From Dance Moms to Nickelodeon to “Boomerang,” the 20-year-old Joelle Joanie “JoJo” Siwa has been a singer, dancer, and actress since she was 12. Throughout her short career, she has become an iconic pop culture personality. Last month, on April 5, the American childhood star dropped her first post-Nickelodeon “adult” single, “Karma,” to rebrand from her child star image. However, the song has only caused ridicule and has made JoJo a universal joke online.

“Karma,” by itself, is an EDM song that is upbeat and, in some places, catchy. It starts with an eerie introduction before the orchestra comes in, developing the beat. The first verse begins with “I was a bad girl, I did some bad things.” Then, the song builds until it erupts into the chorus, accompanied by intense EDM music.

Overall, “Karma” is explosive and energetic, and its lyrics are cringe in many places but also memorable and easily able to stick in a listener’s head. The music video, however, takes “cringe” to another level.

In January 2021, JoJo Siwa came out as lesbian and, since then, has very openly and loudly expressed her sexuality, often excessively sharing her intimate preferences and experiences as well as making out-of-place comments. The music video for “Karma” follows this theme, as along with energetic dances, it displays very sexually charged movements of JoJo and multiple female dancers.

The outfits and makeup don’t make “Karma” any less cringe, either. The notorious black face paint and sparkly black body suit have gone viral in many TikTok videos mocking JoJo’s new single. The delivery of the song and music video feels so ridiculous and cringey that it makes it funny and gives an entertaining experience.

Instead of a rebrand, “Karma” has pushed JoJo further away from the mature, grown-up reputation she was aiming for. Its overly flashy and “bad girl” aspects have instead made her into more of a joke in pop culture. Paired with her press tour comments claiming to have invented “gay pop” and the allegations that “Karma” is a stolen song, JoJo has dug herself even further into the immature, cringe, overly childish image.

If Siwa truly wants to present herself as grown, she should look to focus on more nuanced forms of expression rather than the cliche and flashy nature of her new single.