Too Little Too Late

"Too Little Too Late"
Single by JoJo
from the album The High Road
B-side	"Get It Poppin'"
Released	July 24, 2006 (2006-07-24)
Recorded	September 2005
Studio	Cryptic (Los Angeles) Sony (New York City)
Genre	Pop R&B
Length	3:40
Label	Blackground Universal Motown Da Family V2
Songwriter(s)	Billy Steinberg Josh Alexander Ruth-Anne Cunningham
Producer(s)	Josh Alexander Vincent Herbert Billy Steinberg
JoJo singles chronology
"Not That Kinda Girl" (2005) "Too Little Too Late" (2006) "How to Touch a Girl" (2006)

"Too Little Too Late" is a song by American singer JoJo from her second studio album, The High Road (2006). It was written by Billy Steinberg, Josh Alexander and Ruth-Anne Cunningham, and produced by the former two with Da Family Records founder Vincent Herbert. The song was released as the album's lead single on July 24, 2006. A power ballad, "Too Little Too Late" is a pop and R&B breakup song about a girl who struggles about dealing with her first love as she refuses to reconcile with her ex-boyfriend despite his efforts to convince her. Its theme about an unsuccessful relationship drew comparisons to JoJo's 2004 debut single, "Leave (Get Out)".

Alexander began writing the song on his own before being joined by Steinberg and Cunningham to complete it. Although Cunningham always envisioned the song being recorded by JoJo, the songwriters had considered offering "Too Little Too Late" to American girl group The Pussycat Dolls. After learning that the Blackground Records was recruiting new material for JoJo, it was forwarded to the label two years after it had been written. JoJo decided to record "Too Little Too Late" to express how much she had matured since the release of her self-titled debut album in 2004, and personally selected the track to be the album's first single.

The song earned positive reviews from music critics, who praised its composition, mature themes and JoJo's vocal performance; some critics and media publications included it on their rankings of the best breakup songs. Commercially, the song was an international success, reaching the top-six in six countries in addition to the United States. When "Too Little Too Late" rose from number 66 to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it broke singer Mariah Carey's record for the largest jump to a top-three spot in the chart's history, which Carey had previously achieved with her 2001 single "Loverboy". The record was ultimately later broken by Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You", which jumped from number 97 to number one on the issue dated February 7, 2009.^[1] "Too Little Too Late" remains JoJo's most commercially successful single to date.

Directed by Chris Robinson, the song's music video features a soccer theme, inspired by both JoJo's appreciation for the sport and her relationship with then-boyfriend Freddy Adu, a professional soccer player. Soccer player Mike Zaher, junior defender for the UCLA Bruins at the time, portrays JoJo's boyfriend in the music video, which also features appearances by the rest of the soccer team.