JoJo Siwa has come a long way since the days of her unicorn-loving, rainbow-clad persona that earned her a fleet of pre-teen fans of 'Siwanators'.
On Monday, the former Nickelodeon star debuted an unrecognizable new look at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles, hitting the red carpet in a monochromatic black unitard emblazoned with silver rhinestones.
The 20-year-old Dance Moms alum, who came second in the 30th season of Dancing With The Stars, paired her vampy attire with punky star makeup, including black lipstick and gothic black eye makeup.
© Frazer HarrisonJoJo's signature blonde ponytail was replaced with a mohawk style 'do, embellished with more rhinestones and glittering black flames pinned down her dramatic hair wave.
© GettyTikTok was quick to react to the musician's out-of-character re-brand, which JoJo appeared to liken to Miley Cyrus' unexpected 'bad girl' transformation for the launch of her album, Bangerz.
"She (Miley Cyrus) is my number one idol," JoJo told Access Hollywood on the red carpet. "I want to do what she did with 'Bangerz'. I want to have that moment. I'm flattered that the world can even compare that."
While not all fans could agree that the former child star was comparable to Miley's iconic post-break up Wrecking Ball era, they did note that her look was totally different from her usual aesthetic.
"JoJo is clearly in her rockstar era," declared one fan in a TikTok video, which has since earned over 300k views. In other divided comments, one fan penned: "JoJo Siwa’s rebrand was so unnecessary, so many loved her old brand and now people are making fun of her for trying to be more mature than she is."
A third comment, shared on X, read: "Have you considered there’s no specific target audience because maybe she’s just expressing herself because she wants to? Not everything a person does is to please others!"
© GettyThe former dance champion seemed to expect criticism for her new punk rocker aesthetic, telling E! News on the red carpet: "People are afraid of things they don't know. Things can be scary for people. New things can be very, very scary."
JoJo continued: "Creating art is such a special, special thing and I'm very lucky that I get to be one of the people in the world that gets to create art."
