![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/a445c31a1631d0ba11a1db65241c0958.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nEven in our post-genre era, Doja Cat remains hard to pigeonhole. Since hitting superstardom in 2019, her hits have shifted between hip-hop, pop, R&B, Afrobeat, and even indie singer-songwriter. But even with all that, I didn\u2019t expect Vie.<\/p>\n
In the lead-up, buzz suggested Vie would be a retro pop album. And it is, but let\u2019s be honest, every third song on mainstream radio these days can claim some retro element. Like, here\u2019s a little \u201980s Latin freestyle synth, or a dash of early \u201990s smooth production. Usually, it\u2019s a flourish that plays like a sonic callback on an otherwise clearly modern song.<\/p>\n
More from Spin:<\/p>\n
So it was refreshing to hear Doja Cat say fuck that formula.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here, Doja is blending all the genres and elements she loves into her own personal capital-P Pop sound. Yes, the synthetic beats and sax on opening track \u201cCards\u201d confirm that Vie is her \u201980s pop album, but that\u2019s just the starting point. She covers the true breadth of \u201980s pop. Early single \u201cJealous Type\u201d brings Control-era Janet Jackson vibes, while \u201cCouples Therapy\u201d is more of a sultry Prince groove, and\u201cAll Mine\u201d calls to mind Anita Baker R&B. Well, after you get past an \u201980s reference I never expected in 2025: the Grace Jones dialog sample from Conan the Destroyer that opens \u201cAll Mine.\u201d That touch of shock is what separates Vie from other \u201980s-loving homages. Doja always adds something unexpected to the proceedings, whether it\u2019s a tight rap bridge (\u201cJealous Type\u201d), backing falsettos (\u201cCouples Therapy\u201d), or a Go Team!-ish schoolyard chant outro (\u201cAll Mine\u201d).<\/p>\n
This playful experimentation continues across the album. \u201cAAAHH Men!\u201d is a pulsing, future club shout-along built atop the Knight Rider theme song and Busta Rhymes\u2019 1998 rave up \u201cTurn It Up\/Fire It Up (Remix).\u201d \u201cStranger\u201d finds Doja playing with melodies and synths you\u2019d hear on 2010\u2019s indie pop for an ode to owning one\u2019s queerness. Re-teaming with Sza could have been predicted, but it\u2019s on \u201cTake Me Dancing,\u201d a song that otherwise sounds like something I could\u2019ve heard rollerskating in 1987. Hell, Doja Cat even shows that she can be a one-person HAIM on the album closer, \u201cCome Back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, as is often the case when you swing for the fences\u2014or when you don\u2019t cut down a 15-track album\u2014not every song is a stand-out. Oddly, the moments that pop the least are the ones that sound most like modern pop. There is a block of songs on the last third\u2014 \u201cSilly! Fun!\u201d, \u201cActs of Service,\u201d and \u201cMake It Up\u201d\u2014that sound like the radio-friendly, expected follow-ups to hits like \u201cSay So\u201d or \u201cAgora Hills.\u201d They\u2019re solid enough, but feel tame compared to the joyful surprises across the rest of the album. But hey, maybe having a few too many songs makes Vie even more of a throwback to the CD era?
Across all of Vie, though, Doja Cat feels like she\u2019s opening up, putting more of herself in her lyrics to the point of risking vulnerability. In doing so, she ultimately comes off stronger and more confident than ever. Earlier this week, people online criticized Vie\u2019s cover photo\u2014of Doja in white dress, dangling from a yellow parachute that\u2019s caught in a tree\u2014as not matching their expectations. But that\u2019s what\u2019s so refreshing about Vie. We need more artists\u2014especially pop stars at Doja Cat\u2019s level\u2014to take big leaps. Sure, maybe they\u2019ll crash into a tree, but in this case, she sticks the landing.<\/p>\n