The High Road

First time on vinyl for this album that was released when she was just 13 years old, vocalist Jojo's 2004 eponymous debut was a bona fide hit album and garnered the young pop star a legion of equally youthful fans, as well as lead roles in two films, including the 2006 comedy RV alongside Robin Williams. To say that the release of her 2006 sophomore effort, The High Road, finds Jojo on the cusp of superstardom is a bit of an understatement. Featuring production and songs by such in demand hitmakers as Swizz Beatz, Soulshock, and Scott Storch -- the man who made Paris Hilton sound good -- it should come as little surprise that The High Road is a commercially oriented, radio-friendly contemporary pop-R&B album. What may be a surprise is that it is really, really good. These are well-written, catchy pop songs with a healthy dose of hip-hop rhythm that serve as solid launching pads for Jojo's superb vocal abilities. Coming off as a kind of urbanized Jennifer Aniston with the chops of Beyoncé, Jojo is an assured and likeable performer who can somehow embody the yin-yang persona of a suburban cheerleader slinging hip-hop attitude, as she does in the video for the ridiculously overwrought and utterly addictive lead-off single, "Too Little Too Late." I