Leave (Get Out)

Leave (Get Out) is the lead single from JoJo's debut album.

The song was written by Soulshock & Karlin (who also produced the song) and Alex Cantrell.

Song Background
The song was recorded at Soulpower Studios and Westlake Studios in Los Angeles, California.

Soulshock mixed the song at Soulpower Studios and provided all the instruments with Karlin, however the guitars were performed by Eric Jackson and Sean Hurley.

-==Song Composition=== "Leave (Get Out)" is an R&B and pop song that has a length of four minutes and two seconds. Lyrically, it is about declaring independence.

According to the digital music sheet published at Musicnotes.com by EMI Music Publishing, the song is written in a key of G minor.

It has a moderate groove in common time with a tempo of 86 beats per minute. It follows a basic sequence of Gm7-Dm11-C-B♭(add9) as its chord progression.

JoJo's vocals range from a F3 to a D5.

Chart Performance
"Leave (Get Out)" proved to be successful in North America.

In the United States, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #99 on April 10, 2004. It made gradual movements up the chart, peaking at #12 on the issue dated July 31, 2004 (sixteen weeks after its debut).

It lasted 12 more weeks on the Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 downloads, earning a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Aside from the Hot 100, "Leave (Get Out)" topped the US Billboard Pop Songs for five consecutive weeks, making JoJo the youngest solo artist at the age of 13 to have a number-one single in the U.S. It also managed to peak at #33 on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs.

Internationally, "Leave (Get Out)" became a success, reaching top five peaks in several European and Oceanic territories. The song peaked highest in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, all at number two.

In Australia, the song debuted at its peak position and lasted on the singles chart for 15 weeks, eventually shipping 75,000 units to the country and earning a platinum certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).

In New Zealand, the song entered the singles chart at #36 & gained momentum in its second week, moving up to number five, earning the title of the week's "Greatest Gainer."

The song stalled there for three weeks and reached its peak position two weeks after, on October 18, 2004. The song shipped 7,500 copies to New Zealand, earning a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).

In the United Kingdom, "Leave (Get Out)" debuted and peaked at number two on September 11, 2004. The song lasted in the top ten for four more weeks and fell to number 21 on the following week.

The song quickly exited the UK Singles Chart, after two more weeks of descending the chart. It debuted on the Irish Singles Chart on September 2, 2004 at number eight.

It peaked at number three two weeks later on September 16, 2004, moving from number seven and earning the title of the week's "Greatest Gainer."

The song stalled at its peak position for three weeks and exited the chart two weeks later.

Critical Reception
Johnny Loftus of AllMusic noted "Leave (Get Out)" as one of the album's top tracks, writing that it "doesn't have a lot of staying power, but its guitar figure is a nice touch, and the chorus hits with the right amount of tell-off brashness."

Emma Morgan of Yahoo! Music UK called it her signature song, saying that it would be "strong enough'" to base a music career on, but commented that she has no identity beyond this.

Music Video
The video was directed by Erik White. It takes place in a high school where JoJo is seen with friends and dancing with cheerleading girls.

The video received heavy rotation on MTV, VH1, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and The N.

It was nominated for "Best New Artist" at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards which made JoJo become the youngest MTV Video Music Award nominee.

The video also retired on MTV's Total Request Live after spending 50 days on the countdown, including two days at #1, making her the youngest artist to both have a video retired and reach the summit of the chart.