Photo from Naz (@dojaclouds), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (No changes made)
Throughout the year, artist Doja Cat has found herself in the midst of multiple social media controversies. From lashing out at fans for nicknaming themselves “kittenz” to portraying a devil in a music video, the internet has been critiquing her consistently. In between all of this, she released her fourth studio album, “Scarlet” through Kemosabe Records and RCA Records on September 22, 2023. This album is everywhere online and fans and critics all seem to have a definitive stance on it, whether it be positive or negative. With this in mind, I have decided that I will review the “Scarlet” album, providing my thoughts on the top 10 songs with a best-to-worst ranking.
1. Can’t Wait
The words ‘fantastic’, ‘mesmerizing’ and ‘stunning’ could not describe this song properly. When listening to this song I feel like I ascended up to the heavenly gates, had a dance party, then came back to Earth. What also makes this song top-tier is its’ relatablity factor. I can not even count how many times I have felt the way this song described.
2. 97
If I am going to be honest, I could listen to this song 97 times in a row and still love it. This song makes me feel free and like nothing matters at the end of the day. I feel like she felt that way too as throughout the song she repeatedly says “Looks like we don’t give a sh*t.” This is one of those instances where I think having a repetitive chorus is okay, due to the fact of how addicting it is. If there was a designated song to be played in the back room at a party, this would be it.
3. Agora Hills
While the song is good, it lacks lyrical content and depth. The song has a common theme, that being that she wants to be with her significant other. Something interesting about the verses is that she sometimes uses a ‘ditzy’ voice, which I am a fan of. The best part of the whole song is that it has countless hilarious ‘one-liners.’ The best one is “Like Fortnite, I’ma need your skin (Yeah).”
4. Gun
I love the beat of this song as it just tickles a spot in my mind. Her tone of voice never changes throughout the song and that makes the song seem so upbeat since she uses a higher octave to sing. It also has some depth to it because it has many double entendres about intimacy, which makes the song an interesting listen.
5. Paint The Town Red
For the album’s lead single, this is an alright choice. The chorus is catchy and will never fail to put me in a better mood. Now besides all of that, it is pretty mediocre. The song’s message of not caring about others’ opinions is pleasant as well as the background singing.
6. F*ck The Girls (FTG)
Throughout the album she has tried to implement a more ‘edgy’ and ‘evil’ sound into the songs and to be honest, I am not the biggest fan. However in this scenario, I can appreciate it as I feel it really is a mix between her old music and her new style. Something that also needs to be appreciated is this song’s ability to be screamed, because I feel like I could yell this from the top of my lungs continuously. As toxic as the idea is, everybody loves a song that puts others down while promoting oneself.
7. Attention
No more attention is needed for this song. It is everywhere on social media and I cannot stand to hear it once more. This song is the epitome of mediocre, it has no good aspects and nothing truly bad can be said about it.
8. Go Off
This is the song that those ‘Pinterest aesthetic girls’ imagine plays when they walk in a room. The vibe this song gives me is “Fashion Killa ” by A$AP Rocky except it is feminine and more of a pop song rather than a rap song.
9. Love Life
This song stands out like a sore thumb and It is not even in the usual way. It is because it is an actually positive song while the rest of this album is… not. Repetition must be this song’s bestfriend because I swear all it says is “I love when my life’s like this” or “I love when…”
10. WYM Freestyle
As this song is a freestyle I was not expecting much, but this was simply underwhelming. I understand that the point of freestyle is to say whatever comes to mind, but there was literally nothing of value being said here. The only reason this makes the top 10 songs on the album is because at the end she says “F*ck this beat, step on my toes, b*tch, my toes” in the funniest voice ever.
Overall, this was not a terrible album. It surely was not great but it had no horrendous qualities. I would only truly listen to about four of these songs which says something as there are 17 songs on the album. I feel as though a 5/10 ranking is generous for “Scarlet.”
