The song was marketed as her grand return to pop following the rap-heavy Scarlet, which yielded two t10 hits in Agora Hills and Paint The Town Red. However, it seems to be underperforming on all fronts as her VMA performance of the song hasn't even crossed 1M a day later and the song has completely fallen out of the top100 on Global Spotify 2 weeks after release.

 

Genuinely curious as to why this isn't smashing. Can the era be saved at this point?

To be fair I don't know how this is performing for her but I really can't get into this 80s sound. It doesn't matter who does it. I really hope for success for her though because I like dojas work ethic and I like her music. But im going to pass on this album probably 

Not catchy enough. Loved the performance 

5 months of teasing / wrong timing

her previous behavior on social media

 

the song would've smashed hard it it was released by someone like sabrina

Edited September 9, 2025Sep 9 by hallucinate

She waited way too damn long. Teasing the song so early was a big mistake. She had virtually no competition from May-July and sat on the song wayyyy too long. She's gotten overshadowed by several releases. 

ATRL praised it 

 

but still a big bop 

Heard her on the VMAs pre-show saying the whole era and album will be 80s inspired. I think it's a bit late for that sound to be big on the mainstream. Five years ago maybe?  I commend her for doing what she wants without paying too much attention to what's popping.

can the era be saved? attention didn't do very well, there's always room for doja to come back. i do kinda think the song is a bit lacklustre tho and also speaks to the fact that i expected more than a kind of retro pastiche from her?

 

felt this a bit with the sabrina album too (tho tbf it's very good) and also taylor going back to max: pop is chasing its tail atm rather than looking for the next thing and some ambition might have paid off or at least been more interesting

Edited September 9, 2025Sep 9 by makeawish

It's not what we, the GP, want from her.

Many others have pointed it out as well, but I've said since before the song dropped that people are tired of this throwback 80's soundscape. It's not fun anymore

Forgettable plus she doesn't have a large fanbase to launch an era. She depends on having radio hits 

the song is great but it's not very memorable or catchy enough. They should've added a bridge or something because rn it feels too repetitive and short.  

I think people don't want to see Doja doing pop music anymore. She's so so good doing Rap. Idk why she switched back to pop. Scarlet is A+

she was late to the 80s revival

80s trend is over + the song is faceless

The song is not bad but I dont like the vocal production and it is missing substance

I just think it's too loud of a song to really resonate with audiences right now. Take one look at the charts: all that does well in terms of pop music is either adult contemporary, sad indie pop or background chill music. This is a very straightforward 80s new jack swing song. 

Attention was a flop, so I assume she has something else for the next single. 

This thread is reminding me to rewatch the vmas of it 
 

It should have released earlier in the summer

Inb4 it goes viral on TikTok like it has happened to her before  

 

 

song isn't good enough and another 80s era doesn't feel fresh or exciting

20 minutes ago, ChooseyLover said:

Heard her on the VMAs pre-show saying the whole era and album will be 80s inspired. I think it's a bit late for that sound to be big on the mainstream. Five years ago maybe?  I commend her for doing what she wants without paying too much attention to what's popping.

To be fair the 80s revival had a bit of a break the last 2 years (aside from Chappell's music). 
 

I think this is the first time that Doja is chasing trends rather than setting them. Vie feels very calculated so far.

I don't hate 80s sounds personally but from doja it is a bit disappointing because the sounds and vibes on scarlet were modern and fresh for the time 

 

Will there be an agora hills level bop or even pttr with 80s sounds idk, if they are less surface level than jealous type I don't think it's impossible

She has no fanbase.

 

Acts like Doja, Katy, Lizzo, Megan Strainer, etc. are nothing without GP support.

I like the song but for me the vocal production is lacking. Like I could barely hear her or understand what she was saying before listening closer with my ear buds.