Honestly, if you look at a photo of JoJo Siwa from 2014, it feels like looking at a different species. The neon. The side ponytail that looked like it was physically painful. That massive bow—the "Siwa Bow"—that became a multi-million dollar tectonic plate in the toy industry. Most people see JoJo Siwa younger and think of a manufactured Nickelodeon product, but the reality is way more intense.
She wasn't just a kid in a glitter vest. She was a business machine before she could legally drive.
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The Audition That Changed Everything (and It Wasn't Dance Moms)
Everyone thinks Dance Moms was the start. It wasn't.
Back in 2013, a nine-year-old Joelle Joanie Siwa showed up on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition (AUDC). She was the youngest kid there. While the other dancers were focused on their pirouettes, JoJo was focused on the camera. She knew, even then, that being a "good dancer" was only half the job. You had to be a "character."
Abby Lee Miller actually cut her. She came in fifth. But the producers? They saw gold. They saw a kid who could talk back to Abby without flinching.
"She makes me cry a lot, but you kind of just have to grab some tissues and go back in," JoJo told PEOPLE back in 2016.
That grit is what got her onto the main Dance Moms stage in Season 5. She wasn't an "OG" member of the ALDC, which made her an outsider. The other moms hated how she and her mother, Jessalyn Siwa, approached the industry. They weren't there to win a plastic trophy in a gym in Ohio; they were there to build a brand.
Why the "Younger JoJo" Look Was Actually a Business Strategy
When we talk about JoJo Siwa younger, we have to talk about the hair. That side ponytail was iconic, but it was also a choice.
Jessalyn Siwa has admitted to bleaching JoJo's hair since she was a toddler. It was about standing out. In a sea of talented brunette dancers, you look for the blonde girl with the two-pound bow on her head.
The bows weren't just cute. They were a signal. By 2016, JoJo had signed a deal with Claire’s.
- 60 million bows. That’s how many were sold in a single year at the peak.
- Some schools in the UK actually banned them because they were "distracting" or caused "bullying" among kids who couldn't afford the $15 price tag.
- JoJo called her fans "Siwanators," and the bow was the uniform.
It was a brilliant, if exhausting, way to create a cult following. But imagine the physical toll. JoJo has since joked about her receding hairline from years of that high, tight ponytail. It wasn't just fashion; it was a uniform she couldn't take off.
The Nickelodeon Era: The $100 Million Handshake
In 2017, she signed an "overall talent deal" with Nickelodeon. This is where the JoJo Siwa younger era went into overdrive. She wasn't just a dancer anymore. She was a singer, an actress, and a walking billboard.
She had:
- Her own doll.
- A line of slime (obviously, it was Nickelodeon).
- A juice brand called "JoJo's Juice."
- Sold-out arena tours where she sang "Boomerang"—a song about "the haters" that has over 900 million views on YouTube.
Basically, if you were a parent between 2016 and 2020, you couldn't escape her. She was the safest bet in entertainment. She didn't swear. She didn't party. She lived in a house filled with candy and pictures of her own face. It was a glittery, neon-colored bubble.
What Most People Get Wrong About Her "Childhood"
There’s this idea that JoJo was "forced" into this. But if you watch those old interviews, the kid was a shark. At 12, she was sitting in boardrooms with 50-year-old executives negotiating toy deals.
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She recently talked on the Room Where It Happened podcast about how one T-shirt deal at Target basically decided the trajectory of her entire empire. She wasn't just a puppet; she was the architect of the glitter.
However, the "younger" version of JoJo was also a shield. As long as she wore the bow, she didn't have to grow up. She stayed 12 for about eight years.
The Break Point: When the Bow "Went on Vacation"
The transition away from JoJo Siwa younger didn't happen overnight, but it felt like it did.
Around her 18th birthday in 2021, something shifted. She came out as queer. She started wearing her hair down. Then, she chopped it all off into a pixie cut. The world freaked out because they still viewed her as the little girl from Dance Moms.
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She told Kelly Clarkson that her bow was "on a vacation." It was a polite way of saying she was done being a cartoon character.
What You Can Learn From JoJo’s Early Career
If you’re looking back at JoJo’s younger years for inspiration or just out of curiosity, there are a few actual takeaways here:
- Own your "thing": Whether it's a bow or a specific tone of voice, consistency creates a brand.
- Pivot when the suit gets too small: She knew that if she didn't kill the "young JoJo" persona herself, the industry would do it for her.
- The "Haters" are fuel: Her entire early discography was built on responding to people who thought she was "too much."
If you want to understand the current, more controversial JoJo—the "Karma" era, the "Gay Pop" claims, the KISS-inspired makeup—you have to look at how tightly she was wound in those early years. You don't spend a decade in neon without eventually wanting to wear all black.
Your next move? Take a look at the early Dance Moms Season 5 episodes. Pay attention to how she handles Abby Lee Miller. You’ll see that the "adult" JoJo was always there, hiding behind a very large, very glittery bow.