Doja Cat’s retirement seems strange at this point, with her first Grammy win under her belt and a pair of prestigious Coachella appearances this month.
However, that is exactly what the Los Angeles artist stated earlier this year, when she changed her Twitter username to “I quit” on March 25 in response to criticism from her Paraguayan fans.
Her magnificent performance at Coachella on Sunday (17 April) is proof that leaving music is the last thing this genre-hopping, near-perfect pop star should do.
Doja Cat appears to have packed the stage at this year’s Coachella while also surprising the audience! Fans were treated to a brand new unreleased song as she welcomed her two former collaborators on stage! The singer and rapper were joined by Rico Nasty as they performed Tia Tamera, a single from Doja’s debut album ‘Amala”s deluxe edition.
Later, they were joined by the songstress, and they performed the remix version of ‘Juicy,’ which was featured on Doja’s 2019 second album Hot Pink. Doja Cat also surprised fans with the release of the new “Hound Dog”–interpolating song Vegas. The song is set to be featured in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis.
She arrives to a wailing guitar solo – and manages twice as many costume changes as Megan Thee Stallion did last night – to put on a full-fledged show. It’s a fitting retort to those who were wondering where the big rock bands were this year.
Doja Cat is a Tik-Tok sensation as well as a rock’n’roll sensation. On 2021’s addictive “Woman,” she is accompanied by a somewhat corny Sunset Strip stereotype of a “rawk dude,” complete with denim cutoffs, shades, and long blond hair, but it somehow works. Perhaps because such earnest showmanship isn’t met with eye rolls in this state, which gave birth to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Things get even heaver when rapper Rico Nasty joins her for “Tia Tamera,” an industrial hip hop song, and Doja’s love of outfits that pay homage to leather daddy bondage wear and flaming pyro makes it feel like we’re at a full-throttle metal show. Doja isn’t just quick with the heavy stuff; she’s also quick with the lighter stuff.
She also gives us dubby house, Bjork-inspired electronics, Sade-style slow jams, and Kate Bush-worthy weirdness as she flits between genres. Along with “Kiss Me More,” she debuts the flashy “Vegas,” her “Hound Dog” sampling track from Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming Elvis biopic.
