Thousands of fans packed Detroit’s Little Caesars arena on a cold Sunday night to witness Doja Cat’s “The Scarlet Tour.” The Motor City was the 22nd stop of the 24-date tour that kicked off on Halloween in San Francisco, and is Doja Cat’s first arena tour. Born Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamin, the 28-year-old rapper and singer and Los Angeles native has come a long way since her first Detroit performance at the “Backwoods & Bonfires” festival in 2019. Since then she’s dropped two double-platinum albums Hot Pink (2019) and Planet Her (2021), followed by her latest, Scarlet. She’s also won five American Music Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, and a Grammy Award.
In the blink of an eye she has gone from the “Mooo!” girl to a bonafide pop star.
The night started with a 25-minute set from rapper Ice Spice. Born Isis Naija Gaston in the Bronx, she’s known for hit singles “Munch (Feelin’ U),” “Deli,” and “Princess Diana,” has been one of the leaders of a new wave of women hip-hop artists over the last several years. Dressed in pink boots, a pink crop top, and a tennis skirt, her performance featured just as much twerking as it did rapping.
Doja Cat’s performance was broken up into four acts. After a brief stage set change, she walked on the stage barely recognizable as she was covered with a long length veil under red lighting. Once she got to the front of the stage she suddenly dropped through a trapdoor in the floor then popped back up performing “WYM Freestyle” while holding a mic that was attached to a long chain. Dressed in tall blue boots, white shorts, and a blue T-shirt with “55” written across it, she jumped right into songs “Demons” (with a giant spider walking over her), “Tia Tamera,” and “Shutcho” as smoke, pyro effects, rotating lights, and back-up dancers all enhanced a very visual fulling first act.
Doja Cat’s primary source of material was from Scarlet, which dropped on September 22, and has already been certified gold. The album carries a more darker aesthetic (hence the giant spider) and fans embraced the goth overtones, as many had on red outfits from head-to-toe and red devil horns on their heads. While Doja Cat kept on the same outfit all night, her dancers changed from hoodies with trench coats, to a medieval hip-hop look that truly fit the vibe of the night.
Everything wasn’t always dark though. A super fun rendition of “Kiss Me More” was performed and highlighted with a kiss cam that prompted attendees to kiss once they appeared on the giant monitors on stage. While Doja Cat didn't perform “Mooo!,” she did give a shout out to all the fans that were dressed in their cow outfits.
She performed her hit “Paint the Town Red” a lot earlier in the night than you would think, rapped “97” with a giant eyeball on stage next her, and closed out the show with a very sultry and lusty performance of “Wet Vagina.”
Overall Doja Cat performed over two dozen songs with equal amounts of dancing, singing, rapping, sexyness, and booty shaking. The choreography, visuals, and Doja Cat’s stage presence showed she’s a big-time performer ready for even bigger stages.
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