Branding is so important for anyone who is trying to put themselves out in the world as it is their identity to the public. Branding can absolutely make or break you. It is super important for music artists because it’s how they stand out and connect with fans. It creates an identity making them more recognizable and memorable. When fans connect with artist brands, they are more likely to support their career. Branding is all about strategy, so what do you do when your branding strategy isn’t working? That is when re-branding comes into place. Re-branding is when a company changes its image. It’s a marketing strategy to create a new identity for a brand. Let’s look at two pop stars and what their re-brands look like.
From Jojo with a bow bow to a bad girl
Jojo Siwa rose to fame through her appearance on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition at the age of 9 and Dance Moms when she was 11. She was known on the team for her high energy, signature oversized bows, and for being a bold performer. Siwa then created a YouTube channel in 2015, and, by 2016, she had over 200,000 followers following the release of her song “Boomerang.” Though the song was released through Siwa’s own company, it was the partnership with Nickelodeon that helped it reach hundreds of millions of views. Siwa launched her bow brand in a partnership with Claire’s in 2016; 35 million units were sold. Siwa was able to really connect with kids and continued growing her brand.
In January of 2021, Siwa came out as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Siwa’s coming out moment was seen as a positive and empowering moment for LGBTQ representation, especially for fans. She continued wearing rainbow outfits, bows, and sparkly costumes. This was appreciated by many parents and fans as they felt she stayed wholesome and encouraging to many young fans.
In internews in 2023-2024, she said she wanted to move past being known only for her kid-friendly brand. She stopped wearing her signature bows as often and even her outfits slowly became less child-like and grew more into a young adult style.
Then in 2024, Siwa released her single “Karma.” This was supposed to be a major re-brand from her colorful kid-friendly image to a darker, mature pop star persona. It quickly became one of the most mocked pop releases of the year. Many people felt that the change was very sudden and theatrical. Siwa also sparked controversy when, in an interview with Billboard News, she said, “I want to start a new genre of music.. Gay pop.” People were super upset since LGBTQ+ artists have been making queer pop for decades. They felt that she was claiming to invent the genre with her release of “Karma.” To add to the fire, it was revealed that Siwa did not write the song, leading to people accusing her of stealing the songs and being dishonest about her creative involvement in her re-brand. The song itself was heavily criticized as well. The song included heavy auto tune and lyrics that were considered awkward and cringy. Despite the criticism, the song did go viral but for all the wrong reasons.
In June of 2025, Jojo made headlines for her relationship with Chris Hughes, which they confirmed that month. Since then, she has worked on her businesses and has re-branded once again as Joelle. Siwa said in an interview with E! The Rundown, “I don’t know. I’m still meeting her myself. I think Joelle is the happy version of Jojo and I feel like Jojo is the crazy version of Joelle”. Even with this newest re-brand, it will be extremely hard to recover from her “Karma” era.
From Sweden to stateside
Zara Larsson gained fame at the age of 10 by winning the Swedish talent show Talang in 2008. After winning, Larsson took a break from the spotlight and focused on school. Seven years later, she created one of her top hits “Lush Life.” In 2016, “Lush Life” was the 6th biggest hit in the UK, 75th on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., topped the Swedish chart for five weeks, and has the status as a top pop song of that year. In March of 2017, Larsson was featured in “Symphony” by Clean Bandit. This song reached number one in the UK, Sweden, and Norway. At this point, Larsson was known just as a young pop star.
Many people at this time believed that Larsson would become one of the biggest global pop stars. However, U.S. charts shifted to hip hop, trap, and rap with artists like Drake, Travis Scott, and Post Malone. Larsson’s biggest hits were collaborations, which made it harder for her as a solo artist to build a strong individual brand. Although people loved the songs she was a part of, listeners didn’t always connect the hits directly to Larsson. As well, during the late 2010s, a lot of artists who blew up had strong viral brands online. For example, Doja Cat was known for her viral internet humor on TikTok, which made her stand out as she was connecting with her fans through that humor. After Larsson’s hits, she focused on touring and building her international fan base. In 2021, she released the album Poster Girl, but none of the songs on this album became as big as her other hits even though they were streamed hundreds of millions of times. She remained very popular in Europe and Scandinavia. After the Poster Girl era, Larsson talked about wanting more control over her music and branding.
Zara slowly shifted into a full pop star image with bigger visuals and performances. U.S. charts have recently started to shift back to upbeat pop and pop dance. This helped bring back high energy pop songs which is the style that Zara built her career on, making her music fit the times again. Many of her older songs started circulating online again. What really got people to discover Zara was when her song “Symphony” went viral again through a dolphin meme trend on TikTok. Zara leaned into the meme and used it in her performances and in her visual aesthetic. Zara’s new branding is built around summery, bright, neon visuals. Another part of the rebrand was her personality online. She started posting her opinions, behind the scenes content, and funny TikToks, allowing people to not only resonate with her songs but also with her personally.
Her newest album has been an absolute success. The album has helped bring her back to the charts, create viral moments on social media, and earn her first Grammy nomination and performance. Zara has multiple songs appearing on the Billboard Hot 100. Currently, her World Tour is selling out.
These two individuals are perfect examples of how a re-brand can make you or break you. Although both artists changed their image, the way that they did and the way it was perceived were completely different.
Work Cited
Staff, E. (2025a, March 21). Jojo Siwa through the years. E! Online. https://www.eonline.com/photos/33455/jojo-siwa-through-the-years
Jojo Siwa – age, Songs & Facts. (n.d.). https://www.biography.com/personality/jojo-siwa
Dodgson, L. (n.d.). After painful lessons as a child star, Jojo Siwa is reclaiming her multimillion-dollar brand. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/jojo-siwa-money-business-empire-worth-millions-bow-launch-2026-2#:~:text=Reclaiming%20what%20was%20hers,who%20nabbed%20the%20latest%20designs.
Gibson, A. (n.d.). Zara Larsson’s New Era. The Hofstra Chronicle. https://thehofstrachronicle.com/111396/arts-entertainment/zara-larssons-new-era/
Zara Larsson Talks “Midnight Sun,” tiktoks, and her biggest year yet. (n.d.-b). https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a70632585/zara-larsson-midnight-sun-tour-interview/
