If you’ve been online at all lately, you will have heard that former “Dance Moms” star and internet personality, Jojo Siwa, has been making waves with her bad-girl rebrand and the release of her new single, “Karma”. However, it has not quite been the bombshell drop that she was anticipating.
Jojo Siwa’s new look in “Karma” music video. Image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZIm_2MgdeA
Reviews online range from underwhelming to downright cringeworthy.
This is not the first time we’ve seen an attempt to shed a child star persona; Miley Cyrus and Christina Aguilera quickly spring to mind. And while they did have their critics, what exactly has made Siwa’s attempt at the rebrand fall flat?
But First, Who is Jojo Siwa?
Jojo Siwa, now 20, began as a dancer on the US reality TV series “Dance Moms”, where her high energy and signature hair bows led her on to a successful solo career after leaving the show. Siwa was an instant hit. The performer signed with Nickelodeon, starred on “Dancing with the Stars”, and created an empire largely based on bedazzled multicolour merchandise, including her own range of iconic hair bows. However, this successful career was built on who she was as a preteen, and she has since been upholding this persona well into young adulthood. Now, as Siwa approaches her 21st birthday, she seems ready to finally (somewhat) shed the glitter and sparkles.
And so, the world got “Karma”.
Siwa’s new single “Karma” is the world’s first taste of this new Jojo, accompanied by a video featuring rather aggressive dance moves, a mohawk, and a bedazzled Kiss-inspired catsuit and face paint. According to Siwa, this song marks the start of a new music genre, “gay pop”.
Sorry, Gaga.
Many claim that the single, despite its attempt at mature content and visuals, has fallen flat as an attempt to shed the teen star image, dubbed online as “cringey”, and “hard to watch”.
A Failure to Commit to the Bit
You may wonder: Why was this release not quite as groundbreaking as Jojo may have hoped? A complex question indeed. Despite being a clear attempt to shed her child star image, she’s failed to fully commit to the bit - her lyric “effed around” being an example of this. It seems Siwa has not quite gotten it in her to say the full curse word in her music.
But if this song is intended for adults (as it's assuredly not for kids), then who is she censoring for? Despite her best efforts, “Karma” simply does not sound like a mature track but more like an edgy Disney channel hit - like what a child would think a grown-up song would sound like.
Ironic, huh.
Others online have said that the costume-like outfit, hair, and makeup portray less of a young woman who wants to be taken seriously than a young girl playing dress up. Her mohawk and face paint are the pop star equivalent of how regular teens dye their hair and don black eyeliner and have an angsty attitude, claiming that “it’s not a phase!”. No hate; we’ve all been there.
But does this, in fact, make it make sense? Here I am comparing my teenage grunge phase to Jojo in her twenties - but is it really all that strange for her to do this now, when she’s been paraded around as a permanent pre-teen for the last decade?
Is it really so surprising?
Her music video is hard to watch without getting secondhand embarrassment. Despite her efforts, her attempt at mature content has come across as “doing too much”. This response is reminiscent of the public reaction to Miley Cyrus’ 2013 “Wrecking Ball” video.
Speaking of Miley…
Where we had Jojo Siwa in the 2020s, the 2010s had Miley. I remember watching her new music videos on the high school computers, giggling and gasping with my friends at this new pixie-cut-wearing, sledgehammer-licking Miley Cyrus. Is this really the same girl who played our beloved Hannah Montana?
It can be easy to say that Miley’s bad-girl rebrand was more successful than Jojo’s, but Miley’s “Bangerz” era was not without its criticism. In many ways it was equally hard to watch as Jojo today - we all remember the infamous 2013 VMAs with Robin Thicke.
Miley was sending a very clear message to us all that night: Hannah Montana was well and truly gone. However, compared to Jojo, Miley seemed to have a much more gradual transition from child star into her new image. Yes, “Bangerz” was seen as outrageous by many, but there was some buildup to all the twerking and wrecking balls.
First, we got “Can’t Be Tamed”, her edgy 2010 single that spoke for itself. Cyrus then starred in the fairly mature film “Lol” in 2012 before revealing her new look - the iconic bleached pixie cut. And before we knew it, “Bangerz” was born. And Miley fully committed; it was clear from the get-go that her “Bangerz” era was not for kids, and did have multiple hits. "We Can’t Stop" and "Feelin’ Myself” were cutting-edge party tracks back then. I’m not sure “Karma” would have the same response in the club today. In contrast, “Karma” is a song that has failed to appeal to adults and is simultaneously inappropriate for children.
The Ethics of Child Stardom
There are undoubtedly questions regarding the ethics of a child being in the spotlight in mainstream media, and the long term impacts on the individual.
Often missing out on a childhood, child stars instead grow up with the strange dynamic of being the breadwinner of their entire family. Many seem to grow up too fast, socialising with adults at a young age and being exposed to a world many of us adults would struggle to cope with. Such a life would no doubt have an impact on who you grow up to be.
It’s known that child stars are often forced into a cookie-cutter mould to retain the interest of their audience for far too long, it’s only natural that when they are ready to be taken more seriously, they want to distance themselves from their prior persona. I get it.
For a long time, when I saw Miley Cyrus, I just saw Hannah Montana. And in fairness, that did all change with “Bangerz”.
Meanwhile, Jojo’s bad-girl rebrand feels like she’s overcompensated, trying too hard to be something that she isn’t, and it’s not a good look. “Karma” has been both underwhelming and overwhelming at the same time. A strange paradox indeed.
I guess we may just have to accept this as an unfortunate inevitability for child stars and hope, like the others before her, she will one day settle into a professional middle ground that is most comfortable for her. We saw it with Christina in the 2000s, with Miley in the 2010s, and now we pay witness to Jojo.
This may simply be a never-ending cycle that we will be doomed to experience for as long as child stardom exists.
I wonder who will be next?
Edited by Madison Challis
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