"Agora Hills" is the tenth track and second single on Doja Cat's fourth studio album Scarlet. It was released through Kemosabe Records and RCA Records on September 22, 2023. It was re-released as a single on October 3, 2023. It also appears as the seventeenth track on deluxe edition of Scarlet.
Background and release[]
Doja Cat spent several of her formative years living in an ashram commune founded and led by jazz musician Alice Coltrane in Agoura Hills, a city in the Santa Monica Mountains of California.[1][2] The purposeful misspelling of the title "Agora Hills" refers to the theme of agoraphilia, which is the love of public life, crowds, and activity, as suggested by song's lyrics about public display of affection.[3]
Doja Cat also adopts a Californian "valley girl" accent while rapping an entire verse of the song.[4] Doja Cat recorded "Agora Hills" during a ten day stint at Harbor Studios in Malibu, California.[5] The song was produced by Earl on the Beat, Gent!, Jean Baptiste and Bangs, who all wrote the track alongside Doja Cat. Songwriting credits on the track also go to Brian Holland and Michael Lovesmith, who wrote the sampled "All I Do Is Think of You". Mastering and mixing was handled by studio personnel Mike Bozzi and Neal Pogue, respectively.[6]
She first revealed the song's title in early April 2023, sharing a screenshot of the track as an audio file alongside two other songs to social media.[7] Later that month, the title appeared again in a photo shared by the rapper of the preliminary tracklist of Scarlet (2023) while under development.[8] Doja Cat began hinting the song's release after changing the location on her X/Twitter profile to "agora hills" in May 2023.[9]
On September 3, 2023, she shared a post on Instagram featuring her and the supporting cast at the song's music video shoot.[10] Later that month, a snippet of the song was shared on her official website, and the release date was confirmed to be September 22, 2023.[11] The song was released in tandem with Scarlet as the second single from the album.[12] In the United States, it impacted rhythmic contemporary radio on October 3, 2023,[13] and contemporary hit radio on November 15, 2023.[14]
Critical reception[]
"Agora Hills" was met with widespread critical acclaim from contemporary music critics, who particularly praised her unique vocal delivery. Alex Gonzalez of Uproxx lauded "Agora Hills" as a reminder of Doja Cat's "multifaceted musical talents", praising her "soft-tinged vocals" as well as her "fire rap skills".[15] Kyle Denis of Billboard ranked the song as the third best track on Scarlet, and similarly described Doja Cat as a "master shapeshifter" due to her ability to channel various characters using voices and accents. A number of critics likened her delivery on the track to that of American rapper Kitty Pryde, with several citing her "nervously languid" flow in her song "Okay Cupid" as an example.[16]
| “ | [The song] demonstrates that Doja Cat is not always just about being belligerent or being kind of venomous to her haters or conjuring all this occult imagery. But she has a lot of different sides, and the album has a lot of different sides. So "Agora Hills" is a kind of quiet storm song. It's hazy. It's sensual. And it's her singing and rapping. What I love about this song is that it's way more estrogen than it is testosterone. This is what she would call her softy side. It's her singing about love, about romance. | ” |
– Jason King, All Things Considered. | ||
Music video[]
Co-directed by American filmmaker Hannah Lux Davis and Doja Cat herself, the official music video was released in tandem with the song and the album.[17] The video opens with Doja Cat washing her body of the blood worn by her alter ego in previous music videos, before cutting to a scene of her levitating in the aftermath of an apocalyptic disaster.[18] The following scene is more serene, and sees her talking to her lover via telephone in a pastel-coloured bedroom resembling that of a teenage girl.[19] She wears a number of outfits and is also seen in a dystopian mall setting as well as sat atop a sign that reads "Agora Hills". In several of the scenes, Doja Cat is seen amongst a group of other female characters played by micro-celebrities such as Aliyah's Interlude, Mette Narrative and Lil Mariko.[20]
The video features cinematography from Kate Arizmendi and visual effects from the Frender collective. Together they utilised retro visuals and digital distortion techniques to purposefully introduce an element of degradation to certain shots. The video also makes use of fuzzy found footage as a film technique, and is characterized by its 1990s aesthetics.[21] The visual effects team helped create the effect of Doja Cat levitating, in addition to designing an upside down world in the sky during the apocalyptic scenes.[22] Davis described the video as "disconcertingly hot; shot in a liminal space and featuring a variety of versions of Doja herself embodying her different styles and personalities". The music video amassed over one million views on its first day of release.[23] Critics noted that while the video was able to maintain some of the "horror" imagery depicted in the other Scarlet music videos, it was significantly more dreamy, "pink and soft" in nature, and that it perhaps resembled a new, less dark version of Doja Cat.[24]
On September 2024, Doja posted the behind the scenes of filming the video to celebrate Scarlet first anniversary.
Commercial performance[]
On the chart dated October 7, 2023, "Agora Hills" debuted at number 18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with 14.9 million streams and 1,300 digital downloads, becoming her thirteenth top 20 hit in the country.[25] It rose to number 10 on the chart dated January 13, 2024, becoming her ninth top 10 hit in the country, before reaching its peak of seven approximately two weeks later.[26] It also was her eighth song to top the Pop airplay chart and her eleventh song to top Billboard's Rhythmic Airplay chart, topping the list dated December 23, 2023.[27] With this, she tied with Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj as the woman with the third most number ones on the chart, placing ninth overall.[28]
Elsewhere, the song was a commercial success in Asia and Oceania, becoming a top 10 hit in Malaysia, India, Lebanon, Singapore, and the Philippines. It earned platinum certification status in Australia (by the Australian Recording Industry Association),[29] and New Zealand (by Recorded Music NZ),[30] where it peaked at number four on the NZ Singles Chart.[31]
Live performances[]
Doja Cat first performed "Agora Hills" among two other songs for the Live Lounge series by BBC Radio 1 in late October 2023.[32] The song was included as the fifth track in the setlist of Doja Cat's second concert tour The Scarlet Tour in North America in late 2023.[33]
Gallery[]
Behind the scenes[]
Lyrics[]
[Intro]
Ooh
Yeah, yeah
[Chorus]
Kissin' and hope they caught us (Ah)
Whether they like or not (Not)
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna brag about it (Yeah)
I wanna tie the knot (Knot)
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you off (Off)
[Post-Chorus]
I wanna show you (Off)
Yeah, yeah
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you (Yeah)
Yeah, yeah
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you
[Refrain]
Hold my hand
You can hit while they watch, boy
[Interlude]
So, 9:30? I'll see you there
No, you hang up, you hang up
[Verse 1]
Somethin' different about you
Love it when he hit and smack too
Baby, let me lick on your tattoos
That's true that I like PDA, take it to a seedy place
Suck a little dick in the bathroom
"Who that man with the big strong hands
On her ass in the club with the paps?" Baby, that's you
Front-seat chillin' with the window down
I be ten toes down on the dash gettin' fast food
Hope you can handle the heat, put your name in the streets
Get used to my fans lookin' at you
Fuck what they heard, I don't fuck with them birds
I'm a mean kitty, don't get stabbed with the rat tooth
Boys be mad that I don't fuck incels
Girls hate too, gun to their pigtail
I love you, I wanna big chill
Boy don't trip, I'll split a big bill
Take you 'round the world, they don't have to understand
Rub it in their face, put a rock on her hand
[Interlude]
Baby, can you call me back? I miss you
It's so lonely in my mansion
[Chorus]
Kissin' and hope they caught us (Ah)
Whether they like or not (Not)
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna brag about it (Yeah)
I wanna tie the knot (Knot)
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you off (Off)
[Post-Chorus]
I wanna show you (Off)
Yeah, yeah
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you (Yeah)
Yeah, yeah
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you
[Refrain]
Hold my hand
You can hit while they watch, boy
[Interlude]
Ah, sorry, I was takin' a sip of my root beer
[Verse 2]
'Cause love is pain, but I need this shit (Yeah)
We fuck too good when the bean kicks in
Like Fortnite, I'ma need your skin (Yeah)
Don't give a fuck where the penis been (Uh)
Boy, you're the one, you're the only man
Me and you on my OnlyFans
Holy cow, you're the Holy Trin'
Hold me down when a hole need dick
Be my security, it's your therapy
With you, I ain't holding shit back
When I need my space, you give that
When he broke my heart, you fixed that
With a long walk on the beach
Love it when they honk-honk on the street (Beep)
When they see us zoom by in the Jeep (Yeah)
We a whole damn joint, we a energy
Baby, we could just ride on our enemies
They all want to know how you get to me
Let 'em feel how they feel and be Philistines
'Cause this type of love's the epitome, said
[Interlude]
Baby, you're literally capping to me right now
Like why are you capping me?
You just cap so hard, it's— I don't know what to do
[Chorus]
Kissin' and hope they caught us (Ah)
Whether they like or not (Not)
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna brag about it (Yeah)
I wanna tie the knot (Knot)
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you off (Off)
[Post-Chorus]
I wanna show you (Off)
Yeah, yeah
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you (Yeah)
Yeah, yeah
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you off (Off)
I wanna show you
[Refrain]
Hold my hand
You can hit while they watch, boy
Trivia[]
- The lines "Somethin' different about you / Love it when he hit and smack too / Baby, let me lick on your tattoos" are likely reused from her 2018 unreleased song "CLOSE TO ME".
References[]
- ↑ "A heel turn for the ages from pop's reigning provocateur"
- ↑ "Doja Cat DGAF If You Read This*"
- ↑ "Doja Cat's 'Scarlet' Is a Rap-Centric Pivot for the Superstar"
- ↑ "Doja Cat's 'Scarlet': All 17 Songs Ranked"
- ↑ "Doja Cat's 'Scarlet' Was Written Over The Course Of Two Periods"
- ↑ "Doja Cat Releases New Album Scarlet: Listen and Read the Full Credits"
- ↑ "Doja Cat Teases New Track Titles From Upcoming Rap Album"
- ↑ "Doja Cat Teases Snippets Of Her New Album And Shares The Possible Tracklist"
- ↑ X/Twitter - "DOJA CAT"
- ↑ Instagram - "🎀"
- ↑ "Doja Cat Teases New Track "Agora Hills" on Website: Release Date Confirmed!"
- ↑ "Doja Cat's 'Scarlet' Has Arrived, Ending a Bizarre Album Rollout"
- ↑ "A Recap of Radio Adds Recaps (October 3, 2023)"
- ↑ "A Recap of Radio Adds Recaps (November 15, 2023)"
- ↑ "Doja Cat Shares Her Dreamy 'Agora Hills' Video"
- ↑ "Premature Evaluation: Doja Cat 'Scarlet'"
- ↑ "Doja Cat releases album, "Agora Hills" music video"
- ↑ "Doja Cat Professes Her Love In Dreamlike Video For 'Agora Hills'"
- ↑ "Doja Cat Let Scarlet Loose"
- ↑ "Aliyahsinterlude Is Entering Her Pop Star Era With Debut Single 'IT GIRL'"
- ↑ "Doja Cat Recruits Her Girl Gang For Dreamy "Agora Hills" Music Video"
- ↑ "Behind the Scenes of 'Agora Hills': Unveiling the Visual Magic of Doja Cat's Music Video"
- ↑ "Doja Cat's "Agora Hills" Music Video Is a Cinematic Hellscape"
- ↑ "Doja Cat releases album, "Agora Hills" music video"
- ↑ "Hot 100: Doja Cat Climbs to 13th Top 20 Hit with 'Agora Hills'"
- ↑ "Jack Harlow's 'Lovin on Me' Returns to No. 1 on Hot 100, Doja Cat's 'Agora Hills' Hits Top 10"
- ↑ "Doja Cat's 'Agora Hills' Climbs to No. 1 on Rhythmic Airplay Chart"
- ↑ "Doja Cat Ties Nicki Minaj With Another No. 1 Hit"
- ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2024 Singles"
- ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Doja Cat – Agora Hills"
- ↑ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart"
- ↑ "Doja Cat Paints the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge Red With Her Performance"
- ↑ "Here Is Doja Cat's 'Scarlet Tour' Setlist"
[]
v • e  | |
|---|---|
| Tracks | Paint The Town Red • Demons • Wet Vagina • Fuck The Girls (FTG) • Ouchies • 97 • Gun • Go Off • Shutcho • Agora Hills • Can't Wait • Often • Love Life • Skull And Bones • Attention • Balut • WYM Freestyle |
| Deluxe tracks |
ACKNOWLEDGE ME • DISRESPECTFUL • URRRGE!!!! • OKLOSER • MASC • PISS • HEADHIGH |
| Scrapped tracks | Ain't News • Crack • Dead Inside • GANG • Go Team • HUNGRY • I Don't Mind • Loon1e • n.h.i.e. • RIDER • Seeing Stars • Shampoo • Shots • Sweet n Salty • Who Are You • Your Man |
| Artists | Doja Cat • A$AP Rocky • Teezo Touchdown • The Joy |
| Tour | The Scarlet Tour |