Photo: Dana Pleasant for iHeartRadio
Doja Cat gave fans a sneak peak at her upcoming album Vie during a special iHeartRadio Album Preview party.
Doja previewed four new songs from Vie, out Friday, and answered fans' burning questions during a Q&A hosted by iHeartRadio's EJ at an exclusive event on Wednesday (September 24) that featured never-before-heard tracks and commentary on the record.
The hitmaker, who has been channeling '80s fashion while promoting Vie, arrived on stage in a low-cut black mini dress with large pink puffy sleeves that encapsulates the "sexy" and "romantic" vibes of the '80s-inspired album, which she said is about love. This ties in to the origin of the album title as Doja noted that while deciding what to name her fifth studio album, she considered the Roman numeral V for five. That led her to vie, the French word for life, which she said "felt right for this."
"Without love there is no life," she said. "You have to love someone or something to make another someone. You can't live your life without loving it."
After playing the lead single "Jealous Type," fans in the crowd and those tuning in to iHeartRadio's Hit Nation and Pop and Rhythm stations around the country got to hear four new tracks. In "Gorgeous," the audience grooved along as Doja sang about how it's a "crime" to be so beautiful, while "Stranger" was all about tuning out others' opinions on your love life.
"This song is about accepting the person you like for who they are and not for who other people think they should be for you," she said, adding, "This is accepting the person that you're with because you love them and following your heart because of love."
Photo: Dana Pleasant for iHeartRadio
The crowd was immediately clapping and dancing along as "Aaahh Men" began to play, complete with a sample from the theme to the classic 1980s crime drama Knight Rider. As the final song of the night, "Take Me Dancing," was introduced, Doja immediately screamed in excitement before teasing a possible feature on the track, though she remained tight-lipped about who it could be.
Following the preview, Doja explained the difference between Vie and her last album, Scarlet. While the 2023 record was about specific emotions like fear, pain, anger and frustration, she tried to "connect with a more joyful spirit" on Vie and wanted to feel sexy and feminine in different way than Scarlet. However, that isn't to say that her fourth album didn't serve as an "emotional comfort."
"It felt like I gave myself a time to speak and not try to pander or try to be something that other people wanted me to be," she admitted, adding that it took a long time to get into that headspace after "a lot of making mistakes or expressing myself impulsively or doing things that are very human."
Doja also answered fan questions sent in through the iHeartRadio App Talkback feature, from revealing how "All Mine" and "Acts of Service" are two of her favorite songs on the album to why quality time is her most important love language because "I need to be around someone and take them in to understand them a bit more and to feel love too."
Vie drops September 26.