Doja Cat Skips Pop Megahits in Edgy Coachella Performance

Day three heading Doja Cat put an exciting end to the weekend festivities by bringing an extension of Red tour on Sunday night at Coachella. The Grammy-winning hitmaker last played the festival in 2022. She is the second black woman to headline the event, following Beyoncé in 2018.

The 28-year-old MC's performance was a gritty and hot-blooded spectacle, designed as pure, unadulterated id. Sparing little to stage banter, Doja opened with a sample of Madonna's 1994 anthem, “Human Nature” — later released on several tracks from her 2023 album. Red, such as 'Agora Hills' and 'Paint the Town Red'. With Dionne Warwick's 1964 classic “Walk On By,” the latter became Doja's first No. 1 song as a solo artist last September.

Special guests on Sunday included the a capella group Joy, who share South African heritage with Doja. they were followed by the MC 21 Wildwho rapped opposite Doja on 2024's track “HNIE” shyly holding a bouquet of baby's breath, Teezo Touchdown teamed up with Doja for a live debut of their song “Masc,” as shown Scarlet 2 CLAUDE: the deluxe version of Redwhich dropped last week. A$AP Rocky also appeared from backstage, rushing to throw down a metal version of their brand new song, “URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!”

Doja skipped most of her songs from her setlist, including “Say So,” “Woman” and “Kiss Me More,” her Grammy-winning pop number with SZA. As LA's biggest female hip-hop star to date, Doja instead chose to do her MC thing, throwing fire into every verse without missing a beat.

Doja's sleek, ferocious rap flow was powerfully combined by a live band and a stage designed like an industrial power plant, where she kicked, sowed and waved along with her dancers. The theatrics of her performance required some memorable funny moments: she appeared in a hooded outfit and yellow gloves for her set opener, “Acknowledge Me,” then stripped down to shaggy, blonde hair to perform her venomous rap track, ” Demons.” After a thunderous, hard-rock performance of “Tia Tamera,” she dramatically shaved off her fur and changed into a shibari rope to perform “97” while flanked by a giant reproduction of a T-rex skeleton.

She closed the show right up until 1am with her song 'Wet Vagina', which she did a risqué final act. Flanked by a troupe of female backup dancers, Doja twisted and waded through a puddle of mud, making out and gyrating with the ladies in a luscious mass. Fireworks exploded in the air as Doya broke away from the pack and down the aisle, beaming and covered in mud. She will return to repeat her show next Sunday for Weekend Two.