Planet Her

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Lore & Background

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." The album was primarily written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and early 2021.

In Their Own Story

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." However, in 2023 Doja Cat ended up describing the album, along with the previous outing Hot Pink, as "mediocre pop" and "a cash grab."

Reader's Guide

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. 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. "Get Into It (Yuh)" 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. "Need to Know" is a "grinding sex jam" sung over an "icy" trap and R&B instrumental. "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. "You Right", a duet with Canadian singer the Weeknd is a slow, seductive song inspired by classic 1990s R&B. The final track on the standard edition, "Kiss Me More" featuring American singer SZA, is a disco-influenced ode to kissing. The album cover was shot by American commercial photographer David LaChapelle. It finds Doja Cat "floating in a sea of outer space."

Did You Know?

• 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 liv
• The album was primarily written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and early 2021.
• The album cover was shot by American commercial photographer David LaChapelle and shows Doja Cat 'floating in a sea of outer space.'
• In 2023, Doja Cat described Planet Her and its predecessor Hot Pink as 'mediocre pop' and 'a cash grab.'