The 20-year-old singer named JoJo Siwa released her new dance-pop song “Karma” on Friday (April 5), along with a genuinely wild music video for the upbeat track that marks an extreme departure from the kid-friendly persona she’s played since finding Dance Moms fame in 2015. JoJo Siwa is self-consciously becoming a bad girl and managing to do it without getting a speck of dirt on her pristine costume.
The video finds Siwa getting up close and personal with a cast of female dancers performing sensual choreography in different bejeweled costumes across several lavish, exotic locations.
Described as a “180° turn” from her previous music, “Karma” marks Siwa’s first release as part of a complete rebrand she’s slowly been teasing on social media over the past few weeks. Gone are the days of hair bows and songs like “Boomerang” or “Every Girl’s a Super Girl.”
At one point in her new release, she seems to emerge out from the ocean looking like a glitzy sea monster, slinking onto the shoreline of a small island to engage in a steamy makeout sesh with a red leotard-wearing love interest.
According to Rolling Stone, Siwa addressed the adult direction of her new song and video at a listening party ahead of the track’s arrival. “I’ve grown up for 11 years now in front of the world, and I have always been about making art. That’s what I love to do. I’ve always been genuinely myself and created stuff that felt true to me,” she said.
Siwa debuted the silvery-black look at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday, April 1, walking the red carpet with eyes covered in black makeup and an outfit looking more “Detroit Rock City” than Dance Moms. With many comparing the outfit to something Kiss would have worn during their heyday, the band’s Gene Simmons reflected on the look.
