If you have been online at all recently, you’ve probably seen how the child star of the reality TV show “Dance Moms”, turned sparkly pop singer, Jojo Siwa, is making headlines with her “new” and “adult” persona. Known for her big bows, tutus, and vibrant colors, Siwa used to appeal to an audience of girls ages 4-12. She is currently attempting to ‘re-brand’ herself to seem more mature and embrace her sexual identity. However, this isn’t what I would rebrand at all. She is approaching her rebrand by amplifying her own hyper, crazy, and boisterous lifestyle with a splash of curse words in order to seem more mature. If anything, it’s making people view her as even more childish.
If I were in charge of Jojo Siwa’s rebrand, I would take a completely opposite approach, I would strip her down, remove her from all her theatrics, and have her release music that’s raw and from her heart. She would become: Just Jo, a name idea I came upon while scrolling through Tik Tok.
My first step in Jojo’s transformation would be her physical appearance. Right now, anytime she’s on camera or even just out in public she’s wearing outfits that are wild and loud. These looks are ridiculous and it’s hard to take her seriously.
At 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards her look was intended to represent her latest song release “Karma”, was a black mesh bodysuit adorned with flame and blotch-like patches of sparkly black, silver, and gold material. To cover her lower abdomen it came together into a bikini style that was strapped on with a sparkly oversized belt. Accompanying her outfit, Jojo wore aggressive black and sparkly make-up, resembling football eye black, and a mohawk-esc hairstyle consisting of many teased buns lining her hairline.
This look was not flattering and wasn’t new or different from Jojo’s other ensembles. The only difference in this outfit from what she’s worn in the past while performing on stage was that it was black rather than rainbow. If Jojo wants to make a true change, she needs to remove herself from the costumes and wear something mature, human, and relatable.
My approach to Jojo’s physical transformation for events and awards would be simple but elegant. For her outfit, I would choose floor-length dresses accompanied by sparkly jewelry as a tribute to her former style. Her beautiful blonde hair would be worn down or half-up, as a simple hair-do would make her appear more mature and approachable. As for her everyday looks, I would encourage jeans, sweaters, and other simple but stylish clothes until she finds a more personal style that fits her adult persona.
Step two of re-branding Jojo would be her music. It’s not uncommon to see music artists switch genres when they go through changes in their lives, but Jojo’s attempt at this was unsuccessful. Previous music released by Jojo was pop, with a specific focus on themes like rainbows and candy. While her new song doesn’t have any of these childish sub-themes, it is still very much pop. In fact, it’s not “her” song at all, Brit Smith wrote and recorded the song in 2012 with the help of the group Rock Mafia. While this song wasn’t actually released back in 2012 Brit Smith just released it on April 14th, 2024 in response to many people on the internet preferring the original much more than Jojo’s version. Because the song wasn’t written by Siwa, it hurts her claim that she has reinvented herself and the music industry with “Karma”. Singing something written more than a decade ago is not fresh or pivotal at all.
Instead of releasing “Karma” I would encourage Jojo to either write an acoustic song and leave the auto tune pop scene behind, or produce something similar to Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter’s music. Which, while still pop, is full of emotion and is highly relatable to a wider and older audience. It all depends on what direction Jojo would want to go. If she is wanting to have a drastic separation from her old self and leave everything in the past then I would say a genre change to a stripped style would be ideal. Although, if she wants to show her anger of trying to perform as a kid for so long and drop some curse words to show her maturity, I would encourage her to make an angstier song with no crazy beat like her old music. Either way, these styles would change her audience and show people that she is ready to grow up and accept who she is.
Siwa’s metamorphosis should conclude with a new form of branding and the types of publicity events she partakes in. After she outwardly showcases her transformation in the form of her appearance and music, it would be time for her to connect the public and push her new image.
The type of public exposure I think would go best with her down-to-earth persona would be podcasts. I would encourage her to go on podcasts and talk about her experiences in a funny but serious way so people understand her story. There’s something about podcasts that are more calming and real to the listener than, say, an appearance on a tv show. This candid vibe would benefit Jojo’s new style. After she has been a guest on a few popular podcasts I would encourage her to speak out on her own station Jojo Siwa Now. This would be a way for her to connect with her listeners and document her journey into her new self; leaving the old “reality tv” Jojo behind.
Sadly, this is only a hypothetical situation and real Jojo is going in the opposite direction of what I would recommend. But only time will tell where her new life will take her and what she’ll do next.
