JoJo Siwa is one of the preeminent musical artists of our generation. She rose to fame on the television program “Dance Moms” with a featured role. She now has a partnership of sorts with Nickelodeon and has her own “reality” type shows that depict her life. Her many iconic moments usually featured her distinctive “JoJoBowBows”. Much to Abby Lee Miller’s surprise, her voice went from hitting high pitches to high notes once she launched her music career.
Spotify lists Boomerang, Bop!, Kid in a Candy Store, Dance Through the Day, and Every Girl is a Supergirl as the top five hits. But does this listing really reflect her true genius? Do Siwa’s more underground offerings showcase her vocal range and lyricism better than the top hit?
Boomerang:
Alexa (4.9/10) – Boomerang is a song that truly encapsulates the feeling of being a tween. Through the peppy beat and catchy bridge she captures the heart of the listener. Her lyrics feature some beautiful similes, such as “coming back like a boomerang”. The literary expertise of her lyrics adds to the song’s rating. The song is a bit juvenile as the song does not quite translate well to the older, more mature listening group. This is why I have to give the song a 4.9. It really does not translate well to different audiences, such as teens.
Milla (3.6/10)- The song has a very “Hannah Montana”, old Disney Channel sound to it. It had an inspiring message, which encaptured JoJo’s whole image of “clapping back” against the haters. Despite the annoying repetition of the song’s lyrics and backbeat, it is meant to be a motivating and “boppy” song for kids in elementary school. I remember when this song came out in 2016 and I found it as annoying then as I do now. In addition, I would like to add that I believe that Siwa dedicated this song as a clapback to the trauma that Abby Lee Miller inflicted upon her during her “Dance Moms” days.
Wilson (2.1/10): It’s somewhat baffling that this track has amassed more than 45 million streams. It seems that the target demographic for this song is little girls who’ve been bullied in middle school and need a pump-me-up song for the bus ride to school. Coming in at 3:27 minutes, Siwa’s debut single show’s immaturity in almost every sense. The beat in the background grates on your ears as it repeats throughout the song. JoJo sounds like exactly what she is – a really little girl. It’s truly difficult to listen to her sing this song. It feels like her mom was the producer and would slap anyone who said her daughter wasn’t talented. There is a study that says eating hotdogs takes minutes off of your life; JoJo Siwa is my hotdogs.
Bop!:
Alexa- (5.3/10) The song “Bop!” evokes a similar experience to that of taking 80’s music and drowning it in a pot of glitter. Once again the song does have a catchy beat, as well as interesting lyrics. This song does have constant repetition that does resonate with the listener as seen with the lines “I wanna, wanna, wanna”. This creates an even more magnetic song with the simplicity of the lyrics and beat. To the mind of a 5th grader, this is a masterpiece. Although I do find this song to be better received by the more aged audiences.
Milla (6.3/10)- This song felt like I was thrown into the Wet Side Story movie that Mack and Brady were pulled into in Disney’s 2013 Original Movie, Teen Beach Movie. It was honestly 10 times more bearable than “Boomerang”, which, like Wilson pointed out, I lack the understanding of why that song amassed 45 million streams. Anyway, I feel that if this song came up on rotation while I was in the car, I wouldn’t skip it. It is a feel-good, dance-invoking song that doesn’t really have any message other than “Bop, bop, bop to this bop”. As a side note, it sounds very much like a Kidz Bop version of Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” and all I can picture are little Skippers performing the Barbie dance party scene to this song.
Wilson (5.9/10) – After Boomerang I was honestly scared to listen to this. I was pleasantly surprised. Siwa’s voice has matured and this one doesn’t necessarily focus on her vocals, which serves to its benefit. The beat is pleasant, but best of all it’s not mind-numbing. There are even parts that I would consider good. It certainly fixed many problems with Boomerang. However, I don’t know if I would say that it’s a “good” song. It is straight out of a Target commercial. There have definitely been worse things but I wouldn’t let this song even 6 feet near my playlist.
Kid in a Candy Store:
Alexa- (2.8/10) From the beginning of the song I immediately know that this song will be the worst ranked on my list. JoJo with the bowbow starts her lyrics rhyming JoJo and “here we go”. The song should not continue after that lyric, yet she persists. Overall the song is a bit too sweet for me, quite frankly I think I have a cavity from listening to this song. If a mall candy store played this song I would walk outside and barf from too much sugar. She takes sweet to a level that causes type 2 diabetes.
Milla (2.6/10)- She really focussed on the theme of candy and sweets. It felt like I was listening to a song version of the board game “Candyland”. I would rather listen to “Boomerang” quite honestly. At least that song has a somewhat uplifting message. “Kid in a Candy Store” seems pointless and never-ending. The listing of different candies and rhyming of this song quite literally made my blood boil. For example, “Bubble gum; Gumdrop; Drop it like a lollipop” is just infuriating. What was the point of listing random candies? I just genuinely don’t understand this song.
Wilson (3.5/10) – I don’t know how anyone would listen to “Boomerang” over anything. “Candy Store” is repetitive and boring, but it’s not unlistenable. When you think of JoJo Siwa’s music, this song should be what you think of.
Dance Through the Day:
Alexa- (7/10)- Honestly I was shocked by the beat and song once it started. It was truly a masterpiece compared to the other songs. If a Disney show needed a song for its introduction, this would be their best option. The peppiness, the ability to flash awkward photos of the main characters with their names flashing on the screen, and the possibility to bring a laugh to the listener, truly do exhibit what Jojo Siwa incites.
Milla (5.2/10)- This song is very Victorious-like in its lyrics and backbeat. I like the message of “reach for the stars”, although following that line is “dance through the day”. This brings me to the question of why JoJo Siwa believes that the answer to every struggle is to dance? This isn’t High School Musical.
Wilson- (4.5/10) – Soulless and empty, but I guess it’s better than some of the other ones. This song just has absolutely no value to me. It’s not good enough to listen to and enjoy, but not bad enough to make fun of. It’s extremely boring and sounds like it was written by AI. The lyrics for this song are also downright terrible. Nothing means anything other than the chorus. It seems like JoJo spun a wheel for words with 8 letters or less and chose the ones that seemed the most Siwa.
Every Girl is a Supergirl:
Alexa- (4.2/10) Similar to an early One Direction song at the beginning, then turns into a song that a toddler Cocomelon would play. Quite frankly after listening to this song I don’t think anyone should be a supergirl if this is what they would be forced to listen to. There are some interesting similes and many adjectives that do invite some meaning to the song. The overwhelming exclamation points do leave me a bit off-kilter. Honestly, if this was in some modern animated Barbie movie, then I would enjoy it more. But this song on its own still makes me question why we decided to go on this traumatic advantage.
Milla (3.9/10)- I like the opening beat of this song. It’s a little different from the other ones. However, after the opening, the song went downhill. I do not like the chorus at all. She is just stating the lines in tune with the beat. Personally, I do not like that style of ‘singing’. I was specifically irritated by the statement of the lyrics “We show up for each other; Listen up to each other; It’s a real kind of power”. I understand that the message of those lyrics and the song as a whole is supposed to be motivating and inspiring, especially for young girls. However, I feel that her “child-like” enthusiasm and juvenile lyrics and beats take away from the message that her music as a whole is supposed to be about.
Wilson (5.5/10) – I was pleasantly surprised. I agree with Milla; the opening of this is much better than the rest of it, however, there is more value in the rest of this song than in most of the others. I still like “Bop!” the most, but I think this song serves as an inspirational message for young girls who are just starting to develop their own identity. Each verse feels less repetitive than the other tracks as well, creating a much more bearable listening experience. I would say that this is a passable song that I could see someone listening to. I was intrigued on Spotify to observe the “sped-up” version of this song. Listening to that version makes JoJo sound like a 4-year-old who just had an energy drink for the first time. It’s like going on a roller coaster. I like that version more!
Concluding Thoughts
Wilson – Siwa’s discography did not surprise me at all. However, it was better than I first anticipated. Boomerang might truly be one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard in my entire life. Some of the other ones, though, were passable; this was a pleasant surprise. I must admit I was not expecting to like any of them but some of the lyrics to “Bop!” were stuck in my head for a few minutes after listening. Overall I would not recommend this music to anyone past the age of 8. It’s bad, guys. I give these 5 songs a 3.9/10.
Milla – When going into this article, I had hesitations about using JoJo Siwa as the opening artist for this series. Upon reflection, I was right to have those hesitations. However, I must admit that although her songs are not my cup of tea, listening to her songs disproved an extreme, negative bias I held about her. I even found myself enjoying a couple of her songs such as, “Bop!” and “Dance Through the Day”. I would go so far as to recommend one listens to those, even if it is just for the nostalgic, 2016-style music (granted those 2 songs did come out in 2023 and 2021). Overall, I think the collection of these 5 songs deserves a ranking of 4.1/10.
Alexa- Contrasting to Wilson, I actually did tolerate the majority of the songs. I truly think the songs could have been worse, but “Boomerang” sadly did not live up to my memories. Also the song “Kid in a Candy Store” was so awful I still have nightmares about that monstrosity of a ‘song’. I don’t think I will ever listen to Jojo Siwa’s music on my own terms, but if a friend happens to play one of her songs I won’t scream at the person, just silently ask myself why they hate me. However, I did enjoy “Dance Through the Day” enough to gain respect for the song. I think that the 5 songs warrant about a 4.3/10, so not the worst!
