The High Road is the second studio album by American singer JoJo, released on October 17, 2006, by Da Family Entertainment, Blackground Records, and Universal Records.
Recording sessions for the album took place between late 2005 and mid-2006 in California, New York City, Miami, and Atlanta, following JoJo's completion of filming Aquamarine and RV. While recording the album, JoJo worked with producers Scott Storch, Sean Garrett, Swizz Beatz, Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Vincent Herbert, J.R. Rotem, Beau Dozier and Ryan Leslie among others. JoJo co-wrote two out of the 17 tracks from the album. The album features an eclectic array of styles, including pop, alternative rock, and hip-hop soul.
The High Road was preceded by the release of the lead single "Too Little Too Late" which became JoJo's best-performing single on the Billboard Hot 100. It broke the record for the biggest jump into the top three on the Billboard Hot 100, moving from number 66 to number three in one week, and also reached the top 10 in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the UK. The second single, "How to Touch a Girl", was released on November 14, 2006, and failed to impact charts in the US. "Anything" was released as the album's third and final single on March 20, 2007, reaching number 18 in Ireland and number 21 in the UK.
Upon its release, the album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, many noting that the album showed more confidence while slower tracks helped showcase JoJo's "superb vocal abilities". The High Road debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with 108,000 copies sold in its first week. It also peaked at number 12 on the Canadian Albums Chart and at number 24 on the UK Albums Chart. The album received gold certifications in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and as of December 2018, it had sold three million copies worldwide.
Citing the album's unavailability on streaming services, JoJo released a re-recorded version of The High Road on December 21, 2018. On September 24, 2021, Blackground Records released the original version of The High Road to streaming services and digital platforms.
Background
After the success of her debut album, JoJo quickly went back in the studio to work on new tracks. While recording, she worked with producers such as Josh Alexander, Beau Dozier, Ryan Leslie, J.R. Rotem, Matthew Gerrard, Soulshock & Karlin, Stargate, Billy Steinberg, Peter Stengaard, Scott Storch, Swizz Beatz, Justin Trugman, and Focus... It was reported that over 30 songs were written and recorded for the album, before being narrowed down to the twelve that made the final track listing. During an interview, JoJo compared The High Road to her previous album by stating, "I recorded my first album when I was 12, and now I'm 15. From age 12 to age 15 is a big jump in a young girl's life. I think with the new album, you can hear the maturity and confidence in my vocals. I'm coming into myself and being more comfortable. All of the songs on the album came out well - the music style is mostly urban like the my first album, but there are some rock elements too."
When asked about the recording process, JoJo stated, "I had finished promoting my first album, then I went to Australia to film Aquamarine", she recalled. "It was a busy time – while I was in Australia, I auditioned via satellite for RV. When I finished with Aquamarine, I came home and started working on the new album. It was mainly recorded in New York, Miami and L.A. We recorded over 30 songs with a lot of different people. [...] I feel that doing 30 songs was fine for the album. Some people would say that's too many to do, and it's costly to record that many songs. But Chris Brown recorded 50 songs for his album, and then he whittled it down and made a great record. When you record a lot of songs, you come up with different styles and ideas." On the album, JoJo got to work with Diane Warren, whom she had idolised. She recalled the process by saying, "I was very excited to get together with Diane Warren," she said. "I love Diane – she's one of my favorite people. We recorded four or five songs together, two of which made the album, 'Exceptional' and 'Note to God.' She's so cool."