Since the early days of LifeTime’s reality TV show “Dance Moms”, JoJo Siwa has been known for her big bows and rainbow sparkles. However, her new single “Karma” has brought out her alter ego.
“Karma”, released on April 5, has gained Siwa unwanted traction. Her song and music video have been criticized for their dancing, inappropriate references and unoriginality. There has been praise from some, but overall, I would have to agree with the vast majority of the public by saying that Siwa’s song was more of a miss than a hit.
JoJo Siwa first gained popularity from Abby Lee Miller’s “Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition”, and after all her dance training, I assumed that she would have experience with technique and artistry in her movements. However, her movements seem spastic and look as if she is trying too hard to execute fairly simple motions. To counteract the opinions of others, Siwa said her movements that have been going viral around TikTok and Instagram were purposefully executed poorly.
“I did this series back in the day that was like ‘doing this dance trend as if I was 11-year-old me.’ So I wanted to see what would happen if I did that, but with this dance step” said Siwa.
Even if this was the case with that specific video going viral, the music video still is very controversial. Siwa is trying to prove that she has completely changed and is trying to do things that no one has ever seen before. Siwa has admitted that her main source of inspiration was Miley Cyrus because of her rise to fame as a childhood star and her dramatic switch as well. Siwa attempted to grab everyone’s attention in her music video with sexual interactions between girls and her “ballsy” actions, as Siwa put it. She tried to be unique with her video, and while it was a good attempt, I think she overdid it.
There has also been controversy surrounding who wrote “Karma”, as many are accusing Siwa of stealing credit for the song from the original artists. However, Siwa has received the legal rights to the song. Although this song was not written directly for her, she has every right to claim it as her own. An interview that Siwa participated in convinced fans that she wrote it, but that assumption was made off of general comments said in the interview, not her words directly.
While I am not a huge fan of the piece she put out, I do give her credit for stepping out of the “childhood star” box she was put in. Siwa is planning to release more songs in the near future, so there is hope for her future singing career.
