JoJo Siwa wants a Miley Cyrus Bangerz ‘moment’ amid bad girl rebrand

Apr 03
Written by Charlie Duncan

Former Dance Moms and Nickelodeon star JoJo Siwa is having a rebrand as a bad girl – and she’s going for Miley Cyrus’s infamous Bangerz era.

Best known for appearing under the (often brutal) tutelage of Abby Lee Miller from seasons five to eight of US reality TV series Dance Moms, JoJo Siwa has recently started what can only be described as a fairly jarring rebrand.

Far from the hyperactive YouTube videos, sparkly glitter, unicorns and hair bows that were the hallmark of the JoJo Siwa brand, a recent appearance on the red carpet of the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards saw the star – who came out publicly in 2021 – dressed in a head-to-toe mesh bodysuit complete with Kiss-inspired makeup, a mohawk and shoulder spikes(?)

The look has coincided with the star relaunching her music career with a debut (adult) single called “Karma”, and it seems that she has one icon in mind of whose path she wants to follow.

JoJo Siwa says she wants to have a Miley Cyrus ‘Bangerz’ moment with her rebrand:

“I want to do what she did with Bangerz. I want to have that moment. I’m flattered that the world even can compare that.” pic.twitter.com/HUHPlVotyT
— Pop Base (@PopBase) April 2, 2024

Speaking to Access Hollywood on the red carpet, JoJo Siwa was asked what the inspiration behind her rebrand was, to which she replied that recent Beyoncé collaborator and first time Grammy winner Miley Cyrus is on her vision board.

“This is what I want. [Cyrus] is my number one idol. I want to do what she did with Bangerz. I want to have that moment. I’m flattered that the world even can compare that.

“That’s crazy to me.”

Cyrus’s 2013 Bangerz album is where the singer really – according to the general public’s pearl-clutching perception – divorced herself from her Hannah Montana, children’s TV persona.

The album contained hit singles “Wrecking Ball” and “We Can’t Stop”, which came with music video nudity, possible drug references and generally more adult themes than previous offerings from Cyrus (though 2010 did provide us with previous album Can’t Be Tamed).