the most respectful greatest way ever, like her voice is, it's like a hundred years old. It's so haunting. It's hauntingly beautiful. I wish I got to see that. And then when the song's over,

what's up, y'all, how are you doing? It's like, wait a minute, what the hell? The contrast. Yeah, from there she does. Like, I hear, like, all of her ancestors just inside. It's one of the most haunting things ever. Speaking of which, number six,

have you ever had to ghost someone? Have I had to ghost someone? I probably didn't have to do it, but I did it. Okay. I'm not proud of it, but I keep it moving. I really do. I really do. I've done it.

Goes to such a harsh term, but like, how do you spring clean? How do you spring clean to protect your space? You don't want to get specific, but. Maybe I will. No, I don't know. I was like, how do I protect my space? I mean, sometimes I'm not proud of this, but I definitely have done a slow fade, you know, in friendships or professional relationships or whatever.

But I try to be really communicative up until the point where it's just clear that it's not going to be fruitful for us to be in relationship anymore. And I don't even mean romantically because romantically I think I'm a good communicator. But with other things, what do you think in? I think romantic relationships are the easiest to end.

I think so too. But it's, even as I asked you that question, I'm like, where if you ask that question, when you yourself are actively, goes to maybe four people that you haven't told, I mean, for me, it's easy because like, oh, man, I'm so busy right now or, you know, that sort of thing. But, you know, I'm learning how to properly confront someone without, I'm literally reading a book on how to get your truth out without being rude or. What book is that? I don't even know. I literally got this two days ago. Okay.

Yeah. A follow up. This is how. Well, I share all my books with you. I'm listening to, but we're not friends. But we're not friends.

I'm listening to the big leap that you didn't send me. Wait, are you serious? Yeah. When you said I didn't, I was shocked because I could have sworn. Yeah, you hadn't sent it.

You hadn't sent it. And then we talked about it. And then you did send it because Brianna brought it back up to me. Yeah. But anyway. Shout to Brianna West. Yes. Our girl.

Yeah. The, the, fade the ghost is a product of our the time that we live in and you know us not being as confrontational and wanting people to like us or wanting to keep the door open things like that and i do want to be on good terms with with all people and stuff but sometimes i i want to also acknowledge that people are going through their process in their time and i need to be protective of myself i have done that with certain family members. I've never been able to do the full cutoff, the tough love, blah, blah, blah.

I've tried to do that. I tried to do that with my father, you know, and I'm glad that I didn't do that to the extent that some people are encouraged to do that. Every case is different, but, you know, it'll be 10 years since my dad passed, and I'm grateful that I continue to have a relationship of some kind. Do you know what I mean? Yes. So that's how I feel. Okay. Your bed. Are you, Wait, let me ask the question first. You're a bed, Jojo. Are you a out of bed immediately and on to your day, or are you a must-have bed made before my day starts person?

I like to make the bed. Like, after I do my things, like drink my glass of water, brush my teeth, you know, walk agape, do things, like take a shower. I'll make my bed before I go, but I don't have a particular order of operations. Okay. I'm not OCD people that can not. Okay. I like things nice.

I like to do things in a certain way that makes me feel nice, but I have flexibility. I do snooze a bit. My current ringtone is carry on by Crosby Still's Nash and Young. So I wake up to do do do do do do do do and I like, this morning I woke up and I knew it's so jarring. That's your wake-up song? Yeah, but it's so jarring. But I'm like, woo, let's carry on. So you immediately, and you're not a, you're not a snoozer as a.

I am, I am a snoozer. I heard this song three times this morning. Okay, so when you set, when you set your alarm, how much time do you do? Like when I want to get up at eight, I'll set it at 717. Yeah. Are you, are you that person? I give myself like eight minute increments. Okay.

Yeah. Torturous to some, but I, I'm, I like it. So this is something I just learned. I'm now, I've been doing this all year. I actually now set my alarm 90 minutes before the time I did want to get up. So save I have to get up at 8. I will set my alarm for 6.30.

Only because of that bewildered sleepy state, that is literally, that's your 12-minute window to say the affirmation. that you want to happen for your life against everything. And I'm a person that does not want to get out of bed. We'll make, you know, another five minutes, another five minutes, another five minutes, another five minutes. But now it's like the conscious thing of like, I want to write a good song on the day. That's not the way. It's literally the, you're supposed to do it like when you're dead tired and you want to go to sleep. If you can force yourself 10 more minutes past that, that is when your brain implements,

your thing in the motion. So it's a thing where you have to force this, but I promise you, the first time you press news, just say the key affirmation. And you can say it in a sentence. Like, it doesn't have to be a long thing of five minutes or whatever. Wow. That's a gem. I'm Ruby Carr, the host of the podcast, Encore. Check out our brand new episodes featuring music from the show that everyone is reheating as we speak. Heated rivalry. Join me as I go behind the songs that brought Shane and Elia together. I'll tell you the stories of Fice, My Moon, My Man, Wolf forades, I'll Believe in Anything,

and tattoos, all the things she said, and how they all became a part of this global phenomenon. Stream encore on IHeart Radio, Crave, or wherever you get your podcasts. When I was 14 years old, I was kidnapped and held captive for nine months. I survived, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive, should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart and these are the survivor files. I just remember this low, taunting voice next to my ear saying shut up, don't say anything. Every week, I'm with survivors who lived through the unthinkable. I knew if he woke up, without a doubt, he was going to hurt me. I started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed and I just started screaming

They are abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. But these aren't stories about what's taken from them. They're stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to the Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Hoda Kotby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby. If you know me, you know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools. to maximize joy. So this podcast lets us uncover those things together through meaningful

conversations with fascinating people. Like when my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors and really anybody hoping to stand out. You're not hired just to fill time and space. You're hired to fill the space with you. You have something in your guts. You go with it. And Sean Johnson recalled the moment she realized her now husband and her husband, was the one. He was just so unapologetically himself and knew nothing of Hollywood. He hadn't been on a plane before without his family. It was so pure.

Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Our town is small taters by most standards, right? But to the people who grew up here, it's everything. What happens when a quiet Tennessee town becomes the front line in a battle over the future of America. Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land in the area. The first thing you see when it pops up is pioneers in Appalachia. But they weren't just planning houses. We need cities on a shining hill that exemplify and embody the Christian way of life. Stop right there. Is that normal? A podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a

social experiment. God need men to rule. Great. And decides to fight back. Do not use my hard work to sell your bull. They're not just opposing what's being planned for here. Our hometown is not a test tube. They feel like they're standing in opposition to an entire administration. Guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? Listen to Our Town on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. How do you handle creative blocks? I'm still trying to figure it out. How do I handle creative blocks. Right now I'm going back to the Rick Rubin book. I'm going to his, is it called the creative

process or something? And I'm reading it, rereading it, highlighting things, highlighting new things, and interfacing with that wisdom. And is there a time period of which you just allow nothing? Absolutely. Yes. I mean, I haven't written for the past couple months. How do I feel about that? Concerned during the time. But I try to just live. Just go. just absorb B, you know, get a life. Right. Get a life. I was like, I was in such a rush for so long to be grown, to arrive, to create success, to, you know, recreate the early success.

And, you know, letting that go is such a practice. But even of just trying to make a good thing, you know, so yeah, get a life. That's a really succinct great way of putting it. There you go. Number 10. Have you ever stolen something? Am I a klepto? Is that what is?

That's what it is, right? Clepto. Have I ever stolen anything? Not that I know of. Okay. Not that I know of. Like, I don't have that in me where I like, where I want to get away with stealing something.

Okay. Like, that scares me, actually. I don't want to get in trouble. I don't want to steal something from a hotel. I don't want to steal. Not even the hotels? Not a robe. Not a rope.

I've thought about it. You know, I still put in hotels? What, pillows? Oh, this is so bourgeoisie. What do you see? You know what I love more than anything on the earth? Okay, so. At the fancy places where they put your initials in the thing or something?

You can take those, right? Yeah, I was like, I've been a few places where they put it on your pillow or whatever. What do you steal? Okay. So I think I just started noticing at the caliber of hotels I stay at. Maybe the last two or three years. I didn't realize that they have these like these mist bottles that they spray on your bed to give it that downy, fresh feeling. Oh.

And one day I walked past the housekeeper cart and I just saw a whole box of them. Both of my things are a cart related. So yes, four seasons. I'm sorry. I took two boxes of rose spray mist because I wanted my home bed to. smell like this particular spot that I was in in Hawaii, would just smell misty and whatnot. And the other thing is,

I get misty. I might have, if you're a Delta Flyer, you know what I'm talking about. Dog, Bisk off cookies are a problem. Come on, crumble those drums up. Put it up with some yogurt.

Yo, yo. Good morning. So there was two chunky box supplies, of Bisk golf cookies in the overhead next to my bag. And man, just literally what if the next fight needed those? No regard. No regard. I'll even go further that a girl that was like really sweet on at the time loved those

cookies. And I just, I had to make a move. I just girls love the Biscop cookies. Yes. Oh, man. The way that I was like, these are for you. That's very sweet. How did you get these?

I stole them. No, I was like I have a friend of Delta. So. Yeah. What is the best compliment that you've ever received from a fellow peer? The thing that comes to mind is when I'm doing theater, where I get to act and sing and embody someone new, because now I've done Mulan Rouge. I originated something, Cindy Lopper's new musical based on the movie Working Girl. I've done some other workshops and things like that.

The biggest compliment is when someone who I really respect their artistry has said, you know, I forgot it was you, you know, and you, you weren't singing like you're like who I think Jojo is. You weren't acting like who I think you are. I really got to get lost in that. That's a real compliment to me because I don't want to be self-indulgent always with the runs or with things or like with doing, you know. What we expect you to do?

I want to embody, like, that's my desire to get lost. I want to get lost, you know? Okay, so now I feel like I can ask you, you gave me an opening, I got to ask you this question. Okay, so, of course, because your life, your life journey has so many, like, specific pivots and leads you in directions that you probably didn't dream of when you were eight or nine or whatever. Right. But the reason why I was excited to see you participate in the. chess play. Amir.

The reason why I was excited to see you participate in it is because the insane, and I don't mean acrobatic, like, performative acrobatic where, like, you know, everybody that we've seen on Showtime at the Apollo do, and I'm telling you, I'm not going, like, or, you know what I mean. And I am telling you. Yes. Right. I'm not going.

in, which, who, yes. Yes. So, but there is a very intricate, I mean, almost jazz level intellect of difficulty that every song in the chess play, it's literally to me, like, if you conquer that, like seeing Lee and Michelle conquer that, I had no, I had no expectations whatsoever. One, I didn't know about the history of the play chess, which was created by two members of Abba. Abba and Tim Rice. Yeah.

And so for me, I was disappointed when the play dissolved before you got a chance to get behind it. But I do want to know, like, how deep into training camp did you get in learning those songs? Because even I feel like practicing one of those songs will improve your artist's dream. Yes. That's what I was most excited. for. So to give some context, Chess was a musical that was on Broadway and it was starring Leah Michelle and Aaron Tavate and Nicholas Christopher and, like you said, written by the guys from Abba and Tim Rice. The music is astounding. And we got to go see this together. And I was like

watching the show and looking over at you, I'm like, am I tripping? This is sick, right? Like, this music is so sick. Wait, that was the first time you? I had never seen the show. I had hurt. I had been studying and shedding and listening and stuff. I had not seen it. We were experiencing that for the first time? Yes. Yes. Were you intimidated at any point? Of course, the whole time. But that's what I was, that's what I was excited about. So to answer your question, I was already off book by the time, you know, I learned all the songs and I was off book, even in the script. I deep dived into it. I was going to take over for Leah Michelle while she was out for the summer. And the role is

beautiful. The songs are amazing. And you spoke to like a jazz level of difficulty, but it's like classical to me. I think they're related. The one thing that this play didn't have, there was no Broadway jazz hands in it? No. There's none of that. Or I guess now that version would be like post-Weber rent.

Level where every song is the, like frozen level. Like it was not Broadway at all. And barely like melody, like you just had to, I had to catch up with you, wherever you sang. It's so precise. Yeah. Really sick, really amazing. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. I enjoyed so much learning this material.

and really abandoning thoughts of, you know, what I thought would, like, be showy or whatever. Right. I just... I don't think it even allows you this space to flex as a vocalist. There's some moments. There's some moments where you can. And what's cool about this musical is that there are many different versions. Like, the history of the musical was interesting, too.

I think it was done for the first time in the 80s. And, you know, I got to hear the version. versions from the 80s. I got to hear when Josh Grobin and Adina Mansell and some other people did it in London for like a stage, just a reading kind of, not a reading, but anyway. So there were different interpretations of it. And like you said, it really did allow me to expand my instrument and my artistry just by having proximity to it. Just by... Even going to the gym, I feel like you're a better singer for it. Yeah, it has to come back. And if it does come back, and if it does come back, and you're part of that.

Like, I'll be their front, ruin, center because it's... You know, what was hilarious also is that you were texting me as I was preparing for it. You're like, are you nervous? Because I'm nervous for you. I'm like, Amir, do you not think that I can do this? What's going on? Then I started getting my own head. Oh, I did that to you.

I'm kidding. I wasn't really in my own head. I was just like, he cares. That's really nice. But you were like, are you sleeping? Are you falling, keep listening to it? Are you programming your subconscious? I was like, I am.

I literally would wake up some random nights and just hits you like, how are you doing with preparation? Because I thought I could take in music like a sponge and dictate it back verbatim. But yeah, anyone that conquers that, they have all my respect. All right. I have a question about one of your songs or lack thereof. Sugar and carbs. Yes. Is it purposely 21 seconds?

It's just a little interlude. I should have written a whole song. Okay, so there's a part of our friendship that I've not really dived into, and I haven't gone heavy on, we barely talk about our craft with each other. I mean, we'll talk about music or whatever, that sort of thing. But I really wanted to wait for this platform to ask you these questions. See, I thought that you left it at 21 seconds almost, because what I believe this 21-second interlude to be,

is sort of your potent assessment of how toxic the music industry is as far as their treatment and expectations of how they want women to look and represent themselves. And I was like, wow, okay, there must be a reason why this is exactly 21 seconds. So I thought it was like some sort of, I'm an adult. Wow. You think I'm deeper than I am. It was literally, I am so literal sometimes. Okay. Sugar and carbs is literally, you know, you're speaking to a project, like an EP that I put out called Try Not to Think About it, which was I was in a blue space. I was depressed at the time. And the way that I like to self-sooth is through food historically. Many different ways, though. I don't really have a, I can be addicted to different things, a moment, a person, you know, eating, blah, blah, blah. So I've experimented with all different things. Sugar and carbs was just like, this is my comfort right now.

And it was literally that. I really thought it was commentary on how toxic the industry is. But I love that. That's where you're mind. Oh, man, I was reading so much into. It really wasn't. It was just like, I am so uncomfortable in where I am right now. And basically it's 21 seconds because I wanted to go get another snack.

I need to go get another almond croissant to just nibble on. People often get joy of knocking. my fantasy jinged down of like how they took all night to craft this thing and I'll admit I spit at least 20 minutes just trying to analyze your brain on. Wow, I appreciate that so much. I just wanted an interlude, you know, and I hadn't made one yet. I forgot the literal just to let it be what it is. Okay, that's cool. It's just what it was. That's where I was at at the time. Drake is the type of artist that will make those that participate in, you know, the mixtape game or, you know, now we just release singles and whatnot.

Yeah, all different ways. Your interpretation of Marvin's room, first, did 40 or Drake ever reach out to you? Yes. Giving you notes on your version of that or? Yeah, Drake DM'd me and said really nice things. Okay. When I released that. And that was so long ago now, which is really,

really wild what time does and just how it keeps going. Yeah, 2010, 2011 to me is still like five years ago. I know. Four years ago. So then after that, though, I worked with 40 on because the label that I was signed to initially was doing a deal. They were going to redo Aaliyah's unreleased. They were going to work with some of her unreleased material, Drake and 40 and stuff.

So as a, like another part of that, I was going to be working with 40. And so I did a song called Demonstrate. went up to Toronto and did some stuff with him. And I was so nervous, had such imposter syndrome. But this was after I did Marvin's room, after I had already kind of accepted, okay, people know that I'm not 13 or 15 or 16 anymore. I was like 19 or 20 or 21. But I was still like, how do I be?

Yeah, how do I make a statement? So you wanted to make a- This was your thing where it's like, Like I want to I'm an adult I'm an adult yeah Yeah Marvin's room really was

Kind of like a turning point for me It was a pivot point In my artistry of being like I curse and I'm out here Having sex And I'm you know A bad girl That's like kind of what I was feeling at the time

The response to it like What was it for you In your circle but also like From the comments I think in my circle They were like Yeah this is who you This is like who you are

You're out here And so they were like, that's cool that it's reflected. There's a little, there's some edge and darkness in it. And it got a crazy amount of traction. It's not reflected in the views if you look on YouTube now, but it was taken down to like 100 million. And it was a lot of attention toward it. So that was really cool that people were accepting something from me.

That was less, like I looked at a record like Leave Get Out. which was my first single. I looked at that as kind of bubble gummy. And so I was like, oh, I can do some, like, you know, dark stuff. And that's cool. It's fine. I was definitely in a place of, like, oh, looking for acceptance. Oh, people will accept this from me.

That's good. Okay. Do you know what I mean? So it was a pivot point. Did you have trepidation at first? Like, well I? No, because my manager at the time was in alignment with me. And we were like, so the fact that I had her approval, I was like, let's do this.

Let's just go ahead and do it. And it was a great exercise for me as a writer, too, because I took his song, his melody, and I wrote a response to it. So that was something that I learned and became a part of my process. I'm like everyone else, like the fact that you essentially the person on the other line

to whom he was talking to, like you're... Yeah. And there's a twist on it. Yeah, it was a cool exercise and something that I still continued to do to this day. And something that I had done before the Marvin's Room thing, I wrote to like a T-Pain song, a Sean Kingston song,

I would write female responses because it was inspiring. I'm like, well... Wait, you didn't answer to beautiful girls or something? I did. It's on the internet. Wait, how did I miss that? I'm glad you missed it. It wasn't that great. Oh, I'm going to check...

Okay, I'm going to search for that. No. I'm Ruby Carr, the host of the podcast, Encore. Check out our brand new episodes featuring music from the show that everyone is reheating as we speak. Heated rivalry. Join me as I go behind the songs

that brought Shane and Elia together. I'll tell you the stories of Fice, My Moon, My Man, Wolf Parades, I'll Believe in Anything, and tattoos all the things she said, and how they all became a part of this global phenomenon. Stream encore on IHeart Radio, Crave, or wherever you get your podcasts. When I was 14 years old, I was kidnapped and held captive for nine months. I survived, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the survivor.

I just remember this low, taunting voice next to my ear saying, shut up, don't say anything. Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable. I knew if he woke up, without a doubt, he was going to hurt me. I started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed, and I just started screaming. They are abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. but these aren't stories about what's taken from them. There's stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to the Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Hoda Kotby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby. If you know me, you know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize joy. So this podcast lets us uncover those things together through meaningful conversations with fascinating people. Like when my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors and really anybody hoping to stand out. You're not hired just to fill time and space. You're hired to fill the space with you. You have something in your guts.

You go with it. And Sean Johnson recalled the moment she realized her now husband, Andrew, was the world. He was just so unapologetically himself and knew nothing of Hollywood. He hadn't been on a plane before without his family. It was so pure. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Our town is small taters by most standards, right? But to the people who grew up here, it's everything.

What happens when a quiet Tennessee town becomes the front line in a battle over the future of America? Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land in the area. The first thing you see when it pops up is pioneers in Appalachia. But they weren't just planting houses. We need cities on a shining hill that exemplify and embody the Christian way of life. Stop right there. Is that normal? A podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment. God need men to rule. Great.

And decides to fight back. Do not use my heart. work to sell your bull. They're not just opposing what's being planned for here. Our hometown is not a test tube. They feel like they're standing in opposition to an entire administration. Guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? Listen to Our Town on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Let's get the white elephant out of the room today. Okay, so recently you made a post on social media about the state of singing. today and whatnot. I'll say that your post definitely started a conversation as far as it looks like song of the summer in 2026 just very might well be a song totally created by AI. Which one? Don't tell me you not hurt rubbers. Uh-uh.

My fuck is bigger. My son is bigger. It's basically if someone... I guess I try not to. So to me, if Max B., who's sort of inherited the post-Bismarkey, old dirty bastard, charismatic, horrible singing, lame, his hook writing is the greatest. But he just sings any old way, like, no tone. If Max B were to prompt the spirit of Morrissey and the Smiths. Whoa.

And so right now, the song called Rubbers in which Phoenix Flex and, but also, you know, Tyga has infamously released a record that. Right. It's also done the same way where everything's done in AI. So what are your feelings on you haven't spent a lifetime honing a craft and really putting care into your craft? and it might not necessarily matter. Right. I completely agree with that.

And I'm making these videos because I'm interested in what's going on. And I like having conversations, as you do too. That's what this is about, right? Having conversation. And I'm interested in examining like this culture that I'm a part of and that we're a part of of music. I'm a lover of it. I'm a consumer of it.

I'm a creator of it. I've been inside the music industry for a very long time. I also have a perspective where I can be somewhat outside of it. And so it's almost like these videos that I'm making and sharing across social media are a little bit of like an anthropological investigation. That's where I'm thinking about it from because I wanted to go to school and study that actually. And so this is just a commentary on it. I'm not really getting into the morality of it, of like, this is bad. People in the comments can do whatever they want, and I actually love to see it.

I love to see the healthy debate and discourse about it. But I think it's interesting, above all. I think that you don't need to be a great singer to be really impactful. I think it's fascinating as I was listening to the radio last night and a song from the 1990s came on. Someone who we deemed, I'm saying we collectively, I think we're like, they're not a good singer. They're more of a dancer. Guess what? There was no auto tune

that was being used then. They sound pretty damn good if we're thinking about from today's standards. What I used to... What we used to like... Judge. It's actually pretty good

and pretty impressive that they had their own sound, their own tone, their own like vibes for real. And I think it's very fascinating what auto tune does and I use it, okay? I like Melodyne, Autotune.

I've used all the things. I've experimented with so many different ways. of being. But at the end of the day, I also like musical theater because it's one of the last frontiers that are untouched. It's really not being affected by these things that live, big concerts, festivals, even, you know, content that's being made and deemed as live on the internet. It's not like that. So I think it's interesting. I think that the pendulum swings. Like we're, if the song of the summer is an AI song. Maybe it'll swing in the next few years to where we really want humanity. And that's why something like what Rosalia is doing is so cool. There's so many musicians that

she hired to make that project. You know, Ray, there's such humanity in these things. And just plenty of examples of it. Bruno, as far as the way that he's, I don't think, interfacing with live auto tune and things like that. Or pre-recorded vocals. So maybe I'm not hearing myself correctly, but it's my intention to not be judgmental or to not be on a high horse or anything like that. And just to be like, whoa. I totally got that.

And be like, damn, that's really interesting. And how is it affecting us? And does that mean that less people will be interested in working on their craft because we don't need to work as hard? It's just interesting to me. Does it worry you that someone's artistic ability to give you the feels or goosebumps

is now almost in diminished returns or like as each year goes by a certain level of where someone truly like a supernova talent where that was like far... Like DeAngel. Great example. DeAngelo is an awesome example.

Like 30 years ago there were no shortage of like, wow, that person can really sing their ass off. and does it get worrisome that... Well, I also believe that the really good ones, the ones who could be future Mavericks, just aren't above sea level yet. And somewhere on YouTube, that person is there.

That's my belief, too. I don't really subscribe to this idea that, like, music's in a terrible place or things just, you know, blah, blah, blah. That's just not my worldview. I actually get to interface with exceptional talent, all the time, almost on a day-to-day basis. Getting to live in New York City, being adjacent and a part of the jazz scene and being in that

community, hearing great singers all the time, being in musical theater, and hearing tremendous talent all the time. I'm just like, damn, I need to be better. Like, all the time. I think it's inspiring. Getting to be at live shows, getting to go to the roots picnic, getting to be in small spaces and hear you perform, getting, it's constantly inspiring. So I think that people do love soul and do love greatness, and they also love other things, and there's room for it all.

I appreciate that Leon Thomas, for example, is out there with his instrument, with the songs he created, with his soul, with his own expression of things, and he's being influenced by a spirit that I was too with DiAngelo from this and bringing it into now. I think it's really dope. Thank you. What is the one pivotal moment that changed the direction of where your life is to where you are now? My life has been changed so many different times in beautiful, unexpected ways, but I'll speak to the most recent change, I think, which is deciding to move to New York City. That changed my life. And also realizing that moving away from a spirit of feeling like a victim of the music industry

or feeling like a victim of, oh, I was born into a poverty mindset, or, you know, I never got, I never learned how to do these things. Like, I was, I didn't know, I squandered my opportunity. I didn't know because no one taught me. Whatever, yo. Like, okay. And then now what? So I think that I was living in L.A. for 13 years.

I was just, it felt like Groundhogs Day of just striving and just trying. And I was becoming more sensitive to the spirit of desperation that I felt, even within myself and just kind of in Holly. would sometimes. Nothing against it. I love L.A. I've had great experiences there. But against the suggestion of my team at the time and everything, I moved to New York. And I just wanted to be back on the East Coast, which is where I'm from, closer to my family. And I wanted to be around theater. The first check I ever got was from the Huntington Theater in Boston playing mustard seed and Shakespeare's a midsummer night's dream. I love theater. I love seeing shows, being around them, I love, walking around New York and singing and nobody cares.

I mean, and just like, you're one of those people? I'm like in a musical. You'll break out in song? No, I'm not breaking out in song, but I'm just like, you know, sometimes humming to myself, learning a song. Okay. I'm not breaking out a song. No, I'm just like, that sucks.

But I am just in my own world because everyone's in their own world here. Okay. And I like that. You know, like the city. I feel like you dialed the back a bit. I feel like you're... I know. I think when you walk in your dog, like, one in the morning...

Not where I live. Nope. No. No. But I just love that the city is like a symphony and there's just constant inspiration wherever you look. So that changing of mindset and just saying, you know what? Contrary to what people are telling me is the right thing and you need to be in L.A.

If you want to take your career seriously and blah, blah, blah. I actually think I've taken my life less seriously and more seriously at the same time. by following an intuition, which has led me to a life that I'm really enjoying right now, which is just a little bit more random, but also more dialed in and honed in. Does that make sense? It makes sense.

It does. How long does it take you to get ready for a big event? It depends. This morning, I put my hair in two braids. This is not a big event, this is, but this is exciting. I've been looking forward to this. Thank you. But I'm just saying, like, there's a difference between,

like, I guess a red carpet and like, you know, doing a... Yeah, when you do a red carpet. A big event, I would say I like to get myself two hours because I don't like to rush. Okay. What is the last thing that you cooked for yourself? A turkey burger. Like a turkey burger on a bed of greens. So like a turkey burger salad.

That sounds very healthy. Okay. And it was. It was. Okay. How did you rate yourself? It was dry. It wasn't good. Okay.

It was nothing. I love you. Yeah, it was not bussing like it should have been. All right. Do you create better when you're happy or when you're sad? I think it flows more, like just like more rapidly. When I'm distraught or going through something when there's some type of friction, I'm in a very, I'm in a place where I'm really, really happy and I'm well.

And I'm, it's, maybe I'm reaching my upper limit, like the big leap book by Gay Hendricks, where it's like, you're experiencing such, like, things are going nicely. And you're like, there's no way. Let me sabotage it so I can get some inspiration. Right. I know many a person that will say, let me get back with an X or someone toxic. Just so I can have material to write about. What was the thing that we were all just in?

Mercury retrograde. Yeah. I had some people knocking on the door being like, Hey, where are you at? Are you happy? I'm like, you know? Just seen, you know, are you in town?

No! So you just never friggin, no. The retrograde of the summer of 26 was one for the record books. And I normally don't really indulge things like that, meaning like the, oh, it's a retrograde, really. But I actually, like, didn't sign a contract during that time because I was like, something's going on right now. Yeah.

But, yeah, I'm finding a way to, to allow myself to actually feel and not be afraid of joy and resonance and like things being good. And feel it. Okay. That's good. Stay there. Your hometown is Boston or a specific part? South of Boston, Foxborough.

Foxborough. Okay. Whenever I take the train there, I never know which stop to get off. Back Bay or South Station. Yeah. And it's always, I always choose the right one. Like, is this the one supposed to get off? Or is it like you have two.

You could also get off in Mansfield, I think. Or no, maybe that's the commuter rail. But in terms of like a car meeting me, like there's always something. When I travel to Boston, I love taking the train up there just to look at the. It's so nice. Yeah, it's my favorite thing. All right. Could you give me a fond memory of you and your mother?

Oh, yeah. Well, my mom has a beautiful voice. And she was our soprano soloist at our Catholic Church, St. Mary. in Foxborough. And I just remember being in the choir loft, like up with where the organ is and like feeling, oh, I just loved the way the organ sounded. And sometimes I think maybe I'm remembering this, right, I hope I am. But like, sometimes if you press the thing down, it would be like, like.

You would hear the, like a pipe board. Yeah. Okay. And then looking down and hearing my mom's voice reverberate and seeing her just be so in alignment with her gift that God gave her and singing for God and then being like outside the church afterwards and people, you know, coming up to her and me looking up and just being so in awe and her being so gracious. And then us, you know, getting in the Ford Festiva and going to get an ice cream at Friendlies.

And another fond memory is my mom reading to me all the time. She read to me every night. she we would go to is that where this voice comes from maybe she oh i loved the way she read to me i love i love sounds obviously you know so she had such a great voice for for reading and still does i mean i would like for her to read to me now so we'd go to our public library the boyden and rent books and yeah that's one of my favorite memories okay in your hometown what is the hidden gym. Like where must you go

every time you go back to the old neighborhood? Damn. Foxborough has changed so much since I lived there. Damn. But let me try to think of something. Oh, Primos. There's a sub shop that I believe is still there. Primos is still there. And it doesn't have to be just food either. Like,

I go to Newberry Comics when I go to, you know. Yeah. Oh, okay, it's not called the Ancient Mariner anymore. My uncle calls it the NER. But it's called something else It's called like something like that's supposed to be like nautical. I mean, ancient mariner is nautical too, but it's a dive bar. You see some characters in there.

And I really love it for that. Like it's you can also, there's accommodations you could stay there. I wouldn't. It's a bit dodgy, I think. But the ancient mariner and it's like Pike Place or something now, you can go and get like a vodka soda, like a crin, something. And you can also play like Kino. and maybe get some mozzarella sticks or whatever. But I like going there to.

So there's a dive bar. You have your hometown dive bar that you go to? Yeah, it's beyond a dive bar. I don't even know what to call. Do they know you when you walk in? Yeah. She'd be like, hey, Joanna. How do you call you by your?

Yeah, I probably wouldn't go there by myself, but I'd go there with my uncle. Okay. What is something that you've learned the hard way? Oh, my God. I feel like I've learned everything the hard way. I'm just the type that needs to like bang my head against the wall to be like, that hurts. That I require preparation.

I don't really like winging things. Okay. Maybe it's ADD, some type of divergence. So if I want to invite you to a jam session, you would like to know ahead of time, like, what songs are you going to do? And what would you? I would like to do my own preparation

of being able to be like, so I can call some tunes and be like, let's do it in this key. Do you know what I mean? So I feel good, but I don't need you to necessarily. I mean, I would prefer if you would be like, let's maybe do this. But no, I would just want to go through my own Rolodex, my own, do you know what I mean?

I just require a little thoughtfulness. That's what I've learned about myself. And that's not a bad thing. It's not a good thing. It's just like for me to feel most comfortable, if I'm going to a jam session, bitch warm up. Don't drink. You know, just like do the things. So if you know there's a night where you're going to sing, there's certain things that, certain disciplines that you have to.

Yes. And that's just, that's just in respect. of the opportunity and my gift and of feeling good. Do you know what I mean? I've learned that the hard way. I think you also know you're probably more aware that the internet is forever. That's it. So you can't afford a bad night.

I've had so many weird nights, so many bad squandering. You know, I don't want to think about it as squandering, but like where I've, you know, particularly in my 20s where I'd get up and I'd be like four vodka sodas in. And that ain't that ain't it for me. Some people can do that. Okay. I can't. I'm Ruby Carr, the host of the podcast, Encore.

Check out our brand new episodes featuring music from the show that everyone is reheating as we speak. Heated rivalry. Join me as I go behind the songs that brought Shane and Elia together. I'll tell you the stories of Fice, My Moon, My Man, Wolf Parades, I'll Believe in Anything, and tattoos all the things she said, and how they all became a part of this global phenomenon. Stream Encore on IHeart Radio, Craves. or wherever you get your podcasts. When I was 14 years old, I was kidnapped and held captive for nine months.

I survived, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the Survivor Files. I just remember this low, taunting voice next to my ear saying, shut up, don't say anything. Every week, I'm with survivors who live through. the unthinkable. I knew if he woke up, without a doubt, he was going to hurt me. I started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed, and I just started screaming. They are abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced.

But these aren't stories about what's taken from them. There's stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to the Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Hoda Kotkogee, host of the podcast Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby. If you know me, you know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize joy. So this podcast lets us uncover those things together through meaningful conversations with fascinating people.

Like when my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors and really anybody hoping to stand out. You're not hired just to fill time and space. You're hired to fill the space with you. You have something in your guts. You go with it. And Sean Johnson recalled the moment she realized her now husband, Andrew, was the one. He was just so unapologetically himself and knew nothing of Hollywood. He hadn't been on a plane before without his family. It was so pure. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Cotapy on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Our town is small taters by most standards, right? But to the people who grew up here, it's everything.

What happens when a quiet Tennessee town becomes the front line in a battle over the future of America? Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land in the area. The first thing you see when it pops up is pioneers in Appalachia. But they weren't just planning houses. We need cities on a shining hill that exemplify and embody the Christian way of life. Stop right there. Is that normal? A podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment. God need men to rule. Great.

And decides to fight back. Do not use my hard work to sell your bull. They're not just opposing what's being planned for here. Our hometown is not a test tube. They feel like they're standing in opposition to. an entire administration. Guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? Listen to Our Town on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

So when the universe shows you a sign that a particular project does not belong to you, how do you not take it personal? What's admirable about you is that, yes, you are this established artist, but I also feel like you're taking new steps in territory that wasn't there for you, say, when you were 10 or whatever. So, you know, but I think all of us are doing that. Exactly. This is new to me. Look at you.

Yeah. You're constantly out there taking steps. So how do you not take it personal if a setback happens and, you know, something fell through? For example, with chess, right? Like where that was, I thought that was going to be the rest of it. in my year. I thought that I thought that I was going to be going into this Broadway show and that that was what my life was going to look like, eight shows a week. You kind of have these like future memories that you make. And that's kind of what the morning is for a while. But what I did was I just got real

active in imagining something else. And being like, you know what? You've wanted to make an album that you're really proud of. You've wanted to dive in. You've wanted to not fragment yourself. And here's your opportunity. Here's your opportunity also to have a summer where you have more time in New York in this new place that you call home to be with my elderly dog who's almost 15. That's how old a cop is? Isn't that crazy? She's cooking. She's running. She's on Lebrella, this arthritis medication. She's mad dogging. She's crazy. I could have just like five or six. I know. So I just pivoted and just got excited about the things that I get to do. And it's crazy the way that life has unfolded for me since that didn't happen. Now I've got to be a part of a

workshop for a new musical, new works, which is ultimately what I want to do, which is originate a role. So, you know, now I'm in the room with some incredible heavy hitters, you know, Egot winners and getting to make something. Okay. What is your favorite guilty pleasure movie? The Sex and the City movies. That's a guilty pleasure. Yeah, I don't really feel guilty about my pleasures. That's always what I but I say I really don't. I just like to feel nice. All right, Samantha, go ahead. Exactly.

Right. But I would say the Sex and City movies. I also recently just watched The Devil Wares Prada second movie. I love that stuff. I love movies set in New York. Okay. Have you ever been in a car accident? I have.

I got into like a fender bender. And then I also was like in one around Christmas time where I got whiplash. And so that was pretty scary. Nothing really bad, thank God. What year was this? I got into that. That one in like 2022, but it wasn't like... Wait, since I've...

We didn't meet yet. I don't think so. It's after that. Okay. What was that feeling like? What I wanted to do, because it was my partner at the time was driving, and I wanted to like just get over it, and I just want to be like, it's good, it's good, we're fine. I didn't want him to feel bad, which was really interesting. Were you driving?

He was. He was driving. And I was in the passenger seat, and the car hit my side. And he kind of was not driving in a way that I liked. Right. But he felt so bad, and I just didn't want to feel bad. So I was like, we don't need to go to the hospital. I'm good, I'm good, I'm good.

Then, like, pain set in later. Ah, the adrenaline set off. Yeah, the adrenaline, yeah. Okay. Who's the most out-of-character artist in your phone scroll? Out-of-character artist? Yeah. What do you mean?

Like, who do I have that's unexpected? Is the Pope a texting friend of yours or? Oh, my God. Just someone that's like a random, notable friendship that you've. I think people would probably think that this is a random notable friendship. I think maybe. Okay. I'm trying to think of who else.

I don't really know what's random anymore. My life is so random. Well, I mean, when newcomers come to game night, I'll get their numbers to make sure that they can come to the next game night and whatnot. And I guess, like, oh, yeah, the book. When I was like, all right, let me find out about Jojo since, because Zara, hi, Zara. Hi, Zara. Hi, Sarah.

I mean, for me, my moment there was making her happy. Yeah. Right. But for her, it's like, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God. JoJo was there. Joos was there. I love her. That's my girl.

Yeah, yeah. Nothing's ringing a bell. I wish I had the Pope's number. He seems like a little pumpkin. There you go. All right. I'm not like super Catholic, by the way. I just raised that way.

I just said very Catholic-coded podcast for me. Really? Right? I've dropped a few Catholic moments. Yeah, you do. Anyway, God bless everyone. So this might be your future. I don't think so.

You never know with you. It's true. Who are the five voices that you feel that they haven't been given enough light? The first artist that comes to mind, and you said voices, so you kind of mean in any capacity, right? Just like people that I think should be platformed bigger, maybe. Oh, okay, we can spend to that. I'd kind of meant singers. There's this artist Sunny Cologne.

Do you know this? I love. One of my favorite projects is Juju and the Flower Bug. And I just really feel like I'm his biggest fan. I really want more people to know. I think that Victoria Monet is perfection to me. I love her so much. I think that she's having a wonderful season.

I just want it to continue to grow. I admire her so much. Wow, five. Cecile McLaurin Salvant. I learned this. Oh, incredible jazz singer. Okay. Samara Joy already getting so much attraction.

I absolutely love her. So curious to continue to see what she continues to do. God, this is four. Yeah, this four. Lastly, damn, I wish I could look at my phone. Max B. No, I'm playing. Yeah, Max B.

There's so much dope music out there. All right. We'll leave the last one blank. LeCaley 47. Nice. Okay. Obsessed. That's the name you don't hear often in people's list.

Just brilliant. Okay. I have a general thought on the art of karaoke. And if a person rips it at karaoke, that's unfair. I like karaoke bars in which it's a hot mess. Yeah, yeah, yeah. One, are you a karaoke singer and what is your go-to karaoke song? Don't invite me to karaoke.

I'm going to make it weird. Someone's going to try to sing, leave get out, or too little, too late, or baby, it's you. Oh, no. And I'm going to be like, okay. cool, but I'm going to be like, this is so whack. Why is this happening? Does that always happen if you show up at a bar? Like, somebody will sing it?

It doesn't always happen. I don't want to speak hyperbolicly or in absolutes or whatever, but like, it's been known to happen. And I'm just like, you get ambushed with love. And then they want me to sing it. And then I'm like, now this is going to end up on the internet and then I look stupid, but like whatever. So.

Okay. But if I were to do karaoke song, it would probably be like a TLC song or, I don't know. I don't love it. I don't love it. I don't love karaoke. Okay. I'm fine with that. I don't. I'm fine with singers not loving karaoke. Yeah. Okay. So the irony is in loss of me that you'd name Pediolite.

You know, this is something that we use to survive whatever happened the night before, right? Yep. And, you know, you made it sound moody and sexy and all those things that you were going for. but when you sing it now, is it still a song that hits you the same or is it a symptom? Like, where does it fall now when you sing it? So that song is from the Good to Know album,

which came out during the pandemic. And what really resonates with me about it still is that I wanted to kind of do like an Irish drinking song in the chorus. Like I really love... Not jump around. Right. Damn.

I really loved Rihanna. is like cheers. Cheers to the freaking weekend. I drank today. Yeah, yeah. I wanted to do something in that vein kind of. But this was more down.

This was more blue or more like a depressed episode of it. So I'm like every day is like a melancholic thing. Every day is another celebration. Life is the occasion. Party till the sun. Blah, blah, blah. So what I,

what does resonate with me is that kind of Celtic heritage in the melody. And that's something that I'm really interested in exploring with, with this project too is just my lineage of being a little a little clover in the i don't know you know i it's somewhere in deep in my ancestry so that's what i like about it but i don't i don't dig getting drunk anymore i love a glass of wine but i just don't really like feeling completely out of my mind it used to be my desire to get out of my mind and now i much prefer reality okay

i'll delve into the tipsy part but i haven't been like shit She said, yeah, and I actually wanted to know what that felt like. You've never been drunk? Nah, I'm such a lightweight

that if I were to drink like Bailey's Kaluah ice cream, I'll be shit face drunk. Like, I'm that light. I think you hold it very well. Yeah, the second I start feeling smooth criminal leany, then I'm like...

You've been hip-back. Right. Yeah. Is it hard for giving yourself sometimes? Yes. Yeah. You know, I even use.

the word earlier, like squander an opportunity, you know what I mean? Yes, it's hard to forgive when I felt like I didn't rise to the occasion of a moment that I didn't see was presented to me at the time or where I felt like I should have stepped through something, I should have stepped up into something and I wasn't able to do that. There's that, then it's when I've hurt somebody unintentionally or just through negligence or selfishness. So that is hard to forgive myself for. I'm still actively working to forgive myself for not being a friend that I should have been or a that I should have been, you know, particularly through my 20s. I was just really, I was in so much pain and only able to kind of see my own, I was just up my own ass of just like feeling bad for

myself, you know? What is the greatest song of all time? One. One. That's really hard, but I'm just going to say, like, a favorite of mine that I think deserves to be part of the conversation. And it's Give Me the Night by George Benson. I know that's a really weird thing to say. No, I admire you for that's so random. I love George Benson. That's Rod Temperton, right? Is it Quincy, too?

Yes, Quincy Jones, Rod Timberton. I think it's so beautiful. And I love that he's, that George is scatting on it and playing the guitar like he did on the on Broadway song. And the video, he's doing it and skating backwards. He's skating backwards. That's just what comes to mind for me. I'm sure that there, you know, we could reference a Stevie song or MJ's song.

There's so many songs. But I, just for me. That song checks everything. It's a great melody. The bridge is awesome. It's so nice. Everything is inside that song. I accept that answer.

Cool. Okay. I would like to talk about your, I won't say your advocacy or your, you're, I don't even think it's social work, but I believe that is, it's quietly admirable the way that you handled the comeback situation. Wow. And, you know, especially in the case of what happened to make the stallion, people were slow to really get behind her, especially in the very beginning, in the very beginning. And I would like to know the decision-making process that went into you deciding to, because that could have been an easy win for you in terms of like, you know, like you establishing a new.

song and and standing on that. Yeah, it could have been easy to just like... First of all, I had no idea what you're talking about. I'm like, the comeback situation. What do you mean? Like, when people have said I was coming back. No, totally. Sorry, forgive me.

Forgive me. That's okay. So I had a song called Come Back and I'd like to give some context to that. See, and this is the problem with us like, because right now is just you and me in a room right now and I forget that I have to clue them in. Well, I'll help fill in a little bit. So I had a song called Comeback, which was about spinning the block with an X and being like, you know what, now it's time to come back, and you make me come and all that stuff.

I'm just being just a little freak. And I don't really love that song, but that's how I felt at the time. And what I want to share, and I want to increase my tolerance for being misunderstood, but I still struggle with it. So I'm just going to try to explain some of this. So my label at the time wanted a feature on it, and I was excited about that. And I had some ideas. And they proposed, they were like, what if we go out to Chris Brown for this?

he'd be perfect for it I said I am uncomfortable with the history of violence and particularly against black women that there has been

and so many of my fans are black women and I don't feel comfortable with that so let's keep looking Torrey Lane's had been doing dope stuff and he's an amazing creative

I like a lot of his music this was before anything happened with Meghastalian so I was like what about Tori. He just reached out about something, you know, I think he'd be perfect for it. He delivered a really dope verse. So we put out the song with him on it. It was during the pandemic, everything was shut down. So we shot parts of the video like virtually and everything. Then what happened

with Meg the Stallion happened. And I was just like, oh my God, the fact that, first of all, my intention to not be aligned with someone that is perpetuating violence. Wow, that is really crazy. My heart was broken. It was inconceivable what Meg went through. And it wasn't even a question of, I'm pretty sure the version is still out there with him on it. But when it came to like, I think it was the deluxe version or continuing on with that, I pulled

it. I just, it made me really uncomfortable. So that's kind of, it just made me really uncomfortable. And like my original intention. which was to try to do the right thing was, I was like, oh, I'm just going to continue to try to do the right thing. And then he was like, oh, nobody gives a shit about you anyway. You know, and he said some disparaging comments about me.

That part I did not know. Yeah, and I was like, that. Oh, you made the right decision. That may or may not be true, but I have to be able to look at myself in the mirror. You made the right decision. Oh, you know, you're to be commended for that. when you were a child, what were your dreams of in terms of like, I made it? Yeah.

Versus what do you feel right now is success? So I made it really young. And I've been singing since I was two and making money from performing since I was like six years old. So by the time I was 13 and my first single came out, I was like, yeah, it's about time. Like I've been doing this my whole damn life. Right. So I made it. I had a number one single.

I got to tour the world. I opened for Usher my first tour ever on his confessions tour in Europe. You know, I got to see the world. I had people giving me diamonds, putting clothing on me. And like, you know, I got to wear like baby fat and go to the, you know, fashion week and stuff. I was like, wow, you know, I really, that's all I could have dreamed of. And then I had another amazing success with my second album. We were too little too late.

and I just felt on top of the world and MTV and all this stuff. And then things slowed down with my label not being a functioning record label, not letting me go. It's all out there. And if I didn't change my definition of success, I would never be able to feel successful again. Because if it's chart positioning, if my self-worth is determined by being on the Billboard 200 or being or not being in the Kia asylum or, you know, chasing that pop thing. I would not experience joy. I would not experience happiness. And I refuse.

I refuse to go through this life and not experience pleasure and joy and resonance and alignment and the fruits of what life has to offer and what your work can offer. So long-winded way of answering your question, if I like what I'm doing and I know it's to the best of my ability

and I can see or I can feel that it's resonating, with who is there and that there's conversation about it and that I can be paid and that I can live a life that is a little more than comfortable. You know what I mean? Like I'm not asking for a whole lot, but I want to be able to make a living from what I love. I find that to be successful. A good living. Yeah, a good living. You know, that I feel respected and appreciated. That's success to me. Like I look at my life and I'm proud of myself. I'm Ruby Carr, the host of the podcast, OnCore. Check out our brand new episodes featuring

music from the show that everyone is reheating as we speak. Heated rivalry. Join me as I go behind the songs that brought Shane and Elia together. I'll tell you the stories of Fice, My Moon, my Man, wolf parades, I'll believe in anything, and tattoos all the things she said, and how they all became a part of this global phenomenon. Stream Oncore. on IHeart Radio, crave, or wherever you get your podcasts. When I was 14 years old, I was kidnapped and held captive for nine months. I survived, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the Survivor Files.

I just remember this low, taunting voice next to my ear saying, shut up, don't say anything. Every week, I'm with survivors who lived through the unthinkable. I knew if he woke up. Without a doubt, he was going to hurt me. I started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed, and I just started screaming. They are abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. But these aren't stories about what's taken from them. There's stories about what it takes to make it out alive.

Listen to the Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Hoda Kotbby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotbby. If you know me, you know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize joy. So this podcast lets us uncover those things together through meaningful conversations with fascinating people. Like when my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors and really anybody hoping to stand out. You're not hired just to fill time and space. You're hired to fill the space with you. You have something in your guts.

You go with it. And Sean Johnson recalled the moment she realized her now husband, Andrew, was the one. He was just so unapologetically himself and knew nothing of Hollywood. He hadn't been on a plane before without his family. It was so pure. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Our town is small taters by most standards, right? But to the people who grew up here, it's everything.

What happens when a quiet Tennessee town becomes the front line in a battle over the future of America? Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land in the area. The first thing you see when it pops up is pioneers and Apple. But they weren't just planning houses. We need cities on a shining hill that exemplify and embody the Christian way of life. Stop right there. Is that normal? A podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment. God need men to rule. Great.

And decides to fight back. Do not use my hard work to sell your bull-h. They're not just opposing what's being planned for here. Our hometown is not a test. They feel like they're standing in opposition to an entire administration. Guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? Listen to Our Town on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What is your hidden talent that has nothing to do with your career? What's a hidden talent that you have?

I try to put all my talents out there because I'm distra-no. No, okay. I don't know if I can still do this. No double-joint shit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on, dog. You can't unsee it. Just say you make good sourdough bread or something.

Come on, man. Ouch, that hurt. I used to be able to, like, literally lie it flat back. What? I hate you people. I'm so sorry. Laini Siforze, he used to do that in the fourth grade. Like, yeah, like bendy.

Yeah. Ah, okay. I don't know if that's a talent, but something. I got what I asked for. Can you share with me a fond memory about you and your father? Oh, yes. I love thinking about us being in the car. He would drive from Nashua, New Hampshire to Foxborough, Massachusetts to pick me up like every other weekend.

You know, child of divorce, only child. And on those car rides from Foxborough back up to Nashua, we would harmonize. And there's nothing like family blend. Would you sing with your mother ever? Yeah. But my dad and I would sing more like cool songs. He had like a blues brother's type of voice, and he'd play the harmonica and the guitar. And so we would sing more classic rock and soul.

And I'd play him some hip-hop I was listening to. He didn't quite get it. He didn't quite like it. I'd play him some R&B and stuff that I was listening to. We loved to bond over music. So that was definitely, those are among the fondest memories, you know, rooted in music. And with both parents, the memories are music-based. Okay, I would like to know how did you convince or pitch to Zelda Williams,

daughter of Robin Williams, the great Robin Williams, to direct the video for Save My Soul and just a cathartic process of both of you kind of having your relationships with your dads in common and just that. whole process, how did that come to be? So Zelda is one of my longest friends, one of my closest friends, like a sister to me, her mom, Marcia, and the whole tribe of people that they roll with. And I remember when her father passed and I played his daughter in a movie. And I'm not going to say much more about it other than I remember when it happened. I remember how I wanted to be there for her. And I remember how she was there for me when my father passed. So in the Save My Soul video,

which was like, or the song, I took it to be about addiction and about feeling like you are really just lost in the sauce of feeling like you're not in control. And you made this for your dad before he passed away, which I think so. Yeah. Or maybe it was after. I really don't remember when we did it. I might have been after, but anyway, I was in a really dark place too. And Zelda and I always talked creatively, and we always shared things that we were watching. And she's really, not only is she an amazing creative, she's an amazing critic as well. Like, her assessment of things is really helpful. So she can be really constructively critical.

And she's a brilliant woman. And I was like, would you ever direct something? was telling me she wanted to get into directing. And I ended up being the first thing that she directed. It happened to be music video. Now she's gone on to her with like focus features and do Lisa Frankenstein and she's developing her next project. And so I am honored to be a part of her journey with her creative output because she really is brilliant. But it just started through conversation. Okay. Just friends. What's the best advice that you've ever given a younger artist? Well, do as I say, not as I did. And I'll explain what I mean because the advice that I

I would give is learn how to engineer and produce yourself. And I can't do those things yet, not proficiently. Really? No. I thought you were in logic and stuff. Yeah. I mean, no, I love to be with my engineer and comping my vocals and doing all the things. But as far as me doing it myself, no, I love seeing Ariana Grande do that. I love seeing my good friend Tori Kelly do that. I really admire that. And the advice that I would give younger musicians is learn how to do, learn how to be self-sufficient. So you don't have to, you know, depend on like me doing a show and trying to track down this MD or this producer and be like, can we get the stems separated for this? You know, have them on a hard drive. Like, collect your things, be organized and get really obsessed with your

craft, whether your instrument is, and learn how to play an instrument so you can accompany yourself, which is something I don't do. And it's never too late for an old dog to learn new tricks. But, you know, it's really wonderful to have that from a young age. That's the advice I would give young creatives and get comfortable with promoting your music. How hard is it for you to cut ties, especially, I mean, this could be also personal. Right. But in terms of, you know, just knowing the history of your journey from record-like,

label to different management, to people on your team and your staff, you know, like confronting people, that's like my Achilles heel. I'd rather,

I'd rather be underground hiding under the rubble than to have to like, into relate, like to advocate for yourself. How hard is it to advocate for yourself and let someone go? It's so hard,

right? It is. It takes time. And I, have stayed in dynamics that I knew had an expiration date, but I was just waiting for something like really bad or really I couldn't live with it anymore to rip the bandaid off. And sometimes you never get that really bad thing that happened.

So you're just like in a state of like dissatisfaction with the status quo. But I've tried to increase my tolerance for, sorry, increase my tolerance for the discomfort of having the hard conversation. And oftentimes I need to like write it out and almost rehearse it. Or sometimes be like, hey, I want to share something with you. I'm going to send it in a text or an email. Sit with it. Let me know what you think.

Then let's talk about it because I'm going to stumble over my words. And sometimes I'll try to. Are you doing in real time? Yeah. Yeah. And sometimes I'll try to plant seeds of like discontent and be like. Your pass-aggressive, Jojo? I guess so.

I just mean I'll plant a seed of like, you know, And obviously, this isn't working, right? You know what I mean? I guess that is passive-aggressive. I'll be like, you know, and clearly the way that this is needs to be reconfigured, so let's... I get so, like, dead ass, too. Oh, my God.

The way, even that hypothetical example, like, have me scared, like, okay. I know, I really... I'm so intense sometimes. But it is challenging to... But I like to think about it like this right now, because I want to be on good terms with all people, and especially people I respect. it's not that I want to, I want them out of my life.

It's just like, let's find the new correct place for us to be in each other's lives, perhaps work together, but maybe with a new perspective on it. And maybe with you focusing in this area and I take more of a, right now at this point in my life, I want to be in a more CEO position in my life and career, you know? You want that? Yeah. Wow. Like, for me, I have such a fear of really becoming a sense.

suit. I don't want to be a suit. I want to wear a cool other jacket. Well, that's, I know, but it's just, you know, in my mind, I need to be 100% immersed inside of my creativity. And whenever any logistical, like, things I have to sign or have a meeting about this or, you know, it's the business end of it, like, pulls me out of it. And I... Okay, so, yeah, maybe when I say CEO, I really don't mean that. I just mean. I just that I just want to be way more inside of and across all things. But I got the gist of it. I don't like the logistical stuff either.

That's why a chief of staff, you know, a head of operations is really, really important when you have different plates spinning. I don't know how you do all the things that you do. I truly, truly don't. But even just being in proximity and in friendship with you has been very inspiring in my own journey. I just wake up. No, you don't. All right, these are my last three questions.

Okay. What is the most awkward thing you ever see? said to a hero of yours when you first met them. Oh my God. Well, this thing came to mind because I love Destiny's Child. I love all three members. And Kelly Rowland is so talented, so beautiful, so gracious, so stunning, all the things. And I was so awkward because I thought her husband was her makeup artist.

So I was like, oh, my God, I love him. He does such beautiful work. And I think she was just like, that's my husband. I was like, oh, my God, that's not who I. I thought that was. That's a different guy. Okay. Oh, man.

I still think about it to this day. I'm just like, why didn't I just shut up? Did you ever clarify it or is this how they're finding out? I've never clarified? I'm sure she still thinks. Maybe she doesn't think about it at all, but I was just like, oh my God, he's so. Sorry, Tim. I was saying all times.

I thought it was someone else. But I'm also the king of that. What is the most treasured item you? You've ever collected. Most treasured I. Yes. What's your soul train? What's your vintage cars?

Oh, man. I don't think that I'm much of a collector, actually. But someone got me a real... You're not sentimental? No, I'm not. I'm jealous. Okay. Yeah, like...

How, though? Like, literally, I lived in L.A. for 13 years. I had a storage space. I let almost everything go when I moved to New York. I just keep it moving. I don't know. You know, people are like, Do you have those outfits that you wore, you know, from the, you know, from the thing?

I'm like, no, I don't know where they are. None of your clothes, none of your concert posters, none of your... I have a few plaques and stuff that I'm thankful that my mom kept at her boyfriend's, like, basement or something. Like, we just, I just moved so much. I've moved 22 times in my life. And it makes me sad, actually, a little bit. But this is my answer to the question.

My friend got me oppressed four-leaf clover, and they're really rare. And I think that's really cool. Is it sad that I'm not sentimental? No, it actually tracks because I know many of an artists like that. Just got to keep going. All right. Last question. When all is said and done, what do you want us to know about you?

I think that's a hard question. I mean, what do I want people to know about me? That I am passionate and curious. and always wanting to evolve and grow. And I love music so much. The industry of it can sometimes suck the joy from it. Not so much. But music is so awesome.

And I love to be around people who are passionate and evolving too. And that's really my, yeah, that's what I'd like, I think. Okay. This wasn't that hard, was it? This was so nice. From one to six, we did a nice, we did a 6.8. Yeah.

This was so great. I appreciate all these questions. This was really... You know, I want to get to the service of someone being a human being. Not just... So, tell me about your new record. Totally. And what was it like doing?

You know. We covered so much ground and so many of the things that are important to me and that I want to talk about from just the state of the music industry and singing and theater and coast to coast and all the things. thank you for giving me the opportunity. My pal, thank you. Thank you. My friend Joanna.

And yeah, this is the Questlove show and we will see you on the next. Go around. See ya. Wow. That was so nice. We did it. You pulled out some songs. The Questlove show is hosted by me.

Amir Questlove Thompson. The executive producers are Sean G. Brian Calhoun and me. Produced by Brittany Benjamin and Jake Payne. Produced for IHeart by Noel Brown. Edited by Alex Conno. IHart video support by Mark Canton. Logos, graphics, and animation by Nick Paloi.

Additional support by Lance Coleman. Special thanks to Kathy Brombe. Special thanks to Sugar Steve Mandeau. Please subscribe, rate, review, and share the Questle of show wherever you stream your podcast. Make sure you follow us on socials. That's at QLS. Check out hundreds and hundreds of QLS episodes, including the Questlove Supreme

shows in our podcast archives. The Questlove shows a production of IHeart Radio. I survived nine months in captivity, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the Survivor Files. Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable, abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Did you hear the new episode of the Hey Jonas Podcast? We are at D23. So we'll see who stopped by. The cast of Frozen stopped by, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, and Adina Menzel. I auditioned for Frozen. What? For Christoph. They said, okay, what are you going to be singing today?

I said, I don't know. That must have been why you didn't get it. Oh, you don't believe one. Plus, John Stamos, Hayden Christensen from Star Wars and more. And I guess I can share that, uh, no way. Listen to the latest episode of Hey Jonas on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. On the new podcast, Solita, we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman. I can wait four hours for the next bus or this.

Random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle. I chose option B. I'm Julie Pinero, and I travel by myself because it's a rare space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first. I'm on a mission to reclaim the word Solita, trading the pity for possibility. Listen to Solita on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Hayes Davenport. And Sean Clements. We host the podcast, Hollywood Handbook.

Each week, we talk to someone in show business. and try to help them with their careers and see what they have to offer us. Everyone has a good time and no one gets mad at their publicists for letting them do our show. We've had a lot of great guests like Sarah Sherman, Adam Scott, Danny McBride, Ben Stillard, and a lot of other big shots that wouldn't be where they are without us. Listen to Hollywood Handbook on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.