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With her album Vie, Doja Cat is making a successful, 1980s-inspired shift
After countless transformations and deliberately stepping away from pure pop, Doja Cat is reinventing herself yet again with the upcoming release of the album Vie. The project seems to infuse nods to Grace Jones, Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson. Here’s what we know about her new record, as the singer and rapper is about to drop the first single, Jealous Type.
From SZA to Ariana Grande: Doja Cat’s meteoric rise
Back in 2018, few would have guessed that Doja Cat‘s quirky, DIY video for Moo!, which started as a social media meme, would mark the emergence of a global sensation. But the Los Angeles native quickly carved out a space in the music industry.
Indeed Doja Cat has come a long way since the sweet pop of her debut album, Amala (2018). With rare versatility, the singer behind the storm that was Say So delivered hit after hit throughout the lockdowns.
Her growing success was underscored by high-profile collaborations with Rico Nasty, SZA, The Weeknd, and Ariana Grande, the latter three all featuring on her genre-blending 2021 album Planet Her, a savvy mix of rap, pop, and even dancehall.
Scarlet, the rapper’s darker interlude
But, several controversies, including her presence on a forum with racist content, and her own dissatisfaction with her “pop star” image pushed Doja Cat toward a more radical shift. In a now-deleted tweet she posted in September 2023, she dismissed Planet Her and Hot Pink as “cash-grabs”: “Now I can go disappear somewhere and touch grass with my loved ones on an island while yall weep for mediocre pop.“
The rapper with the a feline name thus sharpened her claws with the album Scarlet (2023). For that project, she shaved her head and opted for a very short blonde cut. Just like the look she embraced for that record, the tracks took on a darker tone and leaned less toward pop music.
A return to pop with the album Vie
That chapter now seems behind Doja Cat. In March, she wiped the slate clean on Instagram, removing all her previous posts. A first photo with a caption in French announced the upcoming release of her new album. Sporting a crest hairstyle reminiscent of Grace Jones’s signature look, Doja Cat teased the name of her next record, Vie.
Speaking to V Magazine, Doja Cat shared that she is going back to the genre that launched her career with her new album: “I do want to be self-aware enough to admit the fact that this is a pop-driven project. I know that I can make pop music, and pop is just that it’s popular.”
A new, daring 1980s aesthetic
On stage at the Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco on August 8th, 2025, the rapper unveiled an aesthetic that hints at this new era – zebra-striped suit, platinum-blonde hair… Doja Cat looked like she had stepped straight out of the 1980s. One of the songs she performed matched her outfit perfectly.
Jealous Type, the first single from Vie came out on June 21st, 2025. This dance anthem driven by retro synths recalls the glory days of Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson. This return to the disco-funk era continues throughout the fifteen tracks of the record… Many of which are true hits already.
One standout from the album is the hit Gorgeous. The music video draws its inspiration from 1980s beauty product commercials. With its stellar cast featuring mostly of models, like Alex Consani, Anok Yai, Yseult, Irina Shayk and Paloma Elsesser, she rekindles the glamour of that era.
Another important track is Take Me Dancing, in which sees her team up once again with SZA, after the success of their 2021 hit Kiss Me More. While Planet Her and Scarlet earned several Grammy nominations, Vie seems well poised to leave a mark in the upcoming awards season…
The album Vie by Doja Cat is out now.
