JoJo Siwa has Gene Simmons’ stamp of approval.
Simmons — a.k.a. The Demon — shared his thoughts on the Kiss-inspired outfit Siwa, 20, wore at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles on Monday, April 1.
“JoJo is cool. Anybody who doesn’t get it is just jealous, period. Never be ordinary. Always be extraordinary. JoJo is extraordinary and she looks cool. She looks like me, but that’s another story,” Simmons, 74, told TMZ.
Siwa shocked fans when she arrived at the Dolby Theatre wearing a mesh catsuit adorned with black beaded embroidery made to look like flames. Her outfit was completed with bat wings attached to her sleeves. She wore her hair in an intricately molded mohawk that featured curls and braids. For glam, Siwa rocked a dark sparkly lip and had black stars painted around her eyes — just as Simmons and his bandmates did in the ’70s. The only thing missing was the white face paint.
Siwa’s Monday getup comes as she’s trying to introduce fans to her new chapter. On the red carpet, Siwa told Access that she’s hoping to have a Miley Cyrus Bangerz moment.
“She is my No. 1 idol,” she told the outlet. “I want to do what she did with Bangerz. I want to have that moment. I’m flattered that the world can even compare that.”
Siwa is presumably referencing Cyrus’ post–Hannah Montana transformation, which saw her go from a Disney child star to a rebellious household name. She ventured into rap, rocked only underwear on red carpets and famously twerked with a foam finger at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. She’s currently in an alternative disco era.
Like Cyrus, Siwa is hoping to change her image following her bow-wearing Dance Moms days with her new single “Karma,” which drops on Friday, April 5.
Siwa previously gushed over Cyrus, 31, after meeting the singer in March 2020.
“Miley is the reason why I’m doing what I’m doing today,” she said via Instagram at the time. “I wasn’t having the best day today and then … THIS/ Miley is the reason why I’m doing what I’m doing today. Since DAY 1, I’ve loved her, she has been my inspiration since I was 2 years old. … I had the best conversation of my life with her. This is a day that I never thought would happen.”
