Chart Climber: Doja Cat Moves Past The Meme With “Juicy”

Doja Cat made a splash last year with the release of her debut album, Amala, but it was the August 2018 release of “MOOO!” that really got her name out there. Featuring comedic lyrics and a bizarre video, the song was a viral smash that was quickly followed by the unearthing of homophobic old tweets and a “canceling” in classic internet fashion. “MOOO!” had elevated Doja Cat’s name recognition, but it was unclear if she would continue to be overshadowed by her meme moment.

One year later, the California rapper has more than found her footing. She reissued Amala in March with new tracks, including “MOOO!,” the Rico Nasty-assisted “Tia Tamera,” and a third track, titled “Juicy.” The latter song flew under the radar at first as “Tia Tamera” took center stage, but five months later it’s become the star of the show—and her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

“Juicy” originally dropped on March 1 and attracted some minor attention at the time. It earned a few thousand pageviews on Genius within its first few days of release, and cracked 1,000 daily pageviews for three days in late March around the same time “Tia Tamera” was reaching its peak popularity. Things would slow down soon after, however, with the song averaging just a few hundred pageviews per day for most of the summer.

All that changed in mid-August with the release of the song’s music video. Doja added a Tyga feature to the track and shared a meticulously constructed video directed by Jack Begert that earned widespread conversation on social media. Within just a few weeks of its release, Doja’s “Juicy” video is closing in on the total view count for “Tia Tamera,” which was released six months ago:

The renewed attention brought a huge initial pageivew spike on Genius, with the original song reaching more than 6,000 daily pageviews on August 16, the day after the video’s release. Daily pageviews for the remix would peak at more than 2,500 two days later. Although interest has dropped off from the initial release, she’s still putting up more than 2,000 daily pageviews across both versions of the song every day.

This week, “Juicy” debuted at No. 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking Doja’s first chart entry. Although she previously found success with “MOOO!,” “Tia Tamera,” and even her original Amala track “Go to Town,” “Juicy” has been the first song to break through enough to reach the chart. The song’s effects have extended across her catalog, too. The same week that “Juicy” charted, Amala reached the Billboard 200 albums chart for the first time:

“Juicy” is now just two million streams from overtaking both “MOOO!” and “Tia Tamera” on Spotify, where it’s appearing on popular playlists like “Get Turnt.” Its sustainability on the Hot 100 remains to be seen, but the song’s numbers appear to be trending in the right direction. She’s also set to take the stage at Genius' IQ/BBQ next month. One year out from “MOOO!,” it seems Doja Cat has been able to overcome the meme that first introduced her to many listeners and is on the verge of leveling up in her career.

Catch up on all the lyrics to Doja Cat’s “Juicy” featuring Tyga on Genius now.