RS: JoJo Siwa's Guilty Pleasure is less a rebrand and more identity crisis

[Teletubby 148,503]

With her new EP, Guilty Pleasure, Siwa strives to flip her image and share a more authentic, queer version of herself. 

However, Siwa is struggling here.
That may be in part because of a few missteps she’s had leading up to the release of Guilty Pleasure. Siwa drew criticism for saying that she’d invented “gay pop,” a comment she eventually walked back.

With Guilty Pleasure, she does not invent an entire genre, but she does add to pop music’s queer canon.

The five-track project will likely be featured, sampled, and remixed by DJs in gay clubs for the next decade, among a litany of “gay pop” artists like Lady Gaga. Still, a lot of the music lacks the exact authenticity Siwa seems to crave.

Co-written by Meghan Trainor and DJ White Shadow, the EP’s title and focus track “Guilty Pleasure” isn’t exactly personal, but it’s a somewhat promising, bombastic electro-pop number.

“Balance Baby,” however, is meant to flaunt Siwa’s brand of provocative versatility but it lands as something manufactured for a RuPaul’s Drag Race challenge.

On “Yesterday’s Tomorrow’s Today,” Siwa attempts to embrace the “carpe diem” mentality in what feels like a pop parody.

“Choose UR Fighter” is the most sonically compelling track on the EP, as Siwa chases after a propulsive new-wave sound and reflects on her missteps in choosing past lovers without sugarcoating the way she feels about them.

But overall, Guilty Pleasure is less a rebrand and more Siwa’s identity crisis — an attempt to claw her way out of child stardom like many before her have needed to navigate. For now, she’s stuck in the awkward space of pleasing herself and appeasing her fans.

[Edonis 28,950]

Haters and hearsay! 

[River 116,086]

RS "journalists" are still stuck in the 90s and early 2000s when every pop girl who simply wants to have fun in her early 20s was either crazy or having an identity crisis

[holy scheisse 22,194]

i mean. i had NO idea who i was identity-wise at Jojo's age so.... kinda expected tbh

 

still better than woman's world, unironically 

[Red 97,976]

6 minutes ago, River said:

RS "journalists" are still stuck in the 90s and early 2000s when every pop girl who simply wants to have fun in her early 20s was either crazy or having an identity crisis

I wonder why 

[Ants From Up There 187]

I know that I probably sound like a hypocrite given that I lived for the Katy pannings by critics recently but... isn't Jojo kind of low hanging fruit now? Like, it would genuinely be interesting to explore how a previous child star who was likely emotionally stunted by being forced to pantomime a distorted, overexpressive representation of a child even as a teenager isn't going to be likely to suddenly pivot to releasing music that expresses their queerness in a way that translates as anything but cringy. Especially when the vernacular she's been forced to espouse up to this point has mostly consisted of extremely juvenile quips about "proving haters wrong" through self-expression, it makes perfect sense that she would leap to an expression of queerness as consisting mostly of shock value. It would make a good article to explore the constraints that have been put on her as a figure overall and how that translates to us as opposed to these facile analyses that essentially just call her cringe.. like wbk but what's the point of regurgitating it over and over?

[Addison Rae 16,570]

idk maybe jojo just wants to have fun in HER way, not everyone has to take themselves so seriously

[HelloHangoverz 17,450]

I don't think she's struggling. I think it was smart of her to change the second single from Choose Ur Fighter to Guilty Pleasure. That's smart. She knows all the backlash she's gotten and she knows she needs some way of rebutting it, and calling herself people's "guilty pleasure" is the perfect way to do it. That's business savvy and somebody who will grow and become more accepted. Cannot abide Karma but some of these other tracks are making me feel fruity. But still not engaging too much. It's still for children if you ask me. Bring some actual adult artistry JoJo.

[Roughhouse Dandy 11,236]

They're so jealous of her it's embarrassing. They'll never be JoJo. 

[monstertoronto 10,031]

Reviewer thinks they’re being clever but of course it’s literally a rebrand, it’s not an attempt at a rebrand, and how would they know if Siwa is having an identity crisis at all. It’s their expression. It’s giving unearned condescension and projection. 

[Shipper 13,071]

Already in her art pop era?

But let's give Jojo some slack. Gaga's strength is constantly rebranding herself. 

[Controversiaga 10,815]

This is kinda inappropriate. 
She just turned 21. None of us know who we are when we’re 21. She’s a fresh young adult

im not a fan either but jeez.. “identity crisis”??? She’s not a full grown 40 year old woman or something 

[Bling 31,315]

STREAM BALANCE BABY