Joelle Joanie "JoJo" Siwa (/ˈsiːwɑː/; born May 19, 2003) is an American singer, dancer, actress, and media personality. From 2015 to 2016, she appeared as a dancer on two seasons of the reality television show Dance Moms alongside her mother, Jessalynn Siwa. In 2017, Siwa signed to Nickelodeon and acted in various shows and films. Under Nickelodeon, she released several children's songs and her own feature film, The J Team, in 2021. The music video to her song "Boomerang" has been viewed over 1 billion times. She was included on Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.
In 2024, Siwa initiated her post-Nickelodeon career with the release of single "Karma", which is featured on her official debut extended play, Guilty Pleasure, released on July 12, 2024.
Early life
Joelle Joanie Siwa was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 19, 2003, to Jessalynn Siwa (née Lombardi), a professional dance instructor from Iowa, and Tom Siwa, a chiropractor from Nebraska.[4][5] She has one sibling, an older brother named Jayden Siwa, who was previously also a vlogger;[6] he now works as a real estate agent.[citation needed]
Career
2013–2019: Dance Moms, breakthrough with music and Nickelodeon
Siwa started her career as a top-5 finalist and the youngest contestant on the second season of Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition, produced by Abby Lee MillerofDance Moms fame.[7] She appeared on the show with her mother and was eliminated in week 9.[8] Siwa soon began to appear on Dance Moms, beginning with auditioning for Miller's "ALDC" dance competition team in 2014 and being selected for the team in early 2015.[9][10]
In May 2016, Siwa released her songs "Boomerang" and "I Can Make U Dance". "Boomerang" addresses the subject of online bullying.[9][11] Its video has been viewed over 1 billion times and received over 5 million likes. In 2018, Siwa was named the Breakout Artist of the Year by Vivid Seats.[12] Also in 2016, Siwa released a line of hair bows in a collaboration with fashion accessory and jewelry company Claire's. The line of hair bows, which were inspired by the hair bows that were Siwa's signature accessory during this era, experienced particular success among primary school pupils in the United Kingdom, where some schools took to banning them for a variety of reasons, including peer pressure, causing distraction from work, the impairment of pupils' concentration, and violation of school dress policies.[13] Due to the bows' popularity, some stores also began selling similar bows.[14] Siwa commented that her bows were a "symbol of power, confidence, believing-ness."[14] Claire's recalled a JoJo Siwa-branded cosmetics kit product in 2019 after the FDA issued a warning about it containing dangerous levels of asbestos.[15][16]
Siwa in September 2018
Siwa signed with Nickelodeon in 2017, appearing in the film Blurt! with Jace Norman and the show Lip Sync Battle Shorties with Nick Cannon. Siwa partnered with the American department store J. C. Penney in 2018 to release a line of accessories, bedroom decor, and a doll made in her likeness, and has released several books aimed at young children.[17][18] Siwa then announced that she would be going on her first major concert tour in 2019, entitled D.R.E.A.M. The Tour. She was scheduled to visit a mixture of theaters, outdoor amphitheaters and stadiums, as well as indoor arenas in a total of 52 cities across the United States and Canada. Additionally, other performances would take place in the United Kingdom and Australia. The tour was scheduled to begin in Phoenix, Arizona on May 17. The first leg of the tour was scheduled to conclude on June 26 in Austin, Texas, before resuming for the second leg on July 10 in Orlando, Florida. The final date was scheduled for August 20 in Vancouver, Canada.[19]
2020–2023: Continued television work and other ventures
In 2021, Siwa competed on the thirtieth seasonofDancing with the Stars, in which she was part of the first same-sex dancing partnership in the show's history.[23] She and her partner, Jenna Johnson, ultimately placed 2nd.[24] Also in 2021, General Mills started producing a breakfast cereal called JoJo Siwa Strawberry Bop, with Siwa prominently depicted on the box. The cereal contains strawberry-flavored sweetened corn puffs with marshmallows shaped like yellow and white stars, pink bows, and blue hearts.[25] She was one of Time's100 Most Influential People in 2021.[26] In January 2021, the board game JoJo's Juice, marketed for children aged 6 and above, was withdrawn from sales by game makers Nickelodeon and Spin Master after a controversy over the game's content, which included questions about nudity and being arrested. Siwa responded that month, stating that she was not informed about the game's questions, and opined that "my name and my image have been used to promote this board game that has some really inappropriate content … I was really, really, really upset at how gross these questions were".[27]
On April 4, 2022, she was announced as a judge for the seventeenth season of So You Think You Can Dance, along with Matthew Morrison and Stephen "tWitch" Boss.[28] On September 9, 2022, she was announced as the recipient of the Gamechanger Award from GLSEN for her anti-bullying advocacy efforts.[29] In 2023, during the seventeenth seasonofAmerica's Got Talent, JoJo and Jessalyn formed the group XOMG Pop that were previously discovered on Siwa's Dance Pop Revolution who auditioned by singing "Candy Hearts". The judges were impressed and promoted them to the next round. JoJo and Jessalyn congratulated the group as JoJo told the judges that she is a big fan of AGT. JoJo and Jessalyn were in the audience during the Quarterfinals.[30] In December 2023, Siwa performed "Step in Time" from the 1964 movie Mary Poppins on the primetime CBS special Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic.[31]
2024: Rebrand and mixed reception
On January 26, 2024, she was announced to be returning as a judge for the eighteenth season of So You Think You Can Dance, replacing Nigel Lythgoe, who had earlier announced his withdrawal from the upcoming season.[32] In February 2024, Siwa and her mom were alleged to have mistreated members of a band named XOMG! Pop they had formed by making its members miss school and working in poor work environments.[33]
On April 5, 2024, she released her official debut single as an adult artist, "Karma," which received mostly negative reviews and generated online backlash.[34] Siwa called "Karma" her "first breakout adult moment"[35] after performing for 11 years with a child-friendly image. She said in an interview with Billboard, "I want to start a new genre of music [...] It's called gay pop."[36] Following viral backlash and negative criticism from queer musicians Tegan and Sara,[37] Siwa clarified her position in a later interview. "I am not the inventor of gay pop, for sure not. [...] I might not be the president, but I might be the CEO, or the CMO."[38] She also criticised online reactions to her comments, adding, "I could say I want world peace. And everyone would be like, 'how dare you want peace for the world.' It'll blow up."[39]
Siwa appeared at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards in a black mesh bodysuit, a fauxhawk, and makeup inspired by American rock band Kiss, where she compared her rebrand to that of Miley Cyrus in 2013 during the release of her album Bangerz.[40][41]Gene Simmons said that "She looks cool".[42] Charlie Duncan of PinkNews described it as a "fairly jarring rebrand", while Sydney Brasil of Exclaim! opined that "she looks the same as she once did, just in darker colours".[43][44] The look became an internet meme.[45]
Personal life
Siwa was in a relationship with TikTok star Mark Bontempo from August to November 2020.[46][47] Siwa came out as being part of the LGBTQ+ community on social media in January 2021, initially declining to label her sexuality.[48][49] She has since confirmed that she is not attracted to men.[50]
Siwa had an on and off relationship with Kylie Prew from February 2021 to June 2022.[51][52][53] She dated social media content creator Avery Cyrus from August to December 2022.[54][55]
