The road to “Mad Love.’’ has been a long one for the Foxborough-raised singer-songwriter JoJo, whose third studio album — and first since 2006 — comes out on Oct. 14. But the album, which blends pure pop pleasure with brooding wisdom, isn’t just a comeback statement for JoJo; it’s a forward-thinking look at where pop can go in 2016 and beyond, incorporating elements borrowed from Drake’s downtempo brand of hip-hop while also being firmly rooted in her experiences and crystalline voice.

“It’s really special,’’ says JoJo from her dressing room in Atlanta, where she’s opening for the spunky pop fivesome Fifth Harmony. “A lot of people get discouraged and give up, and I just refused to let my fight with my old label be the end for me. I felt like I was too young and I had too much more in me — I was just beginning. The fact that I’m able to have a sort of renaissance at 25 is something else. I’m a lot more in the moment than I ever was able to be in the first chapter of my career; in this second chapter, I’m walking in a spirit of gratitude.’’

JoJo achieved mid-2000s radio notoriety with a pair of singles that paired teen-pop sparkle with vulnerable vocals. The breezy “Leave (Get Out)’’ peaked just outside the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2004 and topped that magazine’s Pop Songs chart for a solid month, while the plainspoken 2006 track “Too Little Too Late’’ hit No. 3 on the Hot 100.

But in the late 2000s, she and her label at the time began having problems that wound through courts and held up any official release of new music. She eventually decided to take cues from hip-hop, releasing mixtapes that tracked her growth as an artist. Those releases also kept her name on the lips of pop fans who were intrigued by her work with producer Noah “40’’ Shebib and her cover of Drake’s 2011 drunk-dial chronicle “Marvins Room.’’

“Some of her mixtapes have been really good and really challenging in a way that pop music is, unfortunately, not too often,’’ says Jason Lipshutz, deputy editor at the music channel Fuse. “Her ‘Agapé’ mixtape did some really interesting things in that the themes it covered matured her, but she also stuck to that pop sensibility of her first two albums.’’

In early 2014, after untangling herself from her former label, JoJo signed a deal with Atlantic Records. She started writing what would eventually become “Mad Love.’’ this past February, shortly after the death of her father in December and other life-upending events. The soaring title track, which showcases JoJo’s torch-singer side, was one of her first compositions.

“’Mad Love.’ was one of the first records I wrote when I went back to the studio, after scrapping what I had done the year before,’’ JoJo says. “It just felt so satisfying to go back to what I feel my roots are, which is more soul. That’s what I grew up listening to — soul, blues, music that moves you.

“I had a lot to be inspired by in my personal life, good and bad, and I went into the studio and it felt particularly satisfying to work with live musicians and come up with parts and see how we blended live instruments with programmed stuff.’’

“Mad Love.’’ is a supremely confident pop album, one that echoes the brooding tack that pop has taken in recent years while also reflecting JoJo’s unsinkable spirit. Its conversational lyrics and unflinching honesty reach particularly dizzying heights on the album opener “Music,’’ which tackles the loss of her father head-on. The fizzy “Honest.’’ pairs JoJo’s falsetto with straight-talking lyrics about modern love, while “I Am,’’ one of the “Mad Love.’’ tracks that she’s been playing live, is a stark piano-led track in which she stares down her insecurities.

“I love doing that song because the lyrics are able to cut through and resonate with people, particularly young women,’’ she says. “Of course I want to reach everyone, but as a young woman, it’s really important to me to make music that my peers can relate to, particularly girls my age and under.’’

JoJo’s relatability is one of the reasons that she’s accrued and kept so many fans who have been fervent enough to seek out her latest releases. “Mad Love.’’ brims with pop flash, but it possesses a humanity at its core that shows why her fans are so fervent.

“I’m really excited and thankful that after this unique journey that I still have people who are anticipating this album and who have been so supportive,’’ JoJo says. “I’m in a really unique position, and I’m soaking it all up.’’

Maura Johnston can be reached at maura@maura.com.