Doja Cat Makes a Spectacular Pop Comeback with ’80s-Infused Album Vie

After spending 2023 proving her rap credentials with the hard-hitting album Scarlet, Doja Cat has made a stunning about-face with Vie, her fifth studio album that embraces everything she once claimed to reject. Released on September 26, 2025, this 15-track project marks the Grammy winner’s triumphant return to pop music—complete with Day-Glo synths, saxophone solos, and enough ’80s nostalgia to fill a vintage store. The result is a sparkling, romance-driven record that showcases Doja Cat at her most playful and confident.

Vie: A Complete Sonic Transformation

Vie represents Doja Cat’s return to pop music after her rap-focused 2023 album Scarlet, with the project featuring themes of love, romance, and sex while being heavily inspired by 1980s music. The album’s French title translates to “life,” reflecting the artist’s exploration of romance in all its messy, complicated glory.

The Jack Antonoff Effect: Crafting the Perfect ’80s Sound

One of the most significant aspects of Vie is Doja Cat’s first-time collaboration with producer Jack Antonoff, the musical architect behind countless pop hits for Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and others. Antonoff produced nine of the album’s 15 tracks, and unsurprisingly, these are the ones that most faithfully adhere to the ’80s sound.

In an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Doja Cat explained how working with Antonoff brought fresh energy to the project, noting that the collaboration involved grappling with personal subjects while creating something new and getting to know someone unfamiliar. The chemistry between the two resulted in an album that feels both authentic and expertly crafted.

What Jack Antonoff Brought to Vie

Antonoff is described as a studio technician in the purest sense, ensuring every instrument used on the album is period-specific, from the underwater synths to the flip of the 1982 Knight Rider theme song that appears on the propulsive track “AAAHH MEN!”

The production choices are meticulous and deliberate, creating an album that doesn’t just reference the ’80s but fully inhabits that decade’s sonic landscape. Day-Glo synths, cavernous drum sounds, and stacked vocals for electric choruses dominate the soundscape.

Breaking Down the Vie Tracklist

Lead Single: “Jealous Type”

“Jealous Type” was released as the album’s lead single on August 21, 2025, alongside a music video the following day. The track became an instant sensation, with many declaring it a Song of Summer contender despite its late August release.

The song is a pop rap, funk-pop, and disco-pop track written by Doja Cat alongside producers Y2K and Jack Antonoff. It performed moderately well commercially, debuting at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning a nomination for Song of the Summer at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards.

Additional Singles and Music Videos

“Gorgeous” is described as pure joy, with a moody, kaleidoscopic beat that twists and turns, perfectly complementing Doja as she revels in her own beauty and the beauty of women around her.

The ’80s Influences: From Prince to Janet Jackson

Doja Cat didn’t just dabble in ’80s aesthetics for Vie—she completely immersed herself in the decade’s musical landscape. The album tips its hat to everyone from Prince and Janet Jackson to Pebbles and Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, with Doja coasting across Day-Glo synths and cavernous drum sounds.

The album opens with “Cards,” which samples the Knight Rider theme, and closes with “Come Back,” which samples the soundtrack from Brian DePalma’s erotic thriller Body Double. These bookends demonstrate Doja Cat’s commitment to authenticity in her ’80s homage.

Musical Elements Throughout Vie

• Saxophone solos: The album both begins and ends with bleating saxophones
• Synth-funk instrumentals: Glossy production that defines the era
• New jack swing: Brought into the 2020s on tracks like “Jealous Type”
• Prince-inspired moments: Particularly evident on “All Mine” and “Couples Therapy”
• Janet Jackson influences: The album uses “Control” as a general blueprint

Themes: Love, Romance, and the Mess in Between

While Scarlet was all about aggression and street-smart rap, Vie takes a completely different approach. Doja Cat explained to Apple Music that she thinks she loves talking about love, and music is a door for expressing love in its different forms.

The album explores relationship dynamics from multiple angles:

• Jealousy and possessiveness (“Jealous Type”)
• Self-confidence and beauty (“Gorgeous”)
• Romantic delusion (“Silly! Fun!”)
• Love-bombing and emotional manipulation (themes discussed in interviews)
• Communication breakdowns (“Couples Therapy”)
• Moving on with dignity (“Come Back”)

One standout lyric from “Acts of Service” perfectly captures the album’s playful tone, with Doja revealing she deleted her Raya dating app profile, suggesting commitment to a partner.

The Visual Aesthetic: From Met Gala to Music Videos

Doja Cat fully committed to the Vie era with striking visual choices. She wore a Marc Jacobs pinstripe bodysuit with a plume of hair at the Met Gala, properly introducing the album’s era in high fashion.

The album artwork evolved throughout the rollout:

• Initial CD and vinyl covers depicted her face surrounded by roses
• Multiple alternate covers continued the ’80s direction
• Final official cover showed her in a tattered wedding dress, hanging from a yellow parachute caught in a tree

This wedding dress imagery tied directly to the album’s themes of falling in love and vulnerability, with Doja writing in the caption: “Falling in love is putting trust in the hands of yourself and others.”

Critical Reception: How Did Vie Perform?

Vie received positive reviews from music critics, with review aggregator Metacritic reporting generally favorable reviews based on a weighted average score of 77 out of 100 from nine critic scores.

What Critics Said

Variety praised the album for finding creative equilibrium, noting that by the album’s concluding track “Come Back,” there’s no question that Doja Cat has rightfully earned her spot at the top of the pop-rap hierarchy, striking a delicate balance that requires scope and precision.

Clash Magazine gave a positive review, describing Vie as Doja Cat’s ’90s baby ode to ’80s music that draws from R&B, pop, funk, new jack swing, hip-hop, and more.

Billboard noted that “Jealous Type” returns Doja to her Hot Pink roots in full, making it a slick pop track and one of the best tracks on the record where she sounds simultaneously in control and nonchalant.

However, some critics noted that the album’s commitment to ’80s sounds occasionally led to repetitiveness, with a few tracks feeling like filler despite the overall quality production.

The SZA Collaboration: “Take Me Dancing”

One of Vie’s highlights is “Take Me Dancing,” featuring SZA—marking a reunion of the duo who previously collaborated on the massive hit “Kiss Me More.” The track is described as a fitting follow-up to “Kiss Me More,” with SZA and Doja reuniting for an equally effervescent disco love song, their chemistry culminating in a pop song that hits like a blast of air conditioning on a hot summer day.

This was the album’s only featured artist, demonstrating Doja Cat’s confidence in carrying the project primarily on her own shoulders.

From Scarlet to Vie: Understanding Doja Cat’s Evolution

The contrast between Scarlet and Vie couldn’t be more dramatic. If Scarlet was defined by grit and rawness, Vie serves as its counterpart—bright, melodic, and firmly rooted in pop.

Album Comparison

Doja Cat told CBS Sunday Morning that she’s “a rapper that makes pop music,” a tidy summation that gives her musical guardrails with pivot room. This self-definition perfectly encapsulates what Vie achieves—maintaining her rap skills while fully embracing pop sensibilities.

The Controversial Journey to Vie

Doja Cat’s relationship with pop music has been complicated. In 2023, she tweeted that she was “tired” of her hit “Say So” and referred to her breakthrough albums Hot Pink and Planet Her as “cash grabs” and “mediocre pop,” even taunting fans by saying they “fell for it.”

This made Vie all the more surprising—and impressive. Rather than continuing to distance herself from pop, she embraced it with full enthusiasm. Doja explained in an interview that this is a pop-driven project, acknowledging that she knows she can make pop music and that pop is simply popular music.

She also addressed the perception problem around pop music, noting that some people don’t see it as legitimate music but rather as entertainment for specific demographics. Vie serves as her reclamation of pop on her own terms.

The Ma Vie World Tour

To support Vie, Doja Cat announced her third concert tour, the Ma Vie World Tour, which will start on November 18, 2025, in Auckland and conclude on December 1, 2026, in New York City. The extensive tour spans over a year, demonstrating the artist’s commitment to bringing the album’s ’80s-inspired energy to stages worldwide.

Standout Tracks That Define Vie

While every track contributes to the album’s cohesive ’80s atmosphere, several songs stand out:

“AAAHH MEN!” – An uptempo highlight where Doja channels Queen energy, lamenting the maddening yet irresistible nature of romantic relationships with men.

“Stranger” – A doe-eyed track where Doja flits between alluring verses, creating one of the album’s most captivating moments.

“Cards” – The opening track introduces smooth jazz, groovy beats, and witty wordplay, beginning with a saxophone solo that melts into an alluring ’80s beat.

“Come Back” – The album closer sparkles with chimes and glitzy production, as Doja mourns a love that her partner ruined while choosing dignity over temporary comfort.

What Makes Vie Work (and Where It Stumbles)

Strengths:

• Impeccable period-specific production
• Doja Cat’s vocal versatility and charisma
• Cohesive sonic identity throughout
• Seamless blending of rap verses into pop songs
• Playful, confident energy

Weaknesses:

• Some tracks blend together due to similar formulas
• The ’80s repetitiveness occasionally feels stale
• A few songs lack dynamic hooks for mainstream appeal
• At 15 tracks, the album could have benefited from tighter editing

The album could easily cause whiplash as Doja cuts rap verses into pop songs, yet it doesn’t feel like patchwork because Doja is a gifted singer and rapper who marries her worlds with full command.

The Vie Hotline: Creative Marketing

As part of the album rollout, Doja Cat launched “The Vie Hotline,” an interactive marketing campaign where fans could call in and receive messages related to the album’s themes. Phrases like “Welcome to the Vie Hotline, where love is complicated, but calling us isn’t” echoed the album’s central themes of romance, humor, and emotional nuance while reinforcing the retro telephone aesthetic of the ’80s era.

Doja Cat’s Place in Pop Music History

With Vie, Doja Cat has proven something crucial: she doesn’t need to fit into one box to become the artist she’s meant to be. She’s a chameleon who can successfully pivot between rap aggression and pop confection without losing authenticity in either direction.

The album reinforces that Doja Cat belongs in conversations about the top tier of pop-rap artists. Her ability to master both singing and rapping at such high levels places her in rare company, and Vie demonstrates that she can honor musical history while adding her unique stamp.

The Verdict on Vie

Vie succeeds as both an ’80s homage and a modern pop statement. While purists might argue that some tracks feel too derivative or that the album overstays its welcome slightly, there’s no denying the craftsmanship and infectious energy throughout.

For fans who fell in love with Doja Cat through “Say So” and “Kiss Me More,” Vie feels like a homecoming. For those who appreciated Scarlet’s raw edge, the album proves the artist’s versatility. And for anyone who loves well-executed pop music with personality and polish, Vie delivers the goods.

The album’s title—meaning “life” in French—proves apt. Doja Cat explores life’s most universal theme (love) through one of pop music’s most beloved eras (the ’80s), creating something that feels both nostalgic and fresh. In doing so, she’s crafted an album that’s likely to define pop music in 2025 and beyond.

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