Doja Cat turned up the amount and the drama Tuesday evening (November 25) at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Area, delivering a high-energy two-hour set that doubled as a daring response to criticism surrounding her Ma Vie world tour.
The Grammy-winning performer leaned into an ’80s aesthetic, full with a leopard print bodysuit and half-face make-up that blurred the road between glam rock and efficiency artwork.
Backed by a full band that includes brass, bass, and keytar, she reworked tracks from her newest album, Vie, into funk-heavy reside preparations that gave the present a retro pulse.
Regardless of latest backlash over her Auckland tour opener, the place complaints included sparse costume adjustments and scaled-back manufacturing, Doja Cat didn’t mince her phrases. She addressed critics on-line with zero filter, writing, “I’m not your costume monkey” and “hold your opinion to your self.”
Her Melbourne cease got here simply days after a nightclub look in the identical metropolis stirred extra controversy.
Arriving three hours late, she carried out solely three songs earlier than exiting attributable to vocal relaxation orders for a sore throat. Native shops slammed the 15-minute set, whereas attendees voiced their disappointment throughout social media.
However Tuesday’s area efficiency flipped the narrative. Doja Cat moved effortlessly between sultry ballads and hard-hitting rap verses, proving her vocal vary and stage command.
A standout second got here throughout a jazzy model of “Paint the City Pink,” adopted by “Attractive,” which featured a saxophone solo that stretched into full-blown theater.
Tracks like “One Extra Time,” “Take Me Dancing” and “Aaahh Males!” had been reimagined with funkier preparations, whereas older hits like “Moist V#####,” “Ain’t S###” and “Boss B####” got new life via the band’s brass-forward sound.
The present additionally highlighted her sophisticated relationship along with her viewers. In 2022, she threatened to give up music after backlash from Paraguay followers over a canceled present. Final 12 months, she misplaced greater than 180,000 Instagram followers after telling her supporters to “get a job.”
Nonetheless, the Melbourne crowd sang alongside to each phrase, and Doja Cat appeared genuinely touched throughout her closing remarks. The Ma Vie tour continues with stops in Brisbane and Sydney earlier than heading abroad via 2026.
Her Melbourne present proved she’s nonetheless in full management of her narrative, critics or not.
