Doja Cat Iconography

Lore & Background

The music videos for the singles from Planet Her all occur on different locations on the planet, aiming to explore the respective aspects of those locations and what they mean. Doja Cat said she wanted to "go outside of what I understood [or] what I knew as pop aesthetic or rap aesthetic" and "quite literally travel outside of the planet." She explained: "When it comes to the videos and choice of words and melodies and combinations musically, I wanted it to feel different. I wanted it to feel otherworldly. So, I just named it Planet Her." The album cover, shot by American commercial photographer David LaChapelle, finds Doja Cat "floating in a sea of outer space" with her body covered in sparkles. Although it appears as if she is flying, Doja Cat claims she is submerged in rock after having fell from space, but said it is "left for your interpretation."

In Their Own Story

Rolling Stone described Planet Her 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 [of the album] itself is pristine pop fun." Insider 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." By reflecting the everyday into science fiction contexts that incorporate video game, comic book and cyberpunk imagery, Doja Cat manages to conquer these landscapes, her psychedelic qualities on full display. This manages to solve the divide between Afro-futurism's darker side and suburban leisure's levity: Doja Cat sees the future as the possibility for utopia and connects it to its roots in current iconography.

Reader's Guide

The visual setting of Planet Her is built around the concept of a fictional planet. Doja Cat has explained that by naming the album Planet Her, she was "just trying to be cute" and clarified it is not a planet for women nor a "feminist thing." She 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." The album cover was shot by American commercial photographer David LaChapelle, with a number of different photographs taken amongst different sets, yet Doja Cat chose the final shot as it was her initial idea and she felt set on it from the start. The music videos for the singles all occur on different locations on the planet, exploring the respective aspects of those locations.

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 live on Planet Her is Doja Cat. Enjoy!'
• The album cover was shot by American commercial photographer David LaChapelle and finds Doja Cat 'floating in a sea of outer space' with her body covered in sparkles.
• Doja Cat claims that although it appears as if she is flying in the album cover image, she is actually submerged in rock after having fell from space, but said it is 'left for your interpretation.'
• Creative director Brett Alan Nelson initially felt worried when Doja Cat told him she wanted the record to 'feel space age,' but explained they were doing 'a style of futurism that feels fresh.'
• Rolling Stone described Planet Her as an 'exquisitely strange and spectacularly camp world' with 'cheeky, sci-fi B movie references in the presentation.'