NEWS
Doja Cat’s“Paint The Town Red” anthem caught Dionne Warwick by surprise as she didn’t know she had been sampled on the Grammy-winner’s Hot 100 topping hit.
Despited having her classic “Walk On By” sampled throughout the 2023 track, Warwick revealed that she didn’t even know who Doja Cat was during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show earlier this week.
“I didn’t know it had been recorded by her,” she recounted. “My granddaughter called me and says, ‘Grammy, do you know you’re on a record with Doja Cat?’ I said, ‘Doja who?’
“Well, apparently, it’s a major hit for her. I’m thrilled. I hope ‘Walk on By’ is as good for her as it has been for me. They’re great songs, and finally [young people] are being exposed to some good music.”
“Paint The Town Red” ultimately landed on Doja Cat’s Scarlet album, released on September 22, and she’s currently touring the LP across the nation.
The Scarlet Tour came through Newark, New Jersey on Thursday night (November 30); but Doja ultimately had to apologize to her fans for a lackluster effort on stage.
“I’m so fuckin sorry New Jersey I don’t know what the fuck that was,” she wrote on her Instagram Story after the show. “I’m really not happy with my energy tonight.”
It’s to be noted, however, that she told the crowd she wasn’t feeling well the night prior at the Barclays Center.
According to Rolling Stone, she considered cutting the final song because she was sick, but ultimately powered through.
The show goes on for Doja Cat as she’ll bring the Scarlet Tour — which is supported by Ice Spice and Doechii — to Ohio, Nebraska and Minneapolis this week.
NEWS
There’s a high probability that Jorja Smith has new music coming this summer. The British singer revealed plans for her What Are the Odds LP on Thursday (July 2), with the album set to arrive on Aug. 21 via FAMM.
Smith reunites with producer P2J — who served as a primary collaborator on her 2023 album Falling or Flying — for the entirety of the project. J Money and P2J will continue to build on the inventive U.K. garage sound Smith has been exploring, alongside a mix of grime and house.
“This album came together really naturally. There was never a big plan; it was just me making music that felt right in the moment,” Smith tells Billboard. “Working with P2J, we started experimenting with different sounds, pulling from U.K. garage, grime and house (funky house, Afro house) and it all grew from there.”
She continues: “The music feels uplifting, but the lyrics can be a bit sad at times. They’re about growing up, love, loss, friendships and figuring things out as I go. I trusted my instincts with this one, and I think you can hear that throughout the record.”
Smith kicked off the album’s rollout in May with the self-assuring “What’s Done Is Done,” and it continues on Thursday (July 2) with a second single, “Alive,” which finds the R&B singer joining forces with Afrobeats pioneer WizKid. The duo basks in the love-drunk euphoria of the honeymoon phase of a bubbling relationship and heads to Paris for the visual.
“Making this with P2J and WizKid felt really easy,” Smith adds of the collab. “We wrote and recorded it together in London. I think we captured that feeling when you’re at the beginning of something with someone and everything feels exciting. I’ve always loved WizKid’s music and the way he’s opened so many doors for Afrobeats around the world, so it feels really special and a big honor to have a song with him.”
What Are the Odds serves as Jorja Smith’s third studio album and contains 12 tracks. Outside of WizKid, the only other feature comes from grime artist Devlin.
When the project lands on Aug. 21, Smith will hit the stage later that night at London’s All Points East, as she’ll be co-headlining the Victoria Park show with Tems. 2026 has already been a busy year for J Money, who served as a musical guest on the debut season of Saturday Night Live UK in April.
The 29-year-old also collaborated with Mobb Deep’s Havoc for a remix of her “Blue Lights” classic and lent “Price of It All” to Amazon MGM Studios’ Bait soundtrack.
Find the What Are the Odds cover art and tracklist below.
What Are the Odds tracklist:
