Kim Carnes Critiques JoJo Siwa’s Bette Davis Eyes Cover
Oh, here we go again. The music world stages yet another round of “my voice, your cover” drama. Kim Carnes, best known for her 1981 smash “Bette Davis Eyes,” finally spoke up about JoJo Siwa’s recent rendition, and unsurprisingly she wasn’t exactly enthralled.
Carnes, now 79, gave TMZ a statement on July 14 explaining that when she saw her original performance side-by-side with JoJo’s studio effort, the similarities in phrasing, tone and little vocal inflections felt overly familiar. “It all felt a bit too close,” she admitted, even as she insisted she isn’t here to stir up negativity. In that same breath, she endorsed female artists supporting one another, saying that cruelty and personal attacks have no place in music or anywhere else.
Despite her diplomatic stance, Carnes also stressed the importance of honest feedback. “Artists have the right to speak openly about how something makes them feel—especially when it’s as personal as your voice,” she told TMZ. She went on to observe that nowadays your voice is one of the few true personal possessions you own, so borrowing it without fresh interpretation can feel deeply intrusive. That nuance is something we seldom hear in a world saturated by endless covers and remixes.
Fans were already speculating about Carnes’s true feelings after JoJo performed “Bette Davis Eyes” live earlier this year, cheekily swapping in her boyfriend’s name to sing about “Chris Hughes’ eyes.” When JoJo teased a studio vocal version on TikTok on July 7, Carnes fired back with her own cryptic TikTok message two days later. In a now-deleted post, Carnes remarked, “There is a difference between singing a song…. And embodying it…. I’ve always believed authenticity is what makes music timeless,” alongside a clip of her iconic music video.
JoJo herself hasn’t publicly addressed Carnes’s critique, but she did explain on TikTok why she recorded the cover in the first place. She said that after seeing the overwhelmingly positive response to her live performances, she decided to lay down a studio track. Given Siwa’s massive fan base—built since her reality TV debut at age nine on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition—and her steady rise through Nickelodeon awards, chart-topping singles and even a stint on The Masked Singer, it’s no shock she’d want to capitalize on a viral moment.
Whether this controversy fizzles out or sparks more debate on artistic rights and authenticity remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Carnes’s measured but firm reaction underlines a larger question: when does a tribute turn into an unwelcome echo?
Well, that was eye-opening. Let’s see if anyone can actually deliver something fresh next time.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! News, TMZ, TikTok
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
