Why Singer JoJo Would Never Go By Her Real Name

March 24, 2014 -- JoJo is back!

And while the former teen singer is now all grown up (she's 23!), don't expect her to start using her given name -- Joanna Levesque -- when she's performing.

"I think the whole process of changing your name -- I'm not into it. It's weird," she told ABC News. "I'm not trying to have a moment where it's dropping the 'lil' from your name. I don't really feel necessarily that I have anything to prove. People can call me whatever they want."

They'll have plenty of reason to talk going forward, as JoJo, for the first time in years, is planning to release a new album in the not-so-distant future.

Today, she'll perform as part at VH1's Save the Music Family Day, promoting arts education in schools, and then she's planning to head to the studio, where she'll remain for the next month. Now an adult (and making mortgage and car payments, she said!), she has more material to write about. (Yes, that includes personal stories too.)

"I'm actually single for the first long period of time since I've been 15 so this is pretty friggin different and I'm so inspired by it," she said. "Maybe it's because some of my best girlfriends have just been through breakups [too] so we're all encouraging each other. I'm feeling really strong and more of a woman than I've ever felt before."

And while she's using this new energy to fuel her career, JoJo said that in the future, she'd like to go back to school to study cultural anthropology.

"I really, really want to get a degree," she said. "I definitely believe in higher education... and there will be a time in my life when I can take time off. This just isn't it."