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The Evolution Of Jojo Siwa
MsMojo
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5/9/2024
From Dance Moms to her Karma "Bad Girl" era, JoJo Siwa has taken quite the journey. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re taking a closer look at the life, career and evolution of JoJo Siwa.
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00:00
"It's JoJo, here we go!"
00:03
Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're taking a closer look at the life,
00:07
career, and evolution of JoJo Siwa.
00:10
In the world of celebrity, and to rehash William Shakespeare,
00:13
it could be said that the course of true fame never did run smooth.
00:17
But every so often, a public figure comes along whose ups and downs are seemingly so extreme
00:22
that the headlines are just so easy to write, for better or worse.
00:26
JoJo Siwa's story has earned her millions of followers all over the world.
00:30
But how did she get to where she is now?
00:32
"I was a bad girl. I did some bad things."
00:36
Born Joelle Joni Siwa on May 19, 2003, in Omaha, Nebraska,
00:42
JoJo showed an early passion for dance and performance.
00:46
She practiced from a young age and quickly made a name for herself on the competitive circuit.
00:50
"I'm gonna totally make Cindy eat her words."
00:53
Her first big break came when, in 2013,
00:56
she appeared on Season 2 of the reality TV series Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition.
01:01
On the show, her larger-than-life personality and impressive skills caught the attention of
01:06
audiences and judges alike.
01:08
"You performed like you were an old Broadway pro."
01:11
As one of the youngest contestants at the time, Siwa's energy and enthusiasm were infectious,
01:17
and ultimately she finished fifth in the competition, making it to Week 10 of 12.
01:22
"JoJo, today is not your day."
01:25
Soon after, Siwa became a regular in Seasons 5 and 6 of Dance Moms.
01:29
"Nice."
01:30
Again, she showcased her versatility as a dancer,
01:34
excelling in a variety of styles and consistently delivering standout performances.
01:38
She quickly became a viewer favorite, gaining a dedicated following of young fans.
01:43
Her colorful outfits, upbeat personality, and positive attitude became something of a trademark.
01:48
"I'm the Abby Lee Dancing Studio!"
01:52
And it was during her time on Dance Moms that Siwa first introduced her instantly must-have
01:57
bow accessories. They'd become a staple of her brand, much to the reported despair of teachers
02:02
worldwide, with some schools said to have banned Siwa's hair accessories from the classroom,
02:07
as they were deemed to be too distracting.
02:09
"Get a bigger bow, Penny."
02:10
"Ready?"
02:11
At this point, JoJo Siwa is on the crest of a wave, but that wave is only going to get bigger.
02:16
She left Dance Moms and signed with Nickelodeon in 2017.
02:20
The move opened up a long series of new opportunities,
02:23
mainly in acting and, most notably, in music.
02:26
"I don't really care about what they say. I'ma come back like a boomerang."
02:32
Siwa released her debut single "Boomerang" in 2016.
02:35
To say it was a success is something of an understatement.
02:39
With more than a billion views on YouTube, it catapulted Siwa to new levels,
02:43
and the song delivered an empowering message of resilience and self-confidence to boot.
02:48
"All of the more you just brush it off."
02:50
Subsequent releases included "Kid in a Candy Store" and "Hold the Drama,"
02:54
as the JoJo Siwa brand grew again.
02:56
"Hold the drama, I just wanna dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance."
03:01
Skillfully leveraging social media, her fans enjoyed endless updates on her life,
03:05
from dance tutorials to general vlogs and Q&A sessions.
03:09
In 2019, Siwa kickstarted what would turn out to be a massive global tour,
03:14
known as the DREAM The Tour, in Phoenix, Arizona.
03:18
"We did it. It happened. And the audience liked it,
03:21
and everything that we wanted to create was created."
03:24
She would go on to travel all across North America, as well as heading out to Europe
03:28
and Australia, before completing a return leg in the U.S. in 2022.
03:32
In 2020, in between tour dates, she was appearing as T-Rex on The Masked Singer,
03:45
and, probably more bizarrely, had even earned a slot as a playable video game character on
03:50
Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2. Also in 2020, she was listed in Time magazine's 100 Most
03:56
Influential People of that Year.
03:58
In January 2021, Siwa came out as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community,
04:06
announcing with a video online in which she danced and lip-synched to Lady Gaga's "Born This Way."
04:11
"I'm on the right track, baby, I was born to survive."
04:16
Since then, she's used her platform to advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights and visibility,
04:21
while continuing to kick against discrimination.
04:23
"The most important thing is that I'm happy, and that's what my mom always taught me,
04:26
and my dad always taught me, is we just want you to be happy."
04:28
In fall 2021, she took part in Dancing With the Stars as part of the first same-sex couple
04:33
in the show's history, partnered by pro dancer Jenna Johnson-Schmirkowski.
04:37
"I can feel the thunder coming down, won't you ride on back."
04:42
They reached the series final, and finished runners-up.
04:45
On to 2022, and it's yet another big year for Siwa.
04:49
"Oh, there she is."
04:51
She debuted as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance, completing the switch from reality show
04:55
performer to one of the panel that those performers need to impress.
04:58
"Wow!"
05:00
Perhaps more notably, though, she and her dance mom mother, Jessalyn,
05:04
formed the girl group XOMG Pop for the 17th season of America's Got Talent.
05:09
"Got a brand new beat, gotta break the sound, gonna make your head spin round and round."
05:13
They reached the semifinals before being eliminated,
05:16
but it's reportedly here that the first real whispers of controversy
05:19
surrounding Siwa started to circulate.
05:21
Following a story that broke in February 2024 in Rolling Stone,
05:25
there have been allegations made suggesting a poor work environment behind the scenes at XOMG Pop.
05:30
This new article published by the Rolling Stone is just that, truly disturbing.
05:36
"Among the claims alleged by past members are that their families were made to endure
05:40
financial pressure to enable their children to perform, that classes at school were skipped,
05:44
and that the performers themselves were regularly and harshly criticized,
05:49
sometimes even through headsets while performing."
05:52
Supposedly, too, JoJo would play favorites and pit the members up against each other,
05:58
which is quite the contrast to who and what we see JoJo outside of these allegations.
06:04
Both JoJo and her mother have since come in for criticism.
06:07
And in a text, Jhessalyn says,
06:10
"Angie, I'm really tired of it. I work really hard. I've gone over and above and beyond for
06:16
you and your kid. There's food at the house. They're not overworked. If you're gonna work
06:20
for me, you cannot act like an a**hole. End of story."
06:24
In general, XOMGpop appeared to channel much of what had made Siwa famous to begin with,
06:29
lots of fun and lots of energy. But there have now been doubts cast in terms of the sincerity
06:34
of that image. Shortly afterwards, Siwa made headlines again, although this time due to a
06:38
dramatic change of image, and thanks to a new comeback single that... divided fans, to say the
06:44
least. "I swear I did it all for fun and it meant nothing."
06:49
With "Karma" in 2024, Siwa released her first official single in four years, and long gone
06:55
were the days of "Boomerang." In place of all the bright colors and sparkle was an all-new
07:00
and much darker look. "Karma's a b*tch, oh, oh, oh, and she's with you right now."
07:07
Commenting on the rebrand, Siwa herself suggested that no one else of her generation had ever made
07:12
such a dramatic change. She's also on record implying that she started an all-new music
07:17
genre with what she terms as "gay pop." The comments certainly drew attention. Most famously,
07:23
she was parodied by Chloe Fineman on Saturday Night Live. "I used to be Rainbow Sparkles and
07:28
now I'm Black Sparkles." The sketch also sparked debate, with some claiming that it was unfair,
07:35
but in general it marked perhaps the first major turn of public opinion against Siwa.
07:40
Add into the equation that "Karma" isn't an original song by, or for, Siwa,
07:45
and public opinion takes another slide. "Well, I'm gonna pick me you and her, I don't deny it's real."
07:51
"Karma" had originally been written for Miley Cyrus, who passed,
07:54
so singer Brit Smith recorded it in 2012. While that version was also scrapped,
07:59
an animation studio that worked on the music video uploaded it to Vimeo the following year.
08:03
In a move that made Siwa's rebranding even messier, Smith's version resurfaced when Siwa's
08:12
was released, and by many metrics, it actually outperformed its contentious remake.
08:17
Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about
08:27
our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
08:33
If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
08:38
It's certainly been a journey to get to this point. After initially making a name for herself,
08:42
JoJo Siwa promptly soared to become a tween idol extraordinaire,
08:46
breaking the internet, selling out arenas, topping the bill, and making it all seem pretty easy.
08:56
But fame is fickle, and celebrity comes at a cost. Now, more than ever before, Siwa is under
09:02
the public glare. Her evolution, until now, has been quite the ride. But can she ride out any of
09:10
the problems and pitfalls that have and might come her way? Will her rebrand work out in the long
09:15
term? Or has she just plain lost touch with what it was that made her successful to begin with?
09:20
As always, let us know in the comments how you see it. And, if you'd like to,
09:27
shout out your favorite JoJo Siwa moment while you're there.
09:30
"Love yourself today, 'cause baby, you were born this way."
09:33
Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
09:38
And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
09:43
[Music]
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