Featured Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty Images / Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty
Topics: Music, Celebrity, JoJo Siwa, Miley Cyrus
Ben Thompson
Topics: Music, Celebrity, JoJo Siwa, Miley Cyrus
JoJo Siwa has never been one to keep quiet when she finds herself in the headlines.
So it should come as no surprise that the singer is speaking out against accusations that she 'stole' her latest song.
Siwa, who first rose to fame on the reality show Dance Moms, has been accused of copying Miley Cyrus and Brit Smith.
Siwa released her latest single, titled 'Karma', on April 5 as part of her 'new, more mature era'.
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But it has been rumored that Cyrus and Smith had actually recorded demos of 'Karma' back in the early 2010s.
But speaking to TMZ on April 12, Siwa decided to address the claims, saying: "I did not steal anything. There's no such thing as stealing."
The 20-year-old believed the confusion came about because her producer Rock Mafia had written and produced hits for Cyrus before, including her 2010 smash hit 'Can't Be Tamed'.
This era was when Cyrus broke away from her family-friendly image - something she would achieve fully in the iconic Bangerz era.
And let's face it, we all remember the impact her twerking at the VMAs had.
Some have even suggested that Siwa is trying to shift her image in a similar way to how Cyrus did it a decade ago.
Siwa explained further: "What happens is people write songs, and then, they don't do anything with them. Then, a few years later, it makes sense for another artist.
"I was pitched it. I loved it, was obsessed with it, so I grasped onto it. That's a very normal thing."
"I knew that it was a special song," she added, "I knew that it fit. I knew that it was exactly the vision that I wanted to create for the world."
"Karma makes you listen, Karma makes you ask, Karma makes you confused. So, whether people like it or not, marketing plan worked."
As for Brit Smith, she revealed that the single was intended to be her first of 2012. However, she went with 'Provocative' instead.
Speaking to Page Six, Smith expressed no hard feelings over Siwa taking on the tune.
She said: "I'm just happy that people are hearing it and liking it."
This isn't the first controversy that Siwa has found herself embroiled in recently.
She received criticism for claiming she'd invented 'gay pop', after she said: "It’s that world of music, where it’s not necessarily pop – it’s not giving you Katy Perry 'California Girls' pop, it’s giving you Lady Gaga 'Judas'."
Her comments sparked a backlash on social media, as music lovers took to social media to drag her.
"Listen, no hate to JoJo, but she should not say she invented gay pop," one person said, while others named singers who they would classify as having an influence, like Elton John, Freddie Mercury, Lady Gaga, Dusty Springfield and Prince - to name a few.
Hopefully, the girl can get through promoting this single without any more controversies... But given her track record for ending up in the headlines, I have my doubts.