What the fuck is going on with Doja Cat?
The internet’s former favourite pop-rap princess is back at it again with the second single from her upcoming, untitled album. A follow up to the underperforming ‘Attention’ (2023), we’re getting a slightly bouncier take on the same…tone, with Satan-themed visuals, a red filter on all previous collaterals, and yet more online antics.
Looking at this holistically, you have to turn to the lead single. ‘Attention’ is a lot of things. It’s smooth and silky, with a twinkling production that brings to mind the slower tracks on Planet Her. The song was more rap than pop or R’n’B, offering a more theoretically mature sound and vibe. You paired it was a video that felt, if not revolutionary, then at least intentional in framing the upcoming project as distinct from the past two eras of the ascendent pop version of Doja Cat.
The track also failed to impact the charts meaningfully and has since lost all momentum.
It feels almost improbable that a star of Doja Cat’s level, who has seen hit after hit rise up the charts over the past few years, seemingly flame out with a new project. Yes, ‘Attention’ was a departure from her pop focused singles, but it was no further away from the sound of ‘Say So’ (2019) than ‘Streets’ (2019) had been. It’s not necessarily the most hook heavy track, but the chorus catchy and the first verse produced a little trend on TikTok.
Even bad lead singles should linger on the charts for an artist following up an album as big as ‘Planet Her’ (2021). But ‘Attention’ wasn’t following up a huge album by a popular and beloved pop star. It was a statement of intent by a woman intent on alienating her fans by any means necessary.
To understand where Doja Cat is in 2023 means you have to look at 2022, which is where this all gets…uncomfortable.
On one hand, you have a woman who is very clearly coming off a period of being intensely overworked and visibly needs a break. Her weight, her looks, her abilities, all were constantly the focus of gossip and online discourse. She responded to this, once settled in at home, by shaving her head and eyebrows. The responses ranged from normal, to utterly deranged and creepy. Most leaned to that side.
But the other thing that started happening, was an increasing sense of displeasure from the star towards her fanbase. Maybe spurned on by the nasty and often personal attacks following her makeover, she began to shift her online persona into something snappier and more aggressive. A recent clip from an Instagram Live has her calling her fans idiots for liking her because they like the music. Recent outings have been about her inability to love the people who buy her music.
But outside of this, she is also dating a former Viner with grooming allegations and plenty of racist content floating around. She’s showing up on web chats again, reminding online fans about the allegations that she was “in racial chat rooms showing feet” prior to her fame. There’s an increasing sense that the mystery that has since protected her from real interrogation around her often strange comments is dying. We know way too much.
With all that being said, this is about the music. Which is…fine.
Like I said about ‘Attention’, it doesn’t feel revolutionary. This is not a new exploration of genre or even tone for Doja Cat. If anything, it feels like her Soundcloud productions. Not bad by any means, but slow without feeling deliberate. But thematically, it’s at least clear and focused. She has a tendency to ramble in her verses, but at least she stays on topic. It’s clean.
‘Paint The Town Red’ is just as meandering. Worse, actually. But unlike ‘Attention’, it lacks the clear sense of direction that mostly prevents the previous single from feeling pointless. If the lead was mostly a track that deals with fame in an honest and reflective way, ‘Paint The Town Red’ takes the same subject matter and does less with it. She’s famous, above fame, and chooses fame. She’s getting fucked right. She’s looking hot.
Regardless, it's very standard bragging that feels too vague to mean anything. The song is a statement of being above the fray, but her main point of contention seems to be people taking her seriously. Whether they be friend or foe. But for all the words she’s saying, there’s a lack of precision. Specificity would be this track’s friend, but instead it’s no more explicit than any standard verse on the radio right now.
Paired with a music video that uses Satanic imagery (a neutral term) to prop up the hook, you get the overwhelming sense of someone trying to make the theme stick. Which…fine. It doesn’t detract from the music, but the video is clearly doing the heavy lifting while the song sits on its own, less involved plane of existence.
Sonically, it’s a cute track. The production builds on a Dionne Warwick sample to create an easy rhythm to nod along to. It’s the type of thing you can leave on repeat and not get distracted by. A great track to throw on while responding to emails. But there’s nothing here that feels particularly new or outside of the box. It’s better mixed and tighter than where she started on ‘Purr’ (2014), but lacks the playfulness that makes that EP so interesting.
Doja Cat’s most recent, real hit was a feature on Post Malone’s album ‘Twelve Carat Toothache’ (2022), titled ‘I Like You (A Happier Song)’. It’s just as milquetoast as both of her solo ventures this year, but in a way that proves it had radio ambitions more than anything else. Neither song from this album cycle have been similarly inclined.
In a February interview with ‘Variety’, she spoke about wanting to take a more masculine approach to her music. Which, for her, clearly means a pivot to something more lyrical, and less focused on melody. The hints came with her verse on SZA’s ‘Kill Bill’ remix, where she took on a cadence reminiscent of Eminem. But Doja Cat’s best qualities as a rapper are her sense of fun, which often distracts from the inanity of her lyricism. She works in the same way Max Martin’s best work does. Melody and hooks first, poetry second. If it sounds good, you can say almost anything. She does this all with a wink and a cheeky grin.
This scampish quality has been replaced by a woman whose hyper focus on technique is all over her recent verses. The Beastie Boys influence is gone, and replaced by something less enthusiastic, and more belligerent. Cramming in turns of phrase with less care for how it sounds. They aren’t bad verses, but they’re not memorable in the way her best stuff is. There’s a fiddliness to her lyrics as of late that doesn’t read as masterful, but self-conscious.
So much of the press being drummed up around this project is how distinct it is from her previous work. But what I’m seeing isn’t an evolution, it’s stagnation. The loss of the distinct attitude that made her so interesting to begin with.
‘Paint The Town Red’ is listenable. It’s arguably got a stronger hook than ‘Attention’ and may well find a space on radio. Early stats have it climbing streaming charts, and it may well be a Hail Mary moment. But the overwhelming feeling I get from this all is frustration. Maybe this isn’t the album she wanted to make. There’s certainly nothing grunge or punk about this. Labels and producers have a history of messing with an artist’s end product. She might find the stress of being famous unbearable. It would certainly explain the antagonism towards fans.
Or she might just have always been like this.
Whatever the case, this is an album cycle that feels distinct in its messiness. Her public antics and private love life are getting harder to ignore. And the music is, at this point, not good enough to distract from it all.
‘Paint The Town Red’ is a solid 3/5 song. Good enough to be on an album. But probably not enough to stop the backlash.
it's really like she wants to have the artpop cake and eat her planet her sound too. all i can think of is how much she's gambling right now and thus far, i can't tell if it will pay off or not (though admittedly it might be too early to tell until the album's out, anyway)