Lex Valluzzi, Staff Writer
Everyone who watched Jojo Siwa over the years on Nickelodeon and Lifetime’s “Dance Moms” may remember the wild and colorful hair bows and the extravagant outfits covered in rainbows. Now, Jojo has taken a dark turn into adulthood with the release of her newest song titled “Karma.”
“Karma” was released on April 1st, 2024, as the lead single for her debut album sharing the same name. Jojo has released music in recent years, however, her previous songs such as “Boomerang” and “High Top Shoes” have specifically targeted the age ten and under crowd. This new song takes on a more mature theme compared to what she has released in the past. The song is all about regretting your choices because you are being hit with the consequences.
The drastic change in Jojo’s brightly colored brand has left a lot of fans in shock. Along with the darker song, a darker physical look followed. Before the music video was released, teaser images were dropped of Jojo embracing a KISS and David Bowie inspired glam rock style that she wears in the video.
Jojo claims that “Karma” will be the beginning of her new adult era where she wants to ditch the bubblegum pop style that she became known for in her youth and start working to make music for more mature audiences.
Commenting on her own song, Jojo stated in an interview “It was something I wanted to be as bold and as ballsy as possible.” Jojo had recorded a lot of other songs in preparatrion of the new album, but she decided that “Karma” should be the one to introduce the new era because it addresses her past mistakes and “it just felt like the right choice.”
The music video for “Karma” was filled with intense dance moves. Jojo said she takes inspiration from Lady Gaga music videos because she never held back from being full out in everything she did from costumes to props. Jojo wanted to fully embrace an era where she doesn’t care what people think of her, even if everybody else does not like it.
Jojo has said that this is an era that she has been working towards for the last two years, and the idea came to her just as she turned into a legal adult. So, what does this new era mean for Jojo as a future artist? Jojo wants to explore creatively in the jazz funk genre and as she told her new record label Columbia Records, she wants to “create a new music genre titled gay pop.”
This comment by Siwa has received a bit of backlash by queer pop stars who came before her saying that “gay pop” has been around for decades. A lot of people have come forward saying that her statement was “ignorant” because it is disrespectful to say that Jojo was the first to make “gay pop music.”
The new Jojo era has thrown a lot of people for a loop. Most fans believe it is something that she may need to work on. What do you think of the new Jojo?
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