Demonstrate

Demonstrate is a promotional single by JoJo that is supposed to be on her third studio album.

The song was written by JoJo, Noah "40" Shebib (who produced the song), Daniel Daley & Anthony Jeffries.

In December 2018, this, Disaster and the albums JoJo and The High Road were all re-released on digital and streaming platforms with re-recorded vocals and slightly reworked production. This is due to Blackground Records taking JoJo's music released under the label off of digital and streaming platforms and because she wanted the music back on because her fans were asking her about it. She tried to buy the master recordings, but the CEO of Blackground Records, Barry Hankerson, refused to give her the masters

Song Background
"Demonstrate" was developed after JoJo released a cover version of Drake's song "Marvin's Room" (which was also produced by Noah Shebib).

After the song received critical acclaim, JoJo began organizing recording sessions with Shebib to find a more confident sound for her third album.

Song Composition
The song is a R&B slow jam that lasts 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

It begins with an acoustic guitar intro, then glides into a serene, R&B-leaning slow jam.

The lyrics center around JoJo telling her man she has a little something on her mind, but she’d prefer to express herself through actions rather than words. It is accompanied by a "synth-saturated beat."

JoJo stated the single was recorded and inspired after the praise she got after she released her own version of Drake's song "Marvins Room" called "Can't Do Better."

JoJo was reluctant to release the song due to the sexually explicit content on it, stating:

"I was a little apprehensive, but I think any thoughts were kind of dispelled when people responded so well to my version of 'Marvin's Room,' I think that it was reassuring to me of the direction I wanted to go in."

When speaking about working with Noah "40" Shebib, JoJo said:

"It was my dream, I really wanted to get in with him; he's the most exciting producer I've ever worked with. I've never seen a method like his, and it was very, very inspiring and it really kind of reinvigorated my creativity to be in there with him."

Music Video
A music video for "Demonstrate" was filmed in Beverly Hills, California on August 13, 2012, but it was never released.

According to JoJo in an interview with TheYoungFolks.com about the video's release, she stated:

"I have no idea what [Blackground Records] plans to do with that video; I’m not in control of that. My thought is probably not. I’m pretty sure they owe some people some money on that actually."

Critical Reception
"Demonstrate" received generally positive reviews from music critics who noted its similarities to Kelly Rowland's 2011 single "Motivation."

Becky Bain from Idolator reviewed JoJo's song, claiming:

"This sounds exactly like a song someone like Kelly Rowland might release, and surprisingly, JoJo totally pulls it off."

She also stated:

"While every other hot young thing is hopping on trend and releasing electro-dubstep-techno-kichen-sink club-stompers in order to get noticed, we appreciate JoJo keeping things slow and sexy."

Scott Shetler of PopCrush reviewed the song and gave it a rating of four out of five stars, writing:

"JoJo comfortably moves in and out of falsetto, sounding as sexy and confident as Mariah Carey ever has."

Adelle Platon of VIBE Vixen called the song a "grown and sexy bedroom heater."

Katharine St. Asaph of Popdust rated the song four out of five stars, noting JoJo's "equally unsurprisingly, technically adept, switching between melisma and near-whispers, alto and head voice, with mere seconds between."

Asaph also praised "her maturity" and "called demonstrate a stunning bit of interpretation and deserves far better than the “she’s all grown up!” narrative."

Laura Sassano of OK! called the song "a definitely more sensual feel than her previous hits" and praised her "killer set of pipes."

Jayvee from The Round Table stated that "Demonstrate" reminds him a lot of that "slinky, R&B vibe from "Are You That Somebody" which was made famous by R&B singer Aaliyah.

Christina Garibaldi of MTV praised the song of it maturity stating:

"The sexy, sultry R&B single shows maturity not only in its lyrical nature, but in JoJo's development as an artist."

Rich Juzwiak from Gawker.com said:

"I have mostly ignored this girl, figuring she couldn't possibly have ditched the cheese of her teeny-bopping youth. I can ignore her no longer" also calling the song "Monster."

Rick Jeffries from Stupiddope.com praised JoJo's sweet voice and heartfelt lyrics which brought a lot of personality and happiness to the song.

Amanda Dobbins from Vulture.com called the song "a spacy, kind of strange sex jam."

Marcel Salas from Global Grind applauded JoJo's "angelic and soulful riffs" throughout the song while Renee Brown from Examiner.com said "Demonstrate" "certainly shows a mature, sexually advance JoJo on this track."

Bradley Stern from MuuMuse.com said the song had a similar style to one of JoJo's songs "In the Dark" from her 2010 mixtape "Can't Take That Away from Me" while comparing it to artist like Prince & Beyoncé stating:

"It’s a bit like Prince crossed with Beyoncé‘s 4, plus a touch of Kelly Rowland‘s bump ‘n’ grinders with Lil Wayne–”Motivation” and “Ice.” In other words: It’s pure aural sex."

Zara Golden from VH1 praised her for capably moving from "a near-whisper to an almost whistle-register and back without overwhelming the patently patient and self-conscious beat."

Lyrics
I live in this fantasy where everything is amplified Senses hiding in a flash And everything just comes alive This pressure all inside of me is sexual anxiety

Baby, there's a lot of freaky shit running my mind That I can't say But I know I can demonstrate And I can let my body explain

I know I can demonstrate So I'ma make it simple and plain You just need to come over I can just demonstrate

I'm arrested by the night And only you can set me free Guilty But I'm not ashamed I'm exactly where I wanted to be (yeah) I leave the door open wide in hopes That you will sneak inside

Baby, there's a lot of freaky shit running my mind That I can't say But I know I can demonstrate And I can let my body explain I know I can demonstrate

So I'ma make it simple and plain You just need to come over (come over) I can just demonstrate

I'm thinking come over Come over, come over I'm thinking come over, come over I'm thinking

Baby, there's a lot of freaky shit running my mind That I can't say But I know I can demonstrate (I know I can)

And I can let my body explain I know I can demonstrate So I'ma make it simple and plain

Come over So I can demonstrate (Come over)