The new Doja Cat is nothing new

The success of a female artist depends as much on her music as on her appearance. This week, pop artist Doja Cat posted several nasty comments towards her fans and fanpages dedicated to her, advising them to «get a job.» This incident, which has cost her more than 600,000 followers on Instagram, adds a new page to the already very long list of controversies involving the singer in recent months. Accused of being a Satanist and of practising the dark arts, of having sold her soul to the devil, her makeover this year in preparation for the launch of her new album has sparked quite a bit of criticism. But while the backlash provoked by Doja Cat's surrealist and disturbing looks has been raging for months, the backlash that arose these days on Threads after the singer insulted her fanpage has already found an explanation. It seems that Scarlet, the title of the upcoming album, owes its name to the alter-ego that Doja will play during the tour, a wicked and mean character. Blood, spiders and medieval monsters have become Doja's favourite subjects, but his fan base doesn't seem that ready to appreciate this dark and grotesque side of her.

The evolution of Doja's style over the years 

Doja Cat for Balenciaga

Doja Cat for Schiaparelli

Doja Cat for the Met Gala

Doja Cat for Dazed

Before losing her fans' support, Doja used to entertain them with billion-listenings pop songs, accompanied at her concerts by hypnotic dances staged by the singer in long pastel hair, thick false eyelashes and outfits that pandered to her shape, including sarongs and loose bikinis, 1950s silhouettes and sequins. The first change that shattered her pop fairy image can be associated with her shaved head - later decorated with provocative illustrations as the symbol of anarchism - followed by her collaboration with Daniel Roseberry, the designer of Schiaparelli, at Paris Couture Fashion Week. The look worn by Doja at Roseberry's fashion show was crazy to say the least, being herself covered in red paint and Swarowski crystals from head to toe, and even then, despite the fact that it was a couture dress by a fashion house known worldwide for its surrealist designs, a large part of the online public immediately spoke out against the singer's decision to change her appearance so radically. Since then, the comments have only become harsher, leading to exaggerated accusations of conspiracy. «Sold her soul fr,» «It's giving cult and human sacrifice,» «Not the triangle illuminati,» are just some of the comments with the most likes under her posts.

Now, we neither want to defend, nor excuse, an artist who does not respect her fans, but it has to be said that events like these are very reminiscent of the same ones that marked the careers of Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus. Both two spearheads of American media, both burnt at the stake as soon as their physical appearance and behaviour did not suit the reason why they became famous. Two pre-packaged sweethearts who reached the pinnacle of success before they even came of age, Spears and Cyrus taught us that fame, paparazzi, rabid fans bordering on stalking and constant media exposure lead to inevitable derailment. In the same way that they were pushed to the limit during those years, Doja has repeatedly lashed out at the paparazzi, going so far as to post pictures of her giving them the middle finger on social media. And just as Britney's 2007 shaved head and Cyrus's performance at the 2013 VMAs were long considered a sin for female artists to be ashamed of - while today they contribute largely to their iconicity in the common imagination - thousands of users negatively judge Doja's look and new music, typing in «I miss the old Doja.»

The myth of the artist gone rogue

2013 MTV VMAs

2013 MTV VMAs

2007

2007

2007

The myth of the artist gone rogue does not appeal, particularly if the musician in question has always been attractive, but Doja's radical change is anything but unexpected. Taking cues from images dating back to the 1600s, collaborating with haute couture designers and provoking her fanbase so madly seems to be part of a marketing plan to publicise the tour, rather than a scandal caused by a mental breakdown. And although the public's response is very similar to the outraged one when the tabloids cheekily published Britney's 'meltdown', Doja's unconventional looks are nothing more than the artist's way of using impactful imagery to arouse strong emotions in listeners and followers. The fascination with the grotesque in contemporary fashion and media, namely the use by artists and designers of elements of that part of reality that most disgusts us, has existed long before the arrival of Scarlet, the new Doja. The grotesque has been part of art for centuries, and even in the contemporary world it has taken hold several times. We are not so far removed from the years when Lady Gaga, long before entering the world of Hollywood, played the astonishing role of a magician of disguise, sporting spiky facial prosthetics that gave her alien cheekbones - according to the artist's suggestion, «they come out when I feel inspired» - wearing a raw meat dress, or getting vomited on during a concert. Yet the public is still amazed by Doja, hastening to scream conspiracy.

If the grotesqueness of a monumental artist like Gaga has led her to be recognised as an icon, perhaps we need to try looking at Doja's new body of work with a new set of eyes. Her posts on Instagram contain the same irony that has always amused her fans, from unfortunately angled selfies to provocative captions, but these have simply been joined by the new interests of an artist who still has every right to rewrite her own image. Beyond the provocations Doja sends to paparazzi and intrusive fans, there are now monstrosities, bloodbaths and spiders. It is true that Doja's catchy pop is a far cry from the emblematic and political reach that Lady Gaga's was in the 1910s, and it would be a reach to compare the two. Still, never say never.