“Boomerang” by JoJo Siwa

JoJo Siwa might be the most influential pop star going today. That might come as a shock to some but it’s fairly obvious when one stops to think about it. Siwa started out as a top-5 finalist on the second season of the series Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition and was able to parlay that run into a thriving music career. She released her first set of singles in 2016, and these songs appealed to an entire generation of preteen girls who idolize her. She has also launched a fashion line, bedroom decor, and toys that are bought in droves by her fans. This army, which she calls her “Siwanators”, can be easily identified by wearing a brightly colored bow in a ponytail just like their idol. This undying love from such a young and impressionable demographic easily makes JoJo Siwa one of the most influential people in music today. The song “Boomerang” was the start of all this, as it was Siwa’s first hit. The track addresses the subject of online bullying, and its video has been viewed more than 450 million times.

The song is one of JoJo’s earliest records and it’s evident from a production and vocal standpoint. Her voice at this point hasn’t fully developed yet so there isn’t a lot of range being used. The beat is simple along with the melodies, and it sounds like this may have been the intention to make it easier to dance to. However, this song has a very positive message and is an inspiration to young girls everywhere, which is far more important than its musicality and production quality.

The music video begins with JoJo arriving at school where some helpful graphics let us know what all the cliques are. There are her friends, the mean girls, and the shy girl. She then heads into the school with her friends and they dance down the school hallway. Here we see that JoJo, her friends, and some of the mean girls are wearing high top chucks. However they all wear different chucks that fit their personalities and roles in the video, with JoJo wearing a pink sparkly pair, her friends wearing muted pastel colors, and the mean girls wearing black and grey chucks. This is a very subtle but smart way to show how we all may be different on the outside, but we’re the same on the inside. JoJo and her squad end up defeating the mean girls with slicker choreography and sparklier clothes, and it’s this dance battle that makes the whole school break out into dance. The shy girl comes out of her shell, and the song’s message is clearly laid out by showing that being yourself can get you past the haters who hangout at your school.