The J Team
The J Team is a 2021 American family musical film directed by Michael Lembeck, written by Eydie Faye, produced by JoJo Siwa, Don Dunn, Faye, and Syrinthia Studer, and starring Siwa, Tisha Campbell, Laura Soltis, Julia Marley, Kerrynton Jones, and Kiara T. Romero. The film was produced by Nickelodeon Movies in association with AwesomenessTV and tells the story of JoJo, who is kicked out of her dance troupe after her former dance coach retires and is replaced with a new coach with harsh rules. It was released on Paramount+ on September 3, 2021. Plot. JoJo Siwa is  part of a dance troupe that was run by Val (Laura Soltis). When Val retires, she is replaced by the strict Coach Poppy (Tisha Campbell) who brings about harsh rules and kicks JoJo out of her troupe after she fails to live up to her expectations. While rediscovering dancing and friendship, JoJo meets other dancers as the form a dance troupe called the J Team. Production. In February 2020, it was reported that a JoJo Siwa film project was in the works at Nickelodeon. In February 2021, Siwa announced on "The Tonight Show" that title of the project was "The  J Team", and that she was to star and produce the film. It was also announced that an original soundtrack, including six songs written by Siwa, would be released alongside the film, and that filming would begin that month, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Soundtrack. "The J Team (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" was released by Viacom International on August 27, 2021. A music video for "Dance Through the Day" including behind-the-scenes footage from the film was released on August 6, 2021. All songs are performed by JoJo Siwa. Performance controversy. On September 15, 2021, Siwa called out Nickelodeon  on social media for preventing her from performing any songs from "The J Team" in her upcoming "2022 D.R.E.A.M. Tour", claiming she is "treated as only a brand" by the company. The situation has been described as similar to that of Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, both of whom were signed to a major children's television network at a young age. Release. A one-minute trailer for the film was released on July 27, 2021. A drive-in premiere screening of the film was held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on September 3, 2021, releasing exclusively on  Paramount+ the same day. The movie aired on Nickelodeon on November 7, 2021, as well as on the Nick Jr. Channel and TeenNick.