Upon making her mainstream debut in 2004, critics immediately noticed that JoJo's vocal prowess and material exceeded her age. When she released her single "Demonstrate" in 2012, critics observed that both the singer's voice and lyrics had matured alongside her. Subsequently, JoJo's second mixtape "Agápē" drew attention from both critics and the singer's own family due to its mature content; "Agápē" features lyrical references to drinking, drug abuse and sex, which were absent from her previous "G-rated" releases. The mixtape also addresses her conflict with her record label. JoJo's early image followed popular trends related to hip hop culture at the time. The cover of JoJo's first album features the singer donning a T-shirt and cap, which Sal Cinquemani of "Slant Magazine" dismissed as "contrived and calculated". Matt Collar of AllMusic wrote, "Jojo is an assured and likeable performer who can somehow embody the yin-yang persona of a suburban cheerleader slinging hip-hop attitude." According to Jenny Eliscu of "Rolling Stone", the singer "has become a role model to suburban adolescents who talk gangsta but still carpool to school in mom's Kia Sorento.""The Guardian"s Alex Macpherson commented that "In an era of boozy Amys, gobby Lilys and flashing Britneys, a pop star as wholesome as JoJo seems almost quaint." Writing for "Prefix", Norman Meyers believes that JoJo "could have been a "Mean Girls" extra, but she has talent" and "comes off more like a pint-size Mariah Carey or Christina Aguilera than a hip-shaking Britney clone".