Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Canada
Doja Cat's latest album release "Vie" demonstrates the artist's versitality in music.
On Sept. 26, Doja Cat released her fifth studio album “Vie,” which explores all types of themes that come with love, including the crazy events that can lead to finding it. The album also gives off a flirty vibe with a lot of sexual undertones, something that is part of Doja Cat’s brand and was very present in her previous album, “Scarlet.” This time around, Doja Cat turned down the temperature, but not so much that it ruined her brand as an artist.
“Vie” has a mix of both rap and pop songs, as well as some tracks that mix the two genres together. The album gives off an ’80s music vibe and if there is any era that fits Doja Cat’s lyrics and vocals perfectly, it is the ’80s. Throughout her career, Doja Cat has shown that she is able to hold the long notes symbolic with famous female artists from the ’80s, such as Cyndi Lauper and Bonnie Tyler.
On Aug. 21, Doja Cat released the first single off the album titled “Jealous Type,” which served as a preview to her new era. The song has a choppy backing track, which is very reminiscent of ’80s music. The music video for “Jealous Type” featured Doja Cat wearing many different outfits symbolic of the era, including one where she is wearing a red two-piece, black leopard print pants and heels. Her hair is also in a very messy curly style, a popular hairstyle at the time.
The opening track on the album, titled “Cards,” serves as a bold introduction to Doja Cat’s new style. Like “Jealous Type,” “Cards” includes a lot of the choppy lyrics and backing tracks of the music from that time. The song creates an earworm that will have the listener singing and dancing along.
A song that sticks out on the album is “Gorgeous.” The track mixes the ’80s pop vibe of the album with the rap vibe we have seen in past Doja Cat albums such as “Scarlet.” The mixing of these two genres creates a catchy vocal track that creates a temptation to sing along.
The song “Take Me Dancing” features SZA, and the similarity in their voices mesh together to create a beautiful vocal track. SZA provides a backing track that makes this catchy song even catchier, especially the part during the bridge where Doja Cat says “Take me dancing” with SZA in the background saying “Baby, take me dancing tonight.”
The album name “Vie” is the french word for “life.” French culture has had a lot of influence on the album not only with its name, but most of the album was also recorded in Correns, France. The second to last track on the album, titled “Happy,” has both English and French lyrics. The nod to the French culture that Doja Cat put on the album is symbolic of the album’s theme of love as it is something that is commonly associated with French culture and language.
Overall, this album includes some of Doja Cat’s best work yet. The ’80s pop sound goes really well with her vocals and is something that she should consider continuing to do in the future. The mix of pop and rap sounds broadens the audience while also creating a diverse sound. “Vie” is sure to include something for all audiences from older to younger generations. “Vie” serves as not only a nod to some of the older Doja Cat music, but also introduces a new side of her not seen before.