Paint the Town Red (Doja Cat song)

"Paint the Town Red" is a song by American rapper and singer Doja Cat from her fourth studio album, Scarlet (2023). It was released on August 4, 2023, through Kemosabe and RCA Records as the lead single from the album.[1] The song was written by Doja Cat and produced by Earl on the Beat, Rubin, Jean-Baptiste, and DJ Replay. It is a hip hop track with a jazz-influenced beat that samples Dionne Warwick's song "Walk On By" (1964).[2] In the lyrics, the rapper dismisses her critics and asserts her own identity following arguments with fans on social media.

"Paint the Town Red"
Cover art for "Paint the Town Red": a painting of a red sky, with a silhouette of a skyline in the bottom right corner
Single by Doja Cat
from the album Scarlet
ReleasedAugust 4, 2023 (2023-08-04)
Recorded2023
GenreHip hop
Length3:51
Label
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Amala Zandile Dlamini
Producer(s)
  • Earl on the Beat
  • Rubin
  • Jean-Baptiste
  • DJ Replay
Doja Cat singles chronology
"Kill Bill" (remix)
(2023)		 "Paint the Town Red"
(2023)		 "Agora Hills"
(2023)
Music video
"Paint the Town Red" on YouTube

"Paint the Town Red" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, becoming Doja Cat's second number-one single, and her first as a solo artist. Outside of the United States, "Paint the Town Red" topped the charts in 18 countries, including Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Slovakia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, as well as top five in Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, France, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Germany and Malaysia. It also reached the top ten in South Africa, Poland, Finland, Paraguay, Taiwan and Bulgaria, the top twenty in Portugal, Italy and the Philippines, the top thirty in Russia, Indonesia and Turkey and the top forty in Nigeria. In the latter country, it became the first solo song by a female rapper to top the UK Singles Chart. It made history by becoming the first solo female rap song in Spotify history to top the platform's Global and US Top 50 chart[3] and the fastest solo female rap song to amass 100 million streams.[4]

Background and composition

A 2-second preview of the song was shared by Doja Cat on April 17, 2023, along with other tracks from her upcoming album.[5] Doja would tease the song by continuously using the blood drop emoji, as well as putting a red filter over thumbnails of her previous music videos and album covers.[6] She played the song in full length on July 18, while painting a white canvas in red. The painting would later turn out to be the single cover.[7]

Upon release, the lyrics were interpreted by some as a reference to her previous behavior on social media, including the disapproval of a name used by a significant amount of her fanbase, and the subsequent arguments she had with some of them, in the weeks leading up to the release.[8] Sampling the Dionne Warwick hit "Walk On By", the song is backed by a "bouncy production" that sees Doja Cat rapping over a "subtly brassy, finger snap-laden beat", constituting an "contrast to the comparatively laid-back" "Attention".[9]

Commercial performance

"Paint the Town Red" broke a number of streaming records on Spotify, making history as the first solo female rap song to top the platform's US Top 50 daily chart,[3] and the Global Spotify 200 daily chart, and the fastest solo female rap song to amass 100 million streams.[4]

The song peaked atop the Billboard Global 200 chart.[10] It also became the first ever rap song to top Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart.[11]

North America

In the United States, "Paint the Town Red" debuted at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the chart issue dated August 19, 2023.[12] Two weeks later it reached number five, after moving 21.1 million streams, 5,000 digital downloads sold, and 22.6 million airplay audience that week, a 49, 81, and 37 percent increase from the previous week.[13] The song gained traction on the video-sharing app TikTok, with its audio soundtracking over 618,000 videos on the platform.[14] The surge in popularity online fueled the song's performance; after moving to number three, it reached number one on the Hot 100 on the issue dated September 16, 2023. It became Doja Cat's second leader, her first solo US number-one, and the first rap song to top the Hot 100 in over a year since Nicki Minaj's "Super Freaky Girl" (2022).[15] The song also topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for three weeks as well as their streaming and digital sales component charts.[15][16][17] The song is also her 7th number one single on the Pop Airplay chart, the most among all artist this decade.[1]

Europe

"Paint the Town Red" debuted at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart on August 17, 2023. It rose to number 15 the following week before entering the top ten on August 31, 2023.[18] It reached number four, becoming Doja Cat's fourth top ten hit in the UK and outpeaking its sample "Walk On By", which hit number nine.[19] On August 27, 2023, the Official Charts Company announced that the song was leading the race to hit number one that week, with only 1,000 units separating "Paint the Town Red" from its competitors.[20] The song then reached number two, blocked by Olivia Rodrigo's "Vampire" from the top spot.[21] The following week, "Paint the Town Red" rose to number one, becoming Doja Cat's first chart-topper in the United Kingdom.[22]

Music video

An accompanying music video was released on August 4, 2023, and was directed by Nina McNeely.[23] It features Doja Cat peeling out her eyeball which then falls into hell. Doja is later seen keeping company with death and Satan. Other scenes show her throwing bloody chunks of meat and riding on a green creature through the sky.[7]

Live performances

Doja Cat performed "Paint the Town Red" for the first time at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards as part of a medley with the tracks "Attention" and "Demons". The performance featured the singer dressed in a grey suit and glasses, and "trailed by blood-soaked dancers". Writers praised the performance as one of the best moments of the night and compared Doja's "preppy" outfit to those worn by Joan Cusack in School of Rock and Britney Spears in the "...Baby One More Time" music video.[24][25][26]

Accolades
Awards and nominations for "Paint the Town Red"
Organization Year Category Result Ref.
MTV Video Music Awards 2023 Song of Summer Nominated [27]

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for "Paint the Town Red"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[101] Platinum 70,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[102] Gold 40,000‡
France (SNEP)[103] Gold 100,000‡
Hungary (MAHASZ)[104] Platinum 4,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[105] Platinum 30,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[106] Gold 25,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[107] Gold 10,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[108] Gold 400,000‡
Streaming
Greece (IFPI Greece)[109] Gold 1,000,000†
Sweden (GLF)[110] Gold 4,000,000†

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Release history and formats for "Paint the Town Red"
Region Date Format Label(s) Ref.
Various August 4, 2023
[111]
United States August 8, 2023 Contemporary hit radio [112]
Rhythmic radio [113]
Urban radio [114]
Italy August 25, 2023 Radio airplay Sony [115]

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