Doja Cat has made a career of swinging between sugary pop and acidic rap, often with whiplash-inducing severity. But where her last two albums have neatly represented these swings between extremes, on ‘Vie’ it seems like she’s finally found a happy medium between her two sides, showing that the two can coexist by blending sugary sounds with fiery, sometimes playful, bars.
Cards opens with its chilled beat and soft synths, immediately setting the scene for an album rife with callbacks to ‘80s pop, many of them arriving during songs produced by Jack Antonoff, who is all over ‘Vie’. Doja Cat’s voice glides, the relaxed vibe very much at odds with her often confrontational persona and the sounds on 2023’s ‘Scarlet’.
Lead single Jealous Type, meanwhile, has song of the summer written all over it, even if it’s a few months late.
Tracks like AAAHH MEN! show she’s still got her penchant for mischief, its trance-influenced synths backing her playful flow, while the Prince-indebted Take Me Dancing brings SZA back for the LP’s only guest spot.
The reason ‘Vie isn’t a runaway success, though, is that it’s too in hock to its influences. At no point is there a sense that Doja’s trying to modernise or play with those sounds, and the songs often hew to an identifiable formula, where she places her raps midway through.
Describing herself in the run up to its release as a “rapper who makes pop music”, it’s a sentiment that certainly rings true across ‘Vie’. Despite some obvious flaws, this is never less than an enjoyable listen that finally strikes some sort of balance between Doja Cat’s creative impulses.
Doja Cat Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue May 19 2026 - DUBLIN 3Arena
Thu May 21 2026 - GLASGOW OVO Hydro
Sat May 23 2026 - MANCHESTER Co Op Live
Tue May 26 2026 - BIRMINGHAM Utilita Arena Birmingham
Fri May 29 2026 - LONDON O2
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