Doja Cat Paints Denver Red on Scarlet Tour: Five Takeaways From Ball Arena Concert

Formerly seen as a pop star who would occasionally bust out some bars, L.A. hip-hop and R&B artist Doja Cat has fought tooth and nail to earn the well-deserved title of rapper.

"I also agree with everyone who said the majority of my rap verses are mid and corny. I know they are," she wrote in a since-deleted tweet in April, addressing the naysayers who regularly disregard her rapping abilities. "I wasn't trying to prove anything, I just enjoy making music but I'm getting tired of hearing y'all say that I can't so I will." Although she's notorious for regularly trolling her fans — she once reintroduced herself as Emcee Flapchunks the Third — this time, Doja meant every word.

The artist has entered a new era, ditching the glitzy pop and "corny" rapping that catapulted her into the mainstream with her sophomore album, Hot Pink, in 2019, followed by 2021's Planet Her. Her newest record, Scarlet, which dropped on September 22, is edgier, more masculine and, of course, rap-centered — it's Doja's determined, anger-fueled and slightly satanic demand for recognition and respect.

And if the album alone is unconvincing of her bid to be taken seriously, the rapper's first-ever arena headline tour, the Scarlet Tour, which kicked off in San Francisco on October 31, might be enough to change minds. It claimed Denver's Ball Arena on November 10 for an explosive night of miniskirts, booming bass, twerking and the fake-blood-soaked, devil-themed horror of her most controversial album yet. If you missed the landmark concert or just want to know how Doja fared in the arena, here are five takeaways from her Denver show:
Her Reputation Precedes Her
"God judges every word that comes out of your mouth," a man shouted into a microphone across the street from Ball Arena's east entrance. His words were clearly aimed at the throng of Doja fans flocking to the warmth of the stadium, largely clad in outfits unsuitable for the chilly temperature. But they were quickly dismissed with slightly uncomfortable giggles, exasperated eye-rolls and even outright humor — someone enthusiastically shouted back: "I'm a slut!"

Needless to say, the protester's warning wasn't heeded. When Doja's set started at 9 p.m. (later than the scheduled 8:30 p.m. start time, but she wasn't as tardy as Lauryn Hill), Doechii already had the crowd warmed up (or overheated, considering that opening act's final twerk session) and the audience sang every lyric from the get-go. And the more explicit and R-rated a line was, the louder they gleefully shouted it.
Despite Her Tense Relationship With Fans, They Showed Up
Maybe you've seen some headlines about the steady stream of scandals that the young rapper seems to be embroiled in: She mocked Amber Heard's court testimony from her defamation trial against Johnny Depp, called out Noah Schnapp for sharing private messages, and has been accused of hanging out in racist, alt-right online chatrooms, to name a few.

She also constantly trolls her fandom. She's teased albums with fake titles, announced several times that she's quitting music and tweeted things like: "Planet Her and Hot Pink were cash-grabs and y'all fell for it. Now I can go disappear somewhere and touch grass with my loved ones on an island while y'all weep for mediocre pop."

But this summer, the already-tense relationship between Doja and her fans was amped up an octave when the artist discovered that some of her fans refer to themselves as "Kittenz."

"My fans don't name themselves shit," she tweeted in July. "If you call yourself a 'kitten' or fucking 'kittenz' that means you need to get off your phone and get a job and help your parents with the house." Needless to say, that rubbed some fan accounts the wrong way; Doja reportedly lost around 250,000 followers.

But her transgressions seem to have been forgiven. After all, Ball Arena was sold out in all but eight sections. The fevered screams and general ruckus of the crowd in the packed arena often rivaled the booming bass. And when Doja took the stage, the audience marveled at her with a reverent, worshipful adoration. They Also Dressed Up
"There's a lot of big titty bitches in here tonight," Doja said with obvious pleasure as she scanned the crowd, most of whom were dressed to the nines, clad in white, black and red Scarlet-themed outfits. Some fans wore wigs — one was rocking a metallic, shiny bodysuit covered in spikes with matching silver hair, and another portrayed Hot Pink in a shiny, bright-pink bodycon dress and a pastel-pink wig. Another was in a cow onesie with devil horns (there was a lot of cow-themed attire, a nod to her 2018 hit, "Mooo!"), and yet another had an impressive set of black angel wings with a corset, fishnets and ankle-twisting platforms to match. Red leather pants, minidresses and black festival outfits seemed to be the vibe.

And Doja herself donned a new tour outfit — a white corset top, white thong and white arm warmers, with dramatic splashes of fake blood dripping down her legs and arms and bloody handprints cupping her chest. She started the show wearing red, rectangular glasses (which were quickly ditched), and her makeup was relatively simple — dramatic winged eyeliner, heavy blush and yellow eyeshadow beneath thin, drawn-on brows.
The Artistry Was Unmatched
Doja's precise choreography and dramatic use of special effects made the show incredibly entertaining — I wouldn't be surprised if her future arena shows rival Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in production value. She pulled out all the stops for the five-act performance, suddenly appearing on stage at the beginning of the show in a horror-movie-esque scene, draped in red cloth, before diving into a hole in the stage, only to slowly rise back up. Fireworks, fog, scarlet ribbons unfurling from the ceiling, actual fire, a giant eyeball with glittering red nerves and, at one point, a performer in a massive spider costume that dangled over the stage — you name it, she probably had it.

Doja did several numbers alone on stage, but the choreography when she was joined by her dancers was impeccable. Each step was made in total synchronicity, lights flashed in time with routines that complemented and added depth and artistic storytelling to each song. Her devilish Scarlet alter ego, soaked in fake blood and dancing as if possessed, would suddenly appear on stage with disturbing stealth, adding to the occult storyline.

Although the aesthetic theme of Doja's hour-and-a-half show focused entirely on Scarlet, new numbers such as "Paint the Town Red," "Demons" and "Wet Vagina" intermingled with some of her older tracks, including "Tia Tamera," from her debut album, Amala, "Say So" and "Woman" for an impressive 24-song set list.
It Was Invigorating
The performance was an intoxicating infusion of Doja's bad-girl energy. The party atmosphere continued even after fans left the arena — a crowd of people heading to their cars sang along to "Tap In," playing from a nearby rickshaw, prompting the occupants to stand on their seats and dance to a chorus of cheers. "[Doja] said: Eat that!" someone hoarsely squeaked. "I'm not going to have a voice tomorrow, and I gotta go to work."