JoJo opens up about career struggles and friendship with Selena Gomez in new memoir

Joanna “JoJo” Levesque reflects on her career setbacks and the support she found in her friendship with Selena Gomez in her debut memoir, Over the Influence. In an exclusive excerpt shared with PEOPLE, JoJo recalls a period of uncertainty in her music career when she was unable to release new music due to legal battles with her former label, Blackground Records.

“My whole twenties were just a s---show of confusion,” JoJo told PEOPLE, describing the challenges she faced after being unable to release music due to her label holding the rights to her voice. During this time, she found support from Selena Gomez, with whom she spent time in the studio and even attended a Galentine’s Day party at Taylor Swift’s house. JoJo writes about how Swift was “so sweet and complimentary,” expressing support for her legal struggles, saying, “She mentioned deep-cut songs of mine she loved and kept saying how f---ed up the lawsuit was.”

Despite the encouragement, JoJo admitted to feeling insecure during the party, noting that she thought “everyone else at the party... felt bad for me.” She added, “Maybe they thought I was never going to get out of this limbo. Or that it was too late for me even if I did.”

JoJo’s memoir, Over the Influence, will be released on Sept. 17 and is available for preorder now.