JoJo Siwa claims Nickelodeon is blocking her from performing certain songs from her movie musical The J Team during her tour
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JoJo Siwa took to social media on Tuesday (Sept. 14) to share her frustrated feelings toward Nickelodeon surrounding her upcoming tour. The singer, who recently released her musical film The J Team on Paramount+, says that Nickelodeon — who produced the film — isn't allowing her to perform her own songs from the movie on her 37-city D.R.E.A.M. tour that begins in January.
"I go out on tour in January. My movie musical was just released (with 6 new original songs)… Nickelodeon told me today that I'm not allowed to perform/add any of the songs from the film into my show," Siwa wrote on Twitter. "These are MY songs, MY voice, MY writing. Does this seem fair???"
The Dancing with the Stars contestant continued to air her frustration in another tweet, writing, "There is no reason that this music should not be included. Working for a company as a real human being treated as only a brand is fun until it's not."
Following rescheduled dates due to the pandemic, Siwa's Nickelodeon's JoJo Siwa D.R.E.A.M. The Tour is set to begin on Jan. 13, 2022. The tour supports two of the singer's recent EPs, 2018's D.R.E.A.M. the Music and 2019's Celebrate, and Siwa was hoping to perform additional original tunes by adding songs from her new movie to her set list.
It's unclear why Nickelodeon would push back against the actor performing songs that she wrote, since the company was involved in making the film. But this isn't the first time Siwa has spoken out when it comes to her career. Back in June, she made headlines when she told EW that she hoped a kissing scene would be cut from her new movie Bounce, because she didn't want to "kiss another human, especially because it's a man." She later tweeted confirmation that Paramount had complied with her request and that the scene had been removed from the film.
JoJo first came to prominence as one of the students featured in two seasons of the reality show Dance Moms. From there, she has grown into a YouTube personality, teen entertainer, and arguably one of the most influential people in the world. She has hit songs, fills stadiums for her concerts, and has overall talent and consumer product agreements with Nickelodeon, which has seen the starlet feature in movies and TV shows and her name and face put on all sorts of products thanks to merchandizing deals with Target, Walmart, and JC Penney. Since signing with Nickelodeon, the duo have enjoyed a successful partnership.
In addition to the tour, Siwa has been busy preparing for the upcoming DWTS season where she makes history as the first female celebrity paired with a female pro dancer.
"They asked, would I be more comfortable with a female or with a male and immediately I knew for myself I would be way more comfortable with a girl," Siwa explained during an appearance on PEOPLE (the TV Show!) last week.
Update (9/17):
JoJo Siwa says her relationship with Nickelodeon isn't fractured beyond repair amid a dispute over her upcoming tour ... but she says it's gonna take a lot for them to mend fences.
TMZ got JoJo outside the Loews Hotel in NYC and asked her about Tuesday's beef with Nickelodeon. She says the network's blocking her from performing songs from her recently released musical when she embarks on a 37-city tour in January.
JoJo told us her problem is Nickelodeon treating her like she's just a brand ... and forgetting she's a person too.
When asked if she and Nickelodeon have been able to reach an agreement on her singing songs from The J Team on stage. "There has been a [response], but it's not on me to share," Siwa said. "I love my brand, but I think it's forgotten that I'm a human sometimes and that hurts."
Siwa's relationship with Nickelodeon isn't beyond repair, though. The performer said she thinks she can "of course" work things out with the children's entertainment company, but that she's going to do what she wants when she's performing. "I work for Nickelodeon. It just makes me frustrated that someone is telling me what I can and can't sing, and these people have been at Nickelodeon for less time than I have. ... When I'm on stage, I'm going to sing whatever I want. I'm going to sing what I want. Even if it's a cappella, I'm going to sing it. I just wish they were as supportive of this movie as I was."
You can tell from her tone - JoJo's ticked off the relationship's gone south. She says she's frustrated folks with less tenure than her at Nickelodeon are trying to call the shots on what she can and can't sing.
Sounds like JoJo's hopeful they can still come to an agreement before her tour, but she also leaves open the possibility of going against the grain.
Watch her interview with TMZ.
Update (9/22) - JoJo Siwa Opens Up About Taking a Stand for Her Music Ahead of Tour:
JoJo Siwa is ready to fight for her music. Entertainment Tonight's Lauren Zima spoke to the 18-year-old singer following her incredible performance on Monday's Dancing With the Stars, and the teen gave an update on her quest to include music from her film, The J Team, on her upcoming tour, Nickelodeon's JoJo Siwa D.R.E.A.M. The Tour.
"Making my show the best that it possibly can be is what's important to me," Siwa said. "If I have to sing the songs from The J Team acapella I will very unhappily do that, but I will happily do that [for my fans]."
Siwa previously claimed that Nickelodeon told her she's "not allowed to perform" her J Team songs on tour, but revealed to ET that she was hoping for an update from the network soon. ET has reached out to Nickelodeon for comment.
"I think that, as an artist, I have a vision and I think that, as a human, I also have a brand," she said. "I think that it only makes sense to have this music in my tour. It's a part of me. It's a part of the brand. It's a part of what we are doing right now."
"It's honestly beyond me why anyone would not want the music from this film to be in the tour, but it is what it is," Siwa continued. "At the end of the day, I'm gonna go out there and I'm gonna do what I love and I'm gonna sing my songs. Behind closed doors, whatever goes on, that's what goes on."
Originally published: September 16, 2021 at 01:58 BST.
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