The mixed response to Jojo Siwa's rebrand shows just how hard it is for child stars to stay relevant

• JoJo Siwa debuted a daring look this week, marking a shift toward maturity.
• Like many child stars before her, Siwa faces criticism and challenges as she grows up.
• Siwa's future success hinges on doing something creative with the attention she's getting.

The look JoJo Siwa debuted at the iHeartRadio Music Awards this week was a daring one.

She arrived in a bejeweled, black and silver, Gene Simmons-inspired bodysuit, complete with a take on his characteristic star-shaped facepaint.

Siwa, 20, posted a TikTok to accompany her KISS look to promote the music video for "Karma" — which, by its own warning, contains "sexual themes, violence," and "strong language."

While the video and lyrics show a grown-up side to Siwa, the 15-second TikTok is more of the same high-energy fans are familiar with.

In it, Siwa hecticly jumps around, prompting some viewers to label it "cringe" and say that they missed "the old JoJo."

Child stars always struggle

It's proven to be challenging for any child star to transition to mainstream entertainment.

A long line of Nickelodeon and Disney stars from the 90s and 00s failed to meaningfully break through to find larger audiences as they got older, with only a select few, like Miley Cyrus, making it big.

Siwa, as a predominantly online creator, approaches the issue from a slightly different angle. Still, it's already clear she will have to work hard to ride the wave of her child stardom to continue rising through her 20s.

David Olusegun, a media researcher and cofounder of Creative Control Ventures, told Business Insider those who garner fame at a young age find that retaining and expanding their audiences as they age can be "particularly complex."

"Child stars often build a brand around their youthful persona," he said. "When they attempt to transition, this can create a disconnect between their established identity and their new, adult self. This shift can confuse the audience, leading to a struggle to maintain old fans while attracting new ones."

Siwa, now 20, shot to fame from nine years old on the reality show "Dance Moms" and then became a superstar on YouTube, gaining more than 12 million subscribers.

While her current net worth is unknown, in 2020, Forbes estimated that she had made $400m on bow sales in four years. The North American leg of her tour in 2019 is believed to have earned her $27m.

Moving away from her traditional youthful persona is a risky strategy, both professionally and financially.

Siwa has experimented with making her look more grown-up for the past few years — transitioning from primary colors and huge bows to a more muted palette and low necklines.

She's also become embroiled in scandals as she's approached adulthood, including some messy breakups and more scrutiny over her content.

As Siwa transitions from a teen to a young woman, she faces the challenge of working out who exactly her audience is.

Olusegun told BI fans who grew up with Siwa may find it hard to accept her move toward adult roles or styles, "feeling a sense of nostalgia for the original persona."

"Conversely, it can be challenging to appeal to an older demographic that did not follow their earlier career," he said. "Child stars may find themselves typecast into specific roles or genres, making it difficult for the industry and audience to see them in a new light."

Siwa knows what she's doing

Katya Varbanova, a content creator and CEO of Viral Marketing Stars, told BI fans can find it "jarring" when creators who have been known for one thing decide to drastically switch it up. But Siwa knows what she's doing, she said, and all her moves have been intentional.

Siwa has always been a talented content creator, Varbanova said, and is skilled at creating a buzz. Her huge, over-the-top car with her face plastered all over it, for example, is nothing new. Back in 2016, during a tour of her mansion, she revealed that her bedding had her face right in the middle of it too.

"I'm way more critical of people who try to do crazy stunts for bad products," she said. "But it's a good song. It's very catchy. So I think she knows her crowd very well."

To some, though, Siwa's rebrand is all a bit confusing, with onlookers suggesting the attention-grabbing antics aren't the best tactic is she wants to be seen as a maturing star rather than someone who still caters to children.

Siwa, however, is aware that she's going through an identity metamorphosis.

She told People at the end of March that she was ready for the criticism that comes with it, having seen how celebrities had grown up in the public eye before.

"I feel like a lot of child stars started as a character then they grew into an adult as themselves," she said. "Whereas for me, I've always been myself, you know what I mean? And so to make this transition while being true to myself, while being artistic, has been interesting to figure out. But I think we've nailed it and I think it definitely makes a massive statement. Maybe even too big of a statement, but I think it's going to be a good one."

Siwa also told Access Hollywood that Cyrus is her "idol" and sees herself following a similar track.

"I want to do what she did with Bangerz," she told Access Hollywood, referencing Cyrus' infamous era where she twerked and smoked pot and generally did everything she could to divorce herself from her childhood alter ego, Hannah Montana.

"I want to have that moment," Siwa said.

Varbanova said that Siwa will be successful in her transition, depending on what she does next.

"It really depends on whether or not the messaging remains consistent or whether or not she deviates from it and tries to do something else that could be considered gimmicky," she said.

"If her next move is another attempt to rebrand, then obviously that would get people to say, Oh, she's just doing it for attention."

For the most part, it seems like the strategy working so far. "Karma" has amassed more than a million views in just a few hours since its release on YouTube.

Whether Siwa can continue putting out art that people like is going to be the true test, according to Varbanova.

"I think she's smart enough, and she will probably realize, OK, I might need to do something creative now," she said. "But for now, I'm just going to enjoy the attention and the outrage."

BI has reached you to Siwa's reps for comment.