JoJo wears Slim Fit Varsity Logo Ringer T-Shirt ($59.50); Gold-Button Wool-Blend Mini Skirt ($89.50); Varsity Stripe Medium Satchel Bag ($169)
Raymond Croft
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JoJo may not have been in the driver’s seat for her first F1 race last weekend in Austin, but she could have been.
“I like to drive fast, bi—! I love to go fast,” she told Billboard backstage at Proper Presents: Soundtracks with Tommy Hilfiger, a music series held at Austin Proper Hotel in collaboration with the iconic American fashion house ahead of the race. “I love to whip a car around,” JoJo says. “I want to be in that car.”
Despite having never attended an F1 race prior to Circuit of the Americas (COTA), the singer says she’s done her research, noting that Tommy Hilfiger is the official apparel sponsor for the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, which is making its debut season on the grid. Growing up, JoJo fell in love with Cadillac by way of a friend’s family ride, calling it “the fanciest car in town. It was just so cool,” she says. “The fact that Tommy is [working] with Cadillac makes me feel so nostalgic.”
That nostalgia extends to the clothing brand itself. “My introduction to Tommy was when Aaliyah was rocking Tommy,” JoJo says, shouting out the late singer and 90s fashion star. “Being preppy but also streetwear is something that really resonates with me because I love to inhabit that space,” JoJo continues. “I appreciate the classic Americana cool of it. As somebody who moved to New York three years ago, I am always looking for that wearability and that cool. It’s no surprise that Tommy has [maintained] that cultural relevance.”
For his part, Hilfiger says that his brand’s integration into pop culture wasn’t an accident; it’s by design.
“I’ve always believed fashion is part of the conversation, but it’s only one part of culture. You have to be curious about what people are listening to, who they’re watching, and what they’re excited about. That’s where the energy comes from,” the designer shares. “For me, art, music, celebrity, and sport have always been connected to fashion. They’re all ways people express who they are and what they want to be part of.”
JoJo and Tommy Hilfiger have both mastered the art of longevity. This year marks two decades since the release of JoJo’s second studio album, The High Road. To celebrate, she’ll embark on a limited seven-city acoustic run called “The High Road: 20 Years Unplugged” in November. She says the tour will be a “celebration” of the album, with most of the original tracks, as well as some beloved songs from the same era, making an appearance on the setlist.
It’s the cherry on top of an exciting year for the Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum singer, who just announced a partnership with Seeker Music. The creator-led music rights, publishing, and record company has acquired JoJo’s original and re-recorded versions of her seminal first two albums, JoJo and The High Road, and is setting the stage for the future with special releases and projects, including a special 20th anniversary rerelease of the latter.
“It feels really amazing because for a long time I didn’t know what was going on with my music,” she says of her catalog, which has been out of her own possession for years. “Now I know what’s going on with it, and that it’s in good hands. People who care, who have the resources and the infrastructure to support it, to get it out there.”
She’s getting it out there, too. Ahead of the upcoming tour, she took the stage at Proper Presents to play an intimate acoustic set. As the singer climbed a table in the middle of the room, clad from head to toe in Tommy Hilfiger, she was surrounded by a crowd of fans who were belting The Long Way’s biggest hit, “Too Little Too Late” even louder than she was, it was easy to see how JoJo’s work—and her stardom—have lasted for more than two decades.
“I recently worked with Cyndi Lauper on a new musical, and I asked her what she would attribute her longevity to. She said, ‘You just keep going.’ That changed me,” JoJo says. “In life and in this industry, that’s what it is: You just keep going.”
JoJo was joined in Austin by Love Island USA stars Trinity Tatum and Bryce Alakai, and producer and DJ TOKiMONSTA, the latter of whom wrapped up the weekend with a set at Kappo Kappo, the Austin Proper’s omakase sushi restaurant which was recently awarded one Michelin star.
TOKIMONSTA wears Classic Fit Stretch Cotton Polo in red ($64.50)
Andrew Joseph Woomer
The F1 Austin events over the weekend reflect Tommy Hilfiger’s continued investment in the intersection of fashion, music, entertainment, and sports, a space the brand has occupied through collaborations and cultural partnerships for more than four decades. Its alliance with the Cadillac Formula 1 Team brings that approach to a sport experiencing a surge in U.S. popularity, pairing the two brands around a shared vision of American style and innovation. Proper Hotels brought its own creative perspective to the weekend through Proper Presents, its signature music series, which is programmed around major cultural moments and citywide events. Together, the partnerships extended the Grand Prix experience beyond the track, connecting racing with the artists, sounds, and cultural conversations shaping the weekend.
