JoJo Worthington is a singer, songwriter, producer, and composer from Montreal, Quebec. Over the past decade she has created music with incredible sonic landscapes. Her music takes you on a journey. With over five singles, three albums, and an EP JoJo is back with another single - ‘Win Butler’.
‘Win Butler’ is extremely evocative. According to JoJo, “The song is about the juxtaposition of wanting to succeed in the music industry and make art, while there are adverse and tragic events happening everyday, all around me. Over the pandemic, it felt like the last thing anyone needed was more music.”
JoJo’s love for Arcade Fire began in high school and she romanticized moving to Montreal to make music. Once she moved there, she lived downtown and was devastated by the housing crisis, and it saddened her to see how many people were living on the streets. Pursuing her dreams seemed like an incredibly selfish and insignificant thing to do, while people outside her apartment couldn’t even get their basic needs met. The lyrics if ‘Win Butler’ are inspired by some of the conversations she’s had with those people, and the conflict she felt as she pursues a career in music in this broken world.
As humans who make music, this is something we all battle with at some point in our careers. But the way JoJo writes about it and paints the picture for you is absolutely stunning. This is truly one of the most complex and beautiful songs I’ve heard.
The song ends with the sound of a tape being stretched, stomped, and ripped apart, to emulate producer Will Crann’s idea of the sound of God picking up the song and crumpling it up. JoJo says “The song is not really about Win Butler personally. I have nothing against him whatsoever. I honestly really hope he listens to it. I just wanted to call the song that because of my love for Arcade Fire’s music and how much it impacted me growing up. I wanted to move to Montreal, be in a 10-piece stadium art rock band and live the dream.”
Some of the lyrics that stuck out to me - “people ordinary”
“I wanna be a Hollywood movie star with all the facades that it’s made of” “How do these people have it all” “The millennial stress” “I’m tired of trying”
I am absolutely enthralled by JoJo and her artistry and I cannot wait to see what is next for her!
Written By: Heather Kathryn
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