Leave (Get Out)

"Leave (Get Out)" was written by Soulshock, Kenneth Karlin, Alex Cantrell and Phillip "Whitey" White of the Trackheads. Production and arrangement were helmed by Soulshock & Karlin. The song was recorded at Soulpower Studios and Westlake Studios in Los Angeles, California. Soulshock also mixed the song at Soulpower Studios and provided all the instruments with Karlin. The guitars, however, were performed by Eric Jackson and Sean Hurley. "Leave (Get Out)" was released as JoJo's debut single on February 24, 2004, through Blackground Records, via digital download and physical single. The single released in the United States included the song and a b-side, "Not That Kinda Girl". On June 21, 2004, the song was released to European markets in CD and maxi-single formats. The song was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on August 30, 2004, as a CD single and digital download. ==Composition==

"Leave (Get Out)" is a pop song with a length of four minutes and two seconds. Lyrically, "Leave (Get Out)" is about declaring independence. During Sessions@AOL, JoJo said, Leave (Get Out)' is basically a song for all girls just to declare their independence because, as I'm sure all females can relate to, boys will be boys at any age and they don't always act right. I'm not hating on the guys, but they just need to be kept in line every once in a while." ==Critical reception==

Johnny Loftus of AllMusic noted "Leave (Get Out)" as one of the album JoJo'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. ==Chart performance==

In the United States, "Leave (Get Out)" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 99 on April 10, 2004. The song made gradual movements up the chart, reaching the peak of number 12 on the issue dated July 31, 2004, 16 weeks after its debut. The song stalled there for three weeks and reached its peak position two weeks after, on October 18, 2004. The song sold and streamed 30,000 units in New Zealand, earning a platinum certification by Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ). The song stayed in the top 10 for four more weeks and fell to number 21 the following week. The song stalled at its peak position for three weeks and exited the chart two weeks later. ==Music video==

The music video, directed by Erik White and choreographed by Laurieann Gibson, takes place in a high school in California. JoJo is seen with friends in the yard, corridor and girls' bathroom. She is also seen dancing with cheerleading girlfriends, including pictures hanging on the walls with her alleged ex-boyfriend. It received heavy rotation on MTV, BET, VH1, Radio Disney and Nickelodeon. The video 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. ==Other versions==

In December 2018, JoJo released a re-recorded version of "Leave (Get Out)" featuring reworked vocals and production. JoJo re-recorded the song, as well as her albums JoJo and The High Road, following a dispute with Blackground Records, which blocked the song from streaming services. On March 19, 2020, JoJo uploaded a video of her singing from home a new quarantine-themed version of the song, titled "Chill (Stay In)", which featured updated lyrics encouraging self-isolation and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. JoJo appeared on Tori Kelly's "QuaranTea with Tori" Instagram livestream where they performed the song together (with Kelly changing the swear words) on March 23. In the 2024 episode "Nandor's Army" of the TV series What We Do in the Shadows, Nandor (Kayvan Novak) plays “Leave (Get Out)” for Guillermo de la Cruz (Harvey Guillén) when he wants him to leave. Songwriter Alex Cantrall's daughter Kylie Cantrall performed it on the Season 14 finale of The Masked Singer as Cat Witch. After being unmasked, Kylie acknowledged her father wrote the song with Alex being present in the audience. ==Track listings==

• US digital EP • "Leave (Get Out)" (radio edit) – 4:02 • "Leave (Get Out)" (hip hop club mix) – 3:54 • "Leave (Get Out)" (dance mix) – 3:57 • "Leave (Get Out)" (instrumental) – 4:03 • US CD single and Australian CD 1 • "Leave (Get Out)" (album version) – 4:03 • "Leave (Get Out)" (hip hop club mix) – 3:50 • "Leave (Get Out)" (dance mix) – 3:54 • "Leave (Get Out)" (main instrumental) – 4:04 • "Not That Kinda Girl" – 3:28 • Australian CD 2 • "Leave (Get Out)" (radio edit) – 4:00 • "Leave (Get Out)" (album version) – 4:03 • "Leave (Get Out)" (hip hop club mix) – 3:50 • "Leave (Get Out)" (dance mix) – 3:54 • "Leave (Get Out)" (video—Disney/Nickelodeon version) • UK CD1 • "Leave (Get Out)" (radio edit) – 4:00 • "Leave (Get Out)" (dance mix) – 3:54 • UK CD2 • "Leave (Get Out)" (radio edit) – 4:00 • "Leave (Get Out)" (hip hop club mix) – 3:50 • "Not That Kinda Girl" – 3:28 • "Leave (Get Out)" (video) – 4:00 • European CD single • "Leave (Get Out)" (radio edit) – 3:49 • "Leave (Get Out)" (hip hop club mix) – 3:50 • European maxi-CD single • "Leave (Get Out)" (radio edit) – 3:49 • "Leave (Get Out)" (hip hop club mix) – 3:50 • "Leave (Get Out)" (dance mix) – 3:54 • "Leave (Get Out)" (instrumental) – 4:04 ==Credits and personnel==

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of the "Leave (Get Out)" European CD single. Recording • Recorded at Soulpower Studios (Los Angeles, California) and Westlake Studios (West Hollywood, California) • Mixed at Soulpower Studios (Los Angeles, California) • Mastered at Sony Studios (New York City, New York) Personnel • JoJo – vocals • Soulshock & Karlin – production, arrangements, all instruments • Soulshock – mixing • Eric Jackson – guitar • Sean Hurley – guitar • James Cruz – mastering ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==