Planet Her
Planet Her is the third studio album by the American rapper and singer Doja Cat. It was released on June 25, 2021, by Kemosabe Records and RCA Records. Titled after a fictional planet created by Doja Cat, it is pop, hip-hop, and R&B record. Lyrically, the album touches on femininity, solitude, romance, and sexuality, among other topics.
The album features guest appearances from Young Thug, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, JID, and SZA, with Eve and Gunna featuring on the deluxe edition. Doja Cat served as Planet Her
Five singles were released in support of Planet Her: "Kiss Me More", "You Right", "Need to Know", "Woman", and "Get into It ", all of which charted within the top 20 of the US Billboard Hot 100. It reached number one in New Zealand and spent four non-consecutive weeks at its peak of number two on the US Billboard 200 chart. Landing inside the top ten of thirteen countries, it finished 2021 as the world's tenth best-selling album that year. Planet Her was positively received by most music critics, who praised the sonic versatility and vocal deliveries. The deluxe of the album was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
Background and recording
Doja Cat released her second studio album Hot Pink in November 2019, and spent most of 2020 promoting its singles. In August 2020, she told MTV that her then-untitled third studio album would incorporate multiple music genres and that each song had its own "personality". Later in September 2020, Doja Cat revealed that her third studio album was complete and "all ready" for release. She also told iHeartRadio in December that it has a number of features and collaborations, and that each song has a "different kind of vibe" to one another.Half of the album was written in Hawaii in February 2019, where Doja Cat was on vacation with her manager and co-writer Lydia Asrat, recovering from a recent breakup. Recording for the album mostly took place under the lockdown constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, largely between Doja Cat and American record producer Y2K's home studio, and the Sound Factory and Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California with American recording engineer Rian Lewis. Lewis claims that Doja Cat produced all her own vocals from inside the booth "with impeccable precision and intention," and that "every harmony, every massive stack, every backing vocal in a character voice... those are all her ideas, 100%." Doja Cat previewed the album tracks "Payday", "Ain't Shit" and "Love to Dream" while on Instagram livestreams in April 2020, May 2020 and May 2021 respectively. She recorded the final vocals for the opening track, "Woman", a month before the album was released.In April 2021, shortly after confirming its title, Doja Cat said that Planet Her is her first album that "feels fully her own" and that as opposed to trying "to be a certain kind of pop star, she's simply embodying one". She said that like her previous record Hot Pink, each song would be distinctly different from one another, yet there would be more cohesion on Planet Her as opposed to Hot Pink. Before its release, Doja Cat expressed her excitement about releasing R&B music and "exploring different lanes", ultimately describing the album as "unbelievable".
However, in 2023 Doja Cat ended up describing the album, along with the previous outing Hot Pink, as "mediocre pop" and "a cash grab".
Concept and title
Doja Cat has explained that Planet Her is "the center of the universe" where "all races of space exist and its where all species can kind of be in harmony there". She noted that by naming the album Planet Her, she was "just trying to be cute" and clarified that it is not a planet for women nor a "feminist thing". The music videos for the singles from the album all occur on different locations on the planet, and aim to explore the respective aspects of these locations and what they mean. In an interview with iHeartRadio, she described the album as the most visually captivating project she has ever done, and noted that, because the album focuses on relationships, "it's not a huge statement, not a political statement. It's just Planet Her, for girls".Creative director Brett Alan Nelson revealed that he initially felt worried when Doja Cat told him that she wanted the record to "feel space age", however he explained further: "We're doing a style of futurism that feels fresh. We don't know what our actual future holds, so we are making what Doja Cat's future is."
Cover artwork
The album cover was shot by American commercial photographer David LaChapelle. It finds Doja Cat "floating in a sea of outer space". Her body is covered with sparkles. There were a number of different photographs taken amongst different sets, yet Doja Cat chose the final shot as it was her initial idea and felt set on it from the start. Although it appears as if she is flying in the image, Doja Cat claims that she is submerged in rock after having fell from space, but said that it is "left for your interpretation".Reception
interpreted through the album's music and lyrics that "Planet Her" is a place where "midday skies are streaked with pink and orange" and where "following your sexual urges is uncomplicated and morally good, where the feminine is divine and it's summer year-round." Rolling Stone described the planet as an "exquisitely strange and spectacularly camp world" and noted that "there's a bit of cheeky, sci-fi B movie references in the presentation but the content itself is pristine pop fun."Composition
Planet Her is primarily a pop, hip-hop, and R&B record. It incorporates musical elements from a wide range of genres, such as afrobeat, reggaeton, hyperpop, and pop-rap. The album opens with a string of "funky," "fun" and "upbeat" tracks and towards the second half, the tempo mostly slows down for the more "introspective" tracks and Doja Cat "drifts from her usual raunchy lyricism to try out lovesick lullabies and heartbreak ballads, allowing the music to slow and a newfound vulnerability to emerge."The opening track, "Woman", is "an empowering, unabashed ode to womanhood and feminine diversity" which also explores the thoughts, emotions and woes of being a woman. It's a bright, sexy and high-energy afrobeat song. In the lyrics, Doja Cat also details how patriarchy often tries to create competition by putting women against each other. The next track "Naked" features a reggaeton rhythm and is led by a "sultry" and "high-energy" vocal performance. Both "Woman" and "Naked" are driven by steel drums and pulsing bass.
The third track, "Payday", celebrates Doja Cat's wealth and fame in a high register, as she sings "I just can't believe I got what I wanted all my life". "Get Into It " is a tribute to rapper Nicki Minaj, whom Doja Cat pays respect to by saying "Thank you Nicki, I love you!" towards the end of the song, and references her debut single "Massive Attack". "Need to Know" is a "grinding sex jam" sung over an "icy" trap and R&B instrumental. Throughout the song, Doja Cat's "dense triplet flow is layered over futuristic disco production. "I Don't Do Drugs" featuring American singer Ariana Grande was described as a "masterclass in the airy R&B vibe" found in most of Grande's work. Its "candy-coated" production is driven by "whimsical xylophone" and "exploding bass". "Love to Dream" is a wistful space-age pop and R&B ballad driven by a downcast, distorted guitar lead and Doja Cat's high "crystalline falsetto" vocals.
"You Right", a duet with Canadian singer the Weeknd is a slow, seductive song inspired by classic 1990s R&B. It's been described as a "sexy, atmospheric slow-burn" driven by "slick and twinkling keyboards". Over the gentle trap beat and through pitched down vocals of "Been Like This", Doja Cat processes her shifting feelings for a partner after noticing how they've changed and become more toxic, making it one of the most reflective on the album. "Options" featuring American rapper JID is a "solid rap song" which features 808s. "Ain't Shit" was noted to feature Doja Cat's "rapped eye rolls", a "falsetto refrain", and a "fed up attitude of the opposite sex". The sparkly, midtempo production on "Imagine" combines a trap bassline with traditional East Asian music. The penultimate song, "Alone", recalls a 2000s blend of pop and R&B. The final track on the standard edition, "Kiss Me More" featuring American singer SZA, is a disco-influenced ode to kissing. It has been described as "breezy", "flirtatious" and "cheeky".
Release and promotion
Doja Cat first introduced the term "Planet Her" in August 2020 during the opening sequence of her performance at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, where she impersonated a television commentator and stated "Performing live on Planet Her is Doja Cat. Enjoy!". In late December 2020, she began subliminally teasing the album on Twitter by repeatedly tweeting the phrase "Planet Her 2021" over the course of a few weeks. On January 5, 2021, Doja Cat followed eight musicians on the platform and subsequently tweeted "Following them for a reason. Guess why.", alluding to imminent collaborations with the followed artists.The title of the album, Planet Her, was confirmed in an interview with American magazine V in March 2021. The existence of the track "Kiss Me More", featuring SZA, was confirmed in the same interview. In the following month, Doja Cat revealed that the song "You Right" with the Weeknd would serve as the second single from Planet Her in a cover story interview with Billboard. The existence of the track "Need to Know" was also revealed at the same time. After announcing the release of this song as a promotional single on June 9, Doja Cat then used social media to announce the album's release date and reveal the artwork and track listing on June 10. The album was made available for pre-order on June 11, the same day "Need to Know" was released.
Planet Her was issued worldwide on June 25, 2021, at midnight local time, by Kemosabe and RCA Records, Doja Cat's third to be released under this contract. The standard edition has only yet been released on digital download and streaming formats, with a limited release of only a few thousand CDs on Doja Cat's online store. A deluxe edition of the album was released two days later on June 27, to digital download and streaming formats. The deluxe edition was released on CD format internationally on December 10, 2021. An LP format of the deluxe edition was released on May 27, 2022.