Amala (album) explained

Amala
Type:studio
Artist:Doja Cat
Cover:Dojacatamala.png
Caption:Standard edition cover
Recorded:2016–2018
Studio:The Himalayas
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre:
Length:45:13
Label:
Producer:
Prev Title:Purrr!
Prev Year:2014
Next Title:Hot Pink
Next Year:2019

Amala is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Doja Cat. It was released on March 30, 2018, by Kemosabe Records and RCA Records. The album's deluxe version was released on March 1, 2019, and featured her breakthrough singles "Juicy", "Tia Tamera", and "Mooo!". Her first commercial release in four years, Doja Cat has expressed strong disdain towards the record for a number of reasons.

Upon its release, Amala was initially a commercial failure and was largely ignored by critics.[2] [3] [4] [5] In August 2018, the album and Doja Cat gained attention when her novelty song "Mooo!" became an internet meme.[6] [7] As a result, songs "Candy" and "Juicy" became sleeper hits, and the album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart in August 2019. Amala would eventually peak at number 138 on the chart in November 2019, coinciding with the release of her second studio album, Hot Pink.

Background and release

On March 27, 2018, Doja Cat's label announced the album via Twitter. In addition to announcing the release date of the album, they also revealed the title of the project and its cover.[8] When "Roll With Us" was released in February 2018 as the first promotional single, the album was originally titled Baby. Amala was later repackaged with a deluxe version on March 1, 2019, which added three new songs: "Juicy", "Tia Tamera", and "Mooo!".

Doja Cat herself has expressed strong disdain toward the record, claiming that it does not entirely represent her as an artist.[9] She has also stated that she believes it is not a "finished album", partially due to her constantly partying and being high on marijuana during its recording.[10] [11] Her first commercial release in four years, she revealed that it was also rushed in order to meet deadlines, and that it was made in a "difficult time" as she received "almost no support" before its release.[12]

Singles

"Roll With Us" was released as the album's sole promotional single on February 1, 2018,[13] and entered the Spotify's Global Viral 50 chart upon release.[14] The album's lead single, titled "Go To Town", was released on March 9, 2018, along with a music video.[15] Doja Cat further went on to promote the single by appearing on Genius' show "Verified".[16] In an interview with Elle in May 2022, she stated she regretted putting the song out, stating that her not being vocally and lyrically evolved makes the song "really difficult to listen to" for her.[17]

A week before the album's release, "Candy", was released as the album's second single on March 23, 2018.[18] Only a year later would the track become a sleeper hit after a dance challenge on the app TikTok went viral in late 2019.[19] Consequently, the single charted in countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States, the latter having the song peak at 86 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first solo entry on the chart.[20]

The song "Mooo!" was originally released on August 10, 2018, exclusively to YouTube as a music video. The track would be the first of Doja's to become a viral phenomenon,[21] [22] and would eventually surpass over eighty million views on YouTube . The track was subsequently released commercially on streaming services,[23] and would later serve as the first single off the deluxe edition of the album.[24]

The second single from the deluxe edition (fourth overall), titled "Tia Tamera", featuring American rapper Rico Nasty, was released on February 20, 2019.[25] A music video was released on the next day.[26] [27]

Critical reception

Ranking it among their favorite albums of the first half of 2018, NPR described Amala as a "13-track collection of bubbly, hip-hop-influenced indie pop" and "manifesto of a young woman striving to take ownership of her craft, her image and her sexuality, mixing genres like dancehall, trap, house and R&B with a healthy dose of sass and humor."

Track listing

Notes

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2019)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australia Hitseekers (ARIA)[28] 10

Release history

Release dates and formats for Amala
RegionDateFormatVersionLabel
VariousMarch 30, 2018Standard[29]
March 1, 2019Deluxe[30]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Doja Cat - Amala Album Reviews, Songs & More / AllMusic. AllMusic. Collar. Matt. March 13, 2018. July 26, 2023.
  2. Web site: Voynovskaya. Nastia. June 26, 2018. NPR Music's 40 Favorite Albums Of 2018 (So Far). August 13, 2020. NPR. Amala [...] didn't get much attention from critics at the time of its March release.
  3. Web site: Zhang. Cat. October 30, 2020. The Mystery of Doja Cat's Unimpeachable TikTok Reign. October 30, 2020. Pitchfork. the uneventful release of her debut album, Amala.
  4. Web site: Janes. DeAnna. February 27, 2020. Doja Cat Is the Artist Behind This Catchy Song You've Heard on TikTok. October 30, 2020. Oprah Magazine. the release dropped with barely a whisper.
  5. Web site: Bassett. Jordan. August 29, 2018. Doja Cat, you've been cancelled: how the novelty rapper became 2018's 'Milkshake Duck'. https://web.archive.org/web/20200521182007/https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/doja-cat-youve-been-cancelled-how-the-novelty-rapper-became-2018s-milkshake-duck-2372178. May 21, 2020. May 4, 2020. NME. the moderate success of her album ‘Amala’.
  6. Web site: Mench. Chris. August 29, 2019. Chart Climber: Doja Cat Moves Past The Meme With "Juicy". April 7, 2020. Genius.
  7. Web site: Tan. Brandon. October 14, 2019. Doja Cat: There's No Going Backward On Killer Frequencies. December 4, 2020. Flaunt. "Before 'Mooo!,' we hadn’t really gotten any viral hits, or had any hits, period. We were doing okay, but things weren’t at their fullest potential. That was the most significant part about 'Mooo!' going where it did—it allowed all my other work to have a foundation and have a pull.".
  8. 978663566160035843. RCARecords. THE WAIT IS OVER! @DojaCat's #Amala album arrives on 3/30. RCA Records [verified account]. March 27, 2018.
  9. Web site: B Swift. October 15, 2019. Doja Cat Is Not A Fan Of Her First Album. October 30, 2020. Hot 96.3. United States. . Event occurs at 3:31.
  10. Cho. Regina. November 22, 2019. Doja Cat Feels Liberated and More Focused Than Ever: 'I'm So Pumped For My Life Right Now'. November 6, 2020. Billboard. A lot of people liked Amala, and that’s great. However, I don’t think it was a finished album. I was smoking hella weed. I was high all the f--king time and it wasn’t even helping me perceive what was going on musically. I was just really out there partying and it was a crazy time for me..
  11. Web site: Penrose. Nerisha. November 11, 2020. Doja Cat Just Wants to Make Rap Colorful. November 6, 2020. Elle. she chalks it up to being high as a kite while recording her first album, Amala. "I had no idea what was going on 90 percent of the time," she admits. "I was young and partying every day and I was enjoying myself a little too much. I was also doing nothing a lot, so that whole era was really a blur for me.".
  12. Web site: Northman. Tora. April 11, 2019. Doja Cat Interview: Music, Fashion and Career. September 2, 2021. Hypebae.
  13. Web site: Roll With Us - Single by Doja Cat. October 30, 2020. Apple Music.
  14. Web site: Friedman. Michael H. March 9, 2018. Doja Cat releases 'Go to Town'. May 11, 2020. Skope.
  15. Web site: Doja Cat. March 9, 2018. Doja Cat - Go To Town (Official Video). October 30, 2020. YouTube.
  16. Web site: June 22, 2018. Doja Cat "Go To Town" Official Lyrics & Meaning Verified. October 30, 2020. YouTube. Genius.
  17. Web site: May 24, 2022 . Doja Cat Rips Shots & Spills Tea On Her Social Media and A Song Release Regret on Thirst Trap ELLE . May 25, 2022 . . Elle.
  18. Web site: March 23, 2018. Doja Cat Releases New Track "Candy" From Her Forthcoming Debut Album 'Amala' Due Out March 30th Via RCA Records. May 11, 2020. RCA Records.
  19. Web site: Juarez. Sierra. November 25, 2019. Teens on TikTok are obsessed with Doja Cat's 'Candy'. October 30, 2020. The Daily Dot.
  20. Doja Cat Chart History (Hot 100). October 30, 2020. Billboard. United States.
  21. Web site: Pache. Juliana. August 14, 2018. Doja Cat explains how she made her viral hit "Mooo!". live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200404075439/https://www.thefader.com/2018/08/14/doja-cat-interview-mooo-video-bitch-im-a-cow. April 4, 2020. May 3, 2020. The Fader.
  22. Web site: Skelton. Eric. August 14, 2018. Doja Cat Explains How Her Viral Banger "Mooo!" Came Together. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191103193629/https://www.complex.com/music/2018/08/doja-cat-on-the-viral-success-of-mooo. November 3, 2019. May 3, 2020. Complex.
  23. Web site: Hussein. Wandera. August 27, 2018. Doja Cat will release an updated version of "Moo" on Spotify and iTunes. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191028004042/http://www.thefader.com/2018/08/27/doja-cat-announces-new-moo. October 28, 2019. May 4, 2020. The Fader. en.
  24. Web site: Rouse. Isaac. March 2, 2019. Doja Cat Shares a Deluxe Version of 'Amala'. October 30, 2020. Hypebeast.
  25. Web site: Tia Tamera (feat. Rico Nasty) - Single by Doja Cat. January 20, 2022. Apple Music (US).
  26. Saponara. Michael. February 21, 2019. Doja Cat & Rico Nasty 'Tia Tamera' Video: Watch. October 30, 2020. Billboard.
  27. News: Wass. Mike. 21 February 2019. Doja Cat & Rico Nasty Team Up For The Hilarious "Tia Tamera". Idolator. 2 March 2019.
  28. Web site: September 30, 2019. The ARIA Report: Week Commencing - 30 September 2019 - Issue #1538. Australian Recording Industry Association. November 6, 2020. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20191009022207/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20191001-0000/Issue1543.pdf. October 9, 2019.
  29. Web site: Amala by Doja Cat. iTunes Store. August 16, 2019. August 16, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190816204429/https://music.apple.com/us/album/amala/1364076874. live.
  30. Web site: Amala (Deluxe Version) by Doja Cat. iTunes Store. August 16, 2019. August 16, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190816185335/https://music.apple.com/us/album/amala-deluxe-version/1453882524. live.

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