Doja Cat

Los Angeles native Doja Cat transformed early online curiosity around novelty tracks into enduring mainstream dominance through her sleek, entrancing pop songs that blend R&B elements while exploring sexuality, camaraderie, and self-empowerment. Initial releases drew meaningful notice, yet the 2019 follow-up Hot Pink propelled her to the summit of the Hot 100. Further singles that charted, along with joint efforts alongside SZA and Saweetie, reinforced her prominence and heightened excitement surrounding the June 2021 arrival of Planet Her. That project landed at number two on the Billboard 200 and secured multiple Grammy nominations. Later releases included her clever 2022 reinterpretation of Hole's "Celebrity Skin," the 2022 track "Vegas" from the Elvis soundtrack, and the trip-hop-inflected "Attention" in 2023, each highlighting her bold, boundary-blurring approach. Both "Attention" and "Paint the Town Red" featured on her fourth studio album Scarlet, released in 2023, where she delved further into rap and hip-hop origins; the set marked her third straight Top Ten entry on the Billboard 200.

Born Amala Zandile Dlamini in Tarzana, California, in 1995 to South African actor Dumisani Dlamini and painter Deborah Elizabeth Sawyer, Doja Cat spent several years in New York before resettling in California alongside her mother. During childhood she took piano instruction and studied tap, ballet, and jazz dance, while also exploring surfing and breakdancing. In her teenage years she taught herself to sing and absorbed a wide-ranging array of hip-hop, indie rock, R&B, and electronic sounds. Recording material on her computer, she issued the debut EP Purrr! in 2014 and quickly achieved viral traction with "So High." Additional singles such as the languid "Nunchucks" and "No Police" continued to attract online interest, followed in 2018 by the rapidly viral "Mooo!"

Building on that momentum, she released her first full-length effort, Amala, which broadened her dreamy, meme-friendly aesthetic with greater infusions of hip-hop, pop, and R&B across cuts like "Candy" and "Roll with Us." An expanded edition of Amala arrived in 2019, incorporating the singles "Juicy" and "Tia Tamara" featuring Rico Nasty. Her sophomore album Hot Pink followed swiftly, incorporating appearances from Smino, Gucci Mane, and Tyga while emphasizing the sexually wry dimensions of her evolving persona. The Top Ten Billboard 200 release saw its fifth single, "Say So," drive further chart gains; after climbing steadily through the Hot 100 early in 2020, the multi-platinum song reached number one in May thanks to a Nicki Minaj remix.

Having collected a pair of American Music Awards, Doja Cat sustained the trajectory from her breakthrough into 2021. She increased her visibility with established figures through a guest spot on Saweetie's "Best Friend," a contribution to an Ariana Grande remix alongside Megan Thee Stallion, and the SZA-assisted "Kiss Me More." These developments culminated in the June 2021 release of her third studio album Planet Her, which included appearances from Young Thug, the Weeknd, JID, and additional artists, with cover photography by David LaChapelle. Reaching number two on the Billboard 200 while leading the R&B albums chart, the album earned Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album.

In February 2022 she attained number 18 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart via her cover of Hole's "Celebrity Skin," whose lyrics she reworked with Courtney Love. Later that year "Vegas," her contribution to director Baz Luhrmann's Elvis biopic soundtrack, climbed into the Hot 100 Top Ten. June 2023 brought the debut of the '90s trip-hop-inspired "Attention" as the initial preview from her fourth studio album Scarlet. "Paint the Town Red" followed in August as the official lead single. Upon its September arrival, the album balanced her established pop-R&B sensibility with material that embraced her rap and hip-hop foundations, featuring production from Earl on the Beat, D.A. Got That Dope, Y2K, and others. Scarlet secured Top Five placements on both the Billboard 200 and Rap Albums charts while earning Grammy nominations that included Best Pop Solo Performance for "Paint the Town Red" and Best Rap Song for "Attention."