Jojo Siwa, now 21 years old, recently released her new song “Karma,” which had blown up on the internet seemingly overnight. As a child performer appearing on shows like Dance Moms, JoJo Siwa was the very image of bows and rainbows. Her audience was mainly limited to grade school kids, which is why her sudden switch in style has shocked many. Siwa has also faced much backlash upon “Karma”s release for various reasons.
Siwa’s new dance-pop song was released on Apr. 5, marking the artist’s first song with explicit lyrics. It has blown up overnight on platforms such as TikTok, with people mockingly recreating Siwa’s new look consisting of a low cut black unitard, black KISS inspired face paint, and lots of rhinestones, sequins, and glitter.
“At first, I just sang [“Karma”] pretty ironically. I didn’t really take it seriously,” says Dan Wong, a COMPASS sophomore. “It was like a fun little fad.”
It’s not just her new look that went viral, it’s also the dance. The “Karma” dance, which now has an official choreography tutorial on YouTube, involves stomping and violent head movements. It seems that she is trying to rebrand herself as a “bad girl,” as said in her song.
In an interview with Billboard News, Siwa said, “I want to start a new genre of music … it’s called ‘gay pop.’” The young artist was instantly criticized by the online community for saying that she would “create” a new genre, when other LGBTQ+ musicians exist. Later, Siwa clarified that she does not think she is the inventor of “gay pop.” She said, “I think I just want to make it more clear that gay pop is a genre.”
The release of “Karma” also sparked a controversy around its origin. According to Today.com, Siwa said in an interview with Billboard that she has been working on the song for years, but she never actually claimed to have written it. Siwa said that “The ‘Karma’ music video is actually more my baby than the ‘Karma’ song itself.”
“In all honesty, that song is not really that good,” says Wong. “Nobody really is like, ‘Oh my god, that’s my favorite song. That’s song of the year.’”
People online pointed out that there was a connection between the “Karma” production team and Miley Cyrus, who Siwa said was partial inspiration for the song. A member of Rock Mafia, the production team, had collabed with Cyrus in the past. Another artist with a connection to “Karma” is Brit Smith, who confirmed rumors that she recorded the song back in 2012. Her version was unreleased. Siwa received backlash from people on social media, who are making hateful comments about how Siwa is claiming “Karma” is her own song instead of a cover.
In the past, Siwa’s projects have prominently featured glitter and sparkles, and titles like “Kid in a Candy Store,” “Bop!,” and “Boomerang.” Most people are baffled by the sudden pivot from kid-friendly music to a song with a swear word in its chorus.
“I feel like she’s just trying to do a whole Miley Cyrus bit, but she still has that Disney Channel vibe to her,” says Wong.
The release of Siwa’s song “Karma” sparked the internet’s newest obsession, good or bad. Some might say Siwa is receiving bad karma for the rumors and controversies surrounding it.
