Singer JoJo Defends Her Visit to Hyde

Fifteen-year-old singer JoJo, who caused a mini-scandal in October when she was spotted at L.A.'s Hyde Lounge, says her visit to the hot spot was totally innocent.

"I didn't know it was 21 and over," she told PEOPLE at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles. "It's a freakin' restaurant and I was there with my mom and two other underage friends. I had milk and cookies! I wasn't drinking alcohol."

And even though she says her evening at Hyde "was great," don't expect to see her hitting the nightclub circuit any time soon. "It's not really my thing. I just dipped my toes (in the scene)."

The singer (real name: Joanna Levesque), who turns 16 on Dec. 20, is more excited about a typical teenager's milestone: getting her driver's license. "I getting my permit next month," she told PEOPLE. "I've been practicing. I'm an excellent driver. I'm not going to lie. My uncle and my friends have been teaching me. Shhh, don't tell my mom! She's afraid, but it's going good."

JoJo recently landed a Top 10 hit with "Too Little Too Late," the first single off her second album, The High Road, and has been compared to Mariah Carey and Beyoncé (whom she calls "my biggest role model").

She tells PEOPLE in its new issue that some of her fans can be a little too devoted: "It's weird when fans follow me into the bathroom. And once I was fighting with a boy at dinner and someone came up to us. I smiled and put on a happy face. Then we resumed our fight."

Re: Singer JoJo Defends Her Visit to Hyde

i really cant stand her she is soo young and sings about such grown up stuff like she knows anything about it