Heading into Doja Cat’s third studio album Planet Her, I was prepositioned with high expectations from her second album Hot Pink. However, I am glad to say that I was not disappointed with such high expectations. For Doja herself, I’m sure she felt the pressure after Hot Pink was such a success with smash hit singles like Say So, Like That, and Streets. Commonly, for many singers and rappers, the next logical step would be to create another album like the hits to extend their list of hits. In which that route was proven to be successful in some cases, but for most cases, even though there might be some initial success, the artists’ career ultimately faded away as the audience got bored. However, Doja Cat, like other intelligent artists such as Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and The Weeknd, learned to reinvent themselves and create so-called “eras” to entertain their audiences. Starting the album, I was relieved that the production already sounds different in comparison to the last album opener “Cyber Sex”. Now I want to go into the specifics of some of the songs from the album and give my insights.
Album Review
Track ONE: Woman
Rating: 5/10
Though I am glad that Doja started to experiment more with new sounds instead of dwelling in the past, I cannot use that to force myself to like it. For me, I thought the production of the song was excellent, it is upbeat but not too upbeat where it feels cliche for an opener track. However, from one point of the song to another, it felt like the production was carrying the whole song, as the lyrics felt repetitive and slowly became annoying. In addition to the lack of emotional depth in the song’s lyrics, or at least that the lyrics did not reach me or make me feel something, whether it’s the energy or the feelings that Doja has herself.
Track THREE: Payday (feat. Young Thug)
Rating: 12/10
Payday to me felt like the turning point of the album. It also happened to be my favorite off the album, for three reasons. The first being its catchy production and appeal to the album theme. From the start, the production choices like fade-ins, pauses, and instruments create this space atmosphere for me as a listener, which is relevant to the album theme. Second, the lyrics in the song showed a rapid increase in how much thought was put in. With its references to Serena Williams and Patek Phillippe SA. Lastly, one recurring theme of Doja Cat is always her duets, whether it’s from previous albums or in this one repeatedly. Something about Doja and duets just mix well, maybe it’s because of her well-thought-out choices of artists to duet with, maybe it’s because of her compatible voice with other artists, whatever it is, Doja can always pull off duets.
Track FOUR: Get Into It (Yuh)
Rating: 10/10
Getting into it really lived up to its name, as it really made me get into it (yuh). So what specifically made me get into it? Specifically, I think if there was only one thing that made the song catchy it's Doja’s flow, her switch of flows from one line to another is what keeps the audience into it. In addition, her depth in the vocals she chose for the song really opened a new side of Doja to her fans that somehow feels familiar because it leaves traces of Old Doja. Overall, this is a well-crafted song but it just wasn’t on the same level as Payday for me.
Track SEVEN: Love to Dream
Rating 9.2/10
Love to Dream hit a soft spot in my heart, its mellow melody and singing create this dreamy environment for the listeners. It makes me feel at home anywhere that I bring this song to and is definitely a top choice to help you sleep.
Track ELEVEN: Ain’t Shit
Rating: 8.7/10
The opening to the song brings out the bold side of Doja and also gets the audience intrigued by the story that Doja is about to tell. The slow production with the compatible flows provides a new perspective on the album and on Doja, which can also act as a rest stop for the audience to slow down to enjoy the album as it passes through their ears.
Track FOURTEEN: Kiss Me More (feat. SZA)
Rating: 10/10
Kiss Me More to me felt like the smartest choice to end the album with as I can’t see any other songs in the album to end the experience with. Doja and SZA’s voices together were a shock to me at first, as I didn’t expect their voices to mesh so well together. It truly felt like Doja Cat was making all the impossibles possible, even at the end of the album, with her strength at making legendary duets.
It is a relief to see Doja Cat continuing her development as an artist instead of settling at a "safe spot." Whether Doja will be able to maintain her spot in the music industry is brutally dependent on whether she can reinvent herself over and over again, and not fade out with the arrival of new artists.
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