One thing is for sure, JoJo Siwa has been living rent-free in our minds for the past few weeks. It all started with a punky, Kiss-reminiscent makeover that launched the musician’s bad girl era and swiftly tore her away from the previous My Little Pony-fever dream aesthetic she’d created. Shortly after, Siwa released her new pop track ‘Karma’ on 5 April 2024, which undoubtedly was intended to solidify her status as a queer icon (let’s maybe skip the part where many queer people argued that it actually made them straight). And now, the former child star is getting real about her cosmetic procedures, revealing that one treatment in particular cost her a whopping $50,000!
Netizens discovered a clip from the ‘Karma’ singer’s appearance at the 2024 GLADD Media Awards, in which BuzzFeed asked her to point out the most expensive item that she was wearing. Siwa promptly replied: “My teeth.”
The singer elaborated: “These motherf*ckers cost me 50 grand,” clarifying that she had very expensive veneers.
The Dance Moms alum first made headlines this month when she launched a new look during the iHeartRadio Music Awards on 1 April. The reactions to her new aesthetic were mixed, to say the least, and marked a new era of experimental performances for the young singer.
Some critics noted that her attempt at a rebrand seemed very derivative of artists like Miley Cyrus, Dove Cameron, and Taylor Swift during her Reputation era.
Then, accusations of having stolen the song began to surface and rapidly spread on social media.
It turns out that the song was originally recorded by Cyrus in 2011. Then songwriter Matisse, better known as Brit Smith, recorded the track in 2012 and intended for it to be a single from her debut album before it got scrapped. Fast forward to 2024, when the song made it into the hands of JoJo Siwa, who finally gave it its release. In short, there was no stealing involved. Just a lot of passing around.
To a lot of netizens, this information seemed to be in contradiction with previous statements the singer made with which she insinuated that the song was about her ex-girlfriend.
“This song, I want you to listen for a very special ad-lib. Cause it is about one of my exes. And I will sure as hell point it out when that ad-lib comes—don’t you worry,” Siwa previously said. Fans interpreted what she did say about it as meaning that the song rather than just the ad-lib was intended to be about her ex.
Then, things got incredibly awkward when the song and music video that were loaded with queerness didn’t seem to resonate with its target audience. It seems like Siwa is still a long way from being a queer dance-pop icon, or at least an unironic one.
Queer netizens felt specifically offended by recent comments Siwa made in a recent interview with Billboard News. During the interview, the artist claimed to have invented gay pop: “I said, ‘I want to start a new genre of music.’ And they said, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘Well, it’s called ‘Gay Pop’.”
Nevertheless, a lot of netizens still expressed their respect for Siwa, her bold makeover, and her commitment to making uniquely queer art.