Actress, dancer, performer, and singer, Jojo Siwa, comes back like a “boomerang,” with the release of her new song “Karma.” The internet sensation has put herself back on the radar after years of not releasing any music, but this time, it’s big. Siwa has made a drastic change to her appearance and persona, shifting from her bright and colorful vibe to one she considers dark, bad, and sinister.
In 2015, Siwa, along with her mother, Jessalynn, joined the infamous reality TV show Dance Moms during its fourth season. This was the root of Siwa’s breakthrough into the world of pop culture and the start of her fame. Her fearless attitude towards her dance teacher, Abby, as well as her sass, made her stand out from the rest of the team. Her mother aspired to make her daughter “a star,” which she often expressed on the show. During her time at the Abby Lee Dance Company, Siwa managed to build a fan-base, who are referred to as the “Siwanators,” as well as a career in the entertainment industry through Youtube and other social media platforms. After competing on the team for two years, Siwa left in search of an opportunity to enhance her fame and to become a true star.
In 2016, Siwa debuted her first ever single “Boomerang,” which was a major hit, receiving attention from all around the world. As of this year, the single has accumulated over one billion views and five million likes. In the same year, Siwa announced her partnership with Claire’s– the store filled with accessories, toys, and makeup for the youth to experiment with. Together, they created a brand, selling a wide variety of her signature eye-catching bows. Not much time later, after the brand went viral, she expanded the range of her merchandise to include clothing, toys, dolls, and other items the youth would buy.
A year later, in 2017, Siwa signed a contract with Nickelodeon. The newly emerged actress appeared in sitcoms, cameos, and as a guest-star in famous TV shows, such as The Thundermans and School of Rock. After Siwa left Nickelodeon, she released a few other hit songs in 2017 and 2018. Since then, Siwa has continued with social media, participating in viral trends with other celebrities and influencers, and opening up her own dance studio. During this time, in 2021, Siwa hinted that she was a part of the LGBTQ+ community through a Tiktok video using the audio, “Born this Way,” by Lady Gaga. This rumor was later supported after Siwa posted a video confirming that she is a part of the queer community. This gave younger generations a queer role model to look up to, making Siwa’s coming-out much more special than the typical celebrity.
Now, in 2024, speculation of a new song “Karma” arose. Siwa posted multiple dance videos at her new studio, practicing the choreography for an upcoming music video. A snippet of the song was released on social media apps, such as Tiktok, causing the world to follow along with her latest videos and information regarding the new song.
A freshman at PPCHS, Derek Thompson, expresses, “When I think of Jojo Siwa, the first thing that comes to mind used to be her old self, but now, all I think about is her new song which is a little ironic,” he continues, “It’s very different coming from her, and unexpected.” Siwa recently released the song, striking the world with surprise with the adult contents of the video, this being unusual for the singer. However, in an interview held by Billboard, Siwa expressed how she experienced difficulty deciding the final lyrics of the song. At first, she didn’t want to paint the image that she was a “bad girl,” but no matter what lyric change she tried, nothing sounded as good.
Siwa expressed,“The “Karma” music video is actually more my baby than the “Karma” song itself.” Siwa explained how she likes to make art, which is what rooted the unusual contents of her video. “I don’t care if people like it, I don’t care if people hate it, but I want people to turn their head at it.”
Once the song was released the public went crazy over the silly choreography. The public noticed the difference between Siwa and her choreographers dancing styles, and that Siwa’s dancing appeared very aggressive in comparison to her fellow dancers. This created a funny vibe to her music video, turning the film into a joke worldwide. People online attempted to recreate Siwa’s dance moves all over social media.
Following the jokes came speculation that Siwa stole the song from Miley Cyrus and Brit Smith, both singers who recorded the song a few years ago. Siwa claims that the rumors originated from the producer who originally created the song, “Rock Mafia.” The lyrics were pitched to Siwa, and she was given approval by the producer to record the song and release it on her behalf. Brit Smith spoke out about the situation explaining how the song “never got to see the light of day.” Smith explained that she was simply happy enough that it was finally out and being heard by the world.
After years of pretending to be someone she wasn’t, Siwa had a vision for who she wanted to be and used “Karma” to make her mark in the “adult world.”
