Doja Cat’s Paint the Town Red: A Mix of Burt Bacharach and Lucifer

Doja Cat’s lead single off of her latest record Scarlet is Paint the Town Red, which is a mix of yachty Burt Bacharach’s Walk on By with Dionne Warwick and Doja Cat’s fire. It is an interesting mix that pays off on one of the hottest tracks on Tic Toc with an extremely catchy hook. So, let’s take a deeper look at what makes this track work.

We are originally greeted with a loop of Dionne Warwick’s chorus on Burt Bacharach’s Walk on By. The horns and Warwick’s voice lull us into this cozy yacht groove that is immediately shattered with Doja Cat exclaiming “Yeah, Bitch / I said what I said.” At that point bass and some snaps come over the Warwick loop to create an interesting mix of laid back jazz and Doja Cat’s strong personality. Musically, there is not a ton going on with the track, but what is there is expertly used. The mix of jazz and stripped back modern hip hop fuses the 60s with current music in a fresh overall sound. I appreciate the restrained arrangement, because you really want Doja Cat’s lyrics to come through.

Lyrically, Doja Cat’s fire is in stark contrast to the track’s laid back and jazzy facade. There are references to the devil and being a rebel. She is painting the town red and making her mark by going against society’s norms. There are a few religious images of devils and demons, which I see as Doja Cat laying out what sections of the public may say about her being outspoken and powerful. She hints at this when she says “Bitch, I said what I said…I don’t care / I paint the town red.” The hook about being the devil is very catchy and underlines how she is her own woman and does not need anyone’s approval. In an interesting aside, the hook reminds me a lot of the hook on Tegan and Sara’s Yellow. Lots of songs with the devil in their hooks.

I am a huge fan of Doja Cat’s Planet Her record, so it is great to have a new record with such a great single. This lead single shows off more of her bars and turns her feminist themes up to 11 as she calls out all of her haters. It is great to see this track resonate with so many people and climb over 280 million listens. Women artists continue to dominate pop music and Doja Cat keeps getting better and better.

Listen to Paint the Town Red