JoJo says she was depressed and engaging in self-destructive behaviour
- Published
JoJo says the release of her first album in 10 years is the "moment she's been dreaming of".
The singer admits to experiencing dark times during her legal battle to escape a record deal she signed aged 12.
JoJo is now 25 and back with a new contract and new record, Mad Love.
She suffered with depression after turning to alcohol during her time in music limbo and admitted that she risked losing her voice by drinking too much.
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"My lowest point was engaging in some self-destructive behaviour, like excessively drinking to get my mind off things - to a point where it probably compromised my voice," JoJo tells Newsbeat.
"I'd rather ruin myself than have this entity of power ruin me. That made me feel in control."
JoJo found fame with hits like Leave (Get Out) and Too Little, Too Late - released on the now-defunct Blackground Records.
But after signing with the label at such an early age, JoJo found herself recording music she felt "uncomfortable" with, following the release of second album The High Road in 2006.
"For a while I went along with what my previous label wanted me to do because I just felt backed into a corner," she says.
"It made me feel disempowered, made me feel stupid, made me feel vulnerable and it just made me have a negative feeling towards the music industry."
She reportedly first tried to quit her contract with Blackground Records in 2009 after tracks recorded for her third album were leaked online.
JoJo eventually announced she had split from the label in early 2014.
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Her story echoes the highly publicised label struggle experienced by fellow US star Kesha and the pair have tweeted each other.
"It's cruel and unusual and I definitely sympathise with her," says JoJo.
"It really is terrible to not be able to continue on with your career and make money off what you signed up for."
JoJo has now signed a new deal with Atlantic Records and has released her long-awaited third album, Mad Love.
It's one she says she's proud of.
"This project was different because unlike the different incarnations of the third album, I knew people were going to hear this," she says.
She has previously hinted that her first record label didn't have a distribution deal to get her leaked third album to fans.
"My DNA was woven into the fabric of this. It came from my brain, my heart and my pen."
JoJo is thanking fans online for supporting her during her struggles and admits she doesn't think she would have been able to return to music with them.
"The support on social media pulled me out of a dark place and to see the outreach was really special to me," she says.
"I didn't know there were people on the other side of the struggle. I don't think I would have done it for myself."
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