JoJo Siwa, a former “Dance Moms” dancer known for wearing rainbow and sparkly bows, has turned a complete 180 degrees as she enters her “edgy” era. Additionally, Siwa, who created kid-catered songs like “Kid in A Candy Store” (2017) and “Boomerang” (2016), has released a new song on April 5, 2024, that is “not made for children,” according to a message that Siwa has shared.
Teased on TikTok, “Karma” attracted millions of views, but the responses from the crowd weren’t what she expected. There have been copious amounts of TikTok videos posted by both Siwa and others who danced with her learning the infamous “head-flick-seizure-like move” that is used in the music video’s choreography. This has received a lot of hate, with users commenting things like “Ohhh so IT IS Jojo…,” “SHES DANCING IN CAPS” and “POV: there’s a bug on you.”
There has also been some backlash against Siwa accusing her of stealing Brit Smith’s original song, “Karma’s a Bitch.” Katie (ttpd version) posted on X (formerly Twitter) to reveal that Siwa has a history of stealing other people’s songs and publishing them as her own without the original artist knowing or giving permission. However, there are other rumors saying that “she bought the song, lyrics beats and all.” Additionally, a part of the song sounds like “Push It” by Salt-N-Pepa, a classic ‘80s song. In actuality, Siwa was pitched the song two years ago. Siwa has never claimed to write the song, as there are several interviews in which she has spoken about liking the song when she bought it.
Siwa released the official music video on her YouTube channel, which has left her comment section flooded with hate and shock. Just as funny as the music video are the things that people are writing. The following are a few examples:
“‘i was a bad girl’ GIRL YOU WORE PINK DRESSES AND SOLD GLITTERY BOWS AT WALMART.”
“this sounds like kids bop especially if they were allowed to swear”
“im telling a trusted adult.”
While listening to the song for the first time, the lyrics aren’t that bad, but the overwhelming amount of autotune used and the overly energetic and enthusiastic dance that accompany the song make it unbearable. The energy is good, of course, but Siwa’s moves in comparison to her dance crew are excessive. After hearing the original version sung and produced by Smith, the lyrics along with the instrumentals and style of playing fit perfectly, but Siwa’s version strips the song of its dignity.
The music video is set on a deserted island with a full moon shining brightly on it, but what’s the reasoning? Why is this the scene? It seems like Siwa chose this setting just because it looked edgy — which is the image she aims to cultivate right now — but other than that, it doesn’t seem like there’s any significant connection to the song.
About halfway through the music video, Siwa is seen jumping off a party ship dressed in all white, swims for a bit, then rises back up dressed as an evil jester — which may correlate to her transition from the innocent girl fans and viewers used to know into a more rebellious look. But viewers only perceived this bit of her walking out of the water like Moto Moto from “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.”
Confusing, shocking, and hilarious are three words that can sum up Siwa’s (or not Siwa’s) song and music video. Choreographically questionable and unnecessarily vigorous, the dance is the focal point of hatred among viewers. Hopefully, if she releases new songs, she’ll consider this as a misstep.
Rating: 0/5
jojo needs to see this 🙏🙏