"Paint the Town Red" is a song by American rapper and singer Doja Cat from her fourth studio album, Scarlet (2023). It was released on August 4, 2023, through Kemosabe and RCA Records as the lead single from the album. The song was written by Doja Cat and produced by Earl on the Beat, Rubin, Jean-Baptiste, and DJ Replay. The track samples Dionne Warwick's 1964 song "Walk on By". In the lyrics, the rapper dismisses her critics and asserts her own identity following arguments with fans on social media.

"Paint the Town Red" was a massive commercial success, topping the charts in 19 countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In the United Kingdom, it became the first solo song by a female rapper to top the UK Singles Chart, and in the United States, it became Doja Cat's second single, and first as a solo artist, to top the Billboard Hot 100. It reached the top ten as well in over 15 countries, including France, Belgium (Flandres), Finland, Germany, Sweden and Denmark. "Paint the Town Red" made history by becoming the first solo female rap song in Spotify history to top the platform's Global and US Top 50 chart and the fastest solo female rap song to amass 100 million streams.

The song received a nomination at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Pop Solo Performance. It was voted in at number one on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2023.

Background and composition

A two-second preview of the song was shared by Doja Cat on April 17, 2023, along with other tracks from her upcoming album. Doja would tease the song by continuously using the blood drop emoji, as well as putting a red filter over thumbnails of her previous music videos and album covers. She played the song in full length on July 18, while painting a white canvas in red. The painting would later turn out to be the single cover.

"Paint the Town Red" is a rap song. Upon release, the lyrics were interpreted by some as a reference to her previous behavior on social media, including the disapproval of a name used by a significant amount of her fanbase, and the subsequent arguments she had with some of them, in the weeks leading up to the release. Sampling Dionne Warwick's 1964 track "Walk On By", the song is backed by a "bouncy production" that sees Doja Cat rapping over a "subtly brassy, finger snap-laden beat", constituting an "contrast to the comparatively laid-back "Attention". The song is composed in G minor with the BPM being 100 beats per minute.

Commercial performance "Paint the Town Red" broke a number of streaming records on Spotify, making history as the first solo female rap song to top the platform's US Top 50 daily chart, and the Global Spotify 200 daily chart, and the fastest solo female rap song to amass 100 million streams.

The song peaked atop the Billboard Global 200 chart. It also became the first ever rap song to top Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart.

North America In the United States, "Paint the Town Red" debuted at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the chart issue dated August 19, 2023. Two weeks later it reached number five, after moving 21.1 million streams, 5,000 digital downloads sold, and 22.6 million airplay audience that week, a 49, 81, and 37 percent increase from the previous week. The song gained traction on the video-sharing app TikTok, with its audio soundtracking over 618,000 videos on the platform. The surge in popularity online fueled the song's performance; after moving to number three, it reached number one on the Hot 100 on the issue dated September 16, 2023. It became Doja Cat's second leader, her first solo US number-one, and the first rap song to top the Hot 100 in over a year since Nicki Minaj's "Super Freaky Girl" (2022). The song also topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for three weeks as well as their streaming and digital sales component charts. The song is also her 7th number one single on the Pop Airplay chart, the most among all artist this decade. The song is also her first to peak atop the Radio Songs chart.

Europe "Paint the Town Red" debuted at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart on August 17, 2023. It rose to number 15 the following week before entering the top ten on August 31, 2023. It reached number four, becoming Doja Cat's fourth top ten hit in the UK and outpeaking its sample "Walk On By", which hit number nine. On August 27, 2023, the Official Charts Company announced that the song was leading the race to hit number one that week, with only 1,000 units separating "Paint the Town Red" from its competitors. The song then reached number two, blocked by Olivia Rodrigo's "Vampire" from the top spot. The following week, "Paint the Town Red" rose to number one, becoming Doja Cat's first chart-topper in the United Kingdom. In France, the song debuted at number 132 and reached the top five four weeks later, at number 5, becoming Doja Cat's first top five, tying with Nicki Minaj to be the only female rapper to reaching the top five in solo and in featuring. The song stayed 45 weeks, becoming her fourth longest running song after "Say So", "Del Mar" and "Woman", and was certified Diamond, her fifth at this time, tying again with Minaj. In Germany, the song debuted at number 71 and reached the second position, becoming Doja Cat's first top two in the country and the highest-charting song since Woman, which peaked at number 18.

Music video An accompanying music video was released on August 4, 2023, and was directed by Nina McNeely. It features Doja Cat peeling out her eyeball which then falls into hell. Doja is later seen keeping company with death and Satan. Other scenes show her throwing bloody chunks of meat and riding on a green creature through the sky. In France, the music video was broadcast with blurring and with a warning "-10" in some channels due to death references, disturbing images and nudity.

Live performances Doja Cat performed "Paint the Town Red" for the first time at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards as part of a medley with the tracks "Attention" and "Demons". The performance featured the singer dressed in a grey suit and glasses, and "trailed by blood-soaked dancers". Writers praised the performance as one of the best moments of the night and compared Doja's "preppy" outfit to those worn by Joan Cusack in School of Rock and Britney Spears in the "...Baby One More Time" music video.

In popular media On November 1, 2023, "Paint the Town Red" would be used in a video on social media by All Elite Wrestling to promote their women's division, with wrestlers including Toni Storm, Hikaru Shida, Saraya, and Kris Statlander appearing.

Accolades

+Awards and nominations for "Paint the Town Red" Organization Year Category Result ARIA Charts Awards2023#1 Chart Award (Singles)Ciclope Festival AwardsMusic Video - Color GradingIRMA AwardsIRMA Number 1 Award (Singles)IW Music Awards International Song of the Month (October)International Song of the Month (November)International Song of the YearMTV Europe Music AwardsBest VideoBest Song MTV Video Music Awards Song of Summer The Daily Californian's Arts AwardsBest Billboard Hot 100 SingleTriple J Hottest 100Song of the YearOfficial Charts CompanyNumber Single 1 AwardSpecialist Number 1 Award - Hip Hop and R&B Singles Specialist Number 1 Award - Streaming SinglesSpecialist Number 1 Award - Singles SalesSpecialist Number 1 Award - Video StreamingVimeo Staff Picks AwardsStaff Picked VideoAICP Show Awards2024Licensed Soundtrack or Arrangement ASCAP Pop Music AwardsWinning Songs of the YearASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards Billboard Music Awards Top Rap Song BMI Pop AwardsMost Performed Songs of the YearBMI R&B/Hip-Hop AwardsBrit AwardsInternational Song of the YearCannes Lions International Festival of CreativitySilver Award — Use of Licensed/Adapted Music Bronze Award - Music, DirectionCiclope Festival AwardsSilver Award — Sound & Music - Licensed Music Creative Circle AwardsSilver Award — Best Use of Existing Music GAFFA Awards (Denmark)International Song of the YearGAFFA Awards (Sweden)International Hit of the YearGerety AwardsBronze Award — Music Global Awards Best Song Grammy Awards Best Pop Solo Performance MTV Video Music Awards Video of the Year Hit FM Music AwardsTop 10 SinglesHito Music AwardsWestern Song of the YearIHeartRadio Music AwardsSong of the YearBest Music VideoBest LyricsTikTok Bop of the YearNickelodeon Kids' Choice AwardsFavorite SongMusic+Sound AwardsBest Sync In Online, Social + Digital Advertising New Music AwardsCountry Song of the YearNRJ Music AwardsSocial HitPeople's Choice AwardsSong of the YearSEC Awards International HitShark AwardsSilver Award — Best Use of Licensed Music Best Colour GradingSpotify Billions Club PlaquesOne Billion Total Streams on SpotifyWebby AwardsVideo & Film Music VideoClio Awards2025Silver Award — Music - Licensed (Professional) Bronze Award — Direction (Professional)iHeartRadio Titanium Music AwardsOne Billion Total Spins on iHeartRadio Stations

Charts

Weekly charts + Chart (2023–2024) Peakposition Australia Hip Hop/R&B (ARIA) 1 Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 33 Bolivia Airplay (Monitor Latino) 14 Bulgaria Airplay (PROPHON) 1 Croatia (Billboard) 15 Denmark (Tracklisten) 5 El Salvador (Monitor Latino) 16 Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 2 Greece International (IFPI) 1 Hong Kong (Billboard) 16 Iceland (Tónlistinn) 2 India International (IMI) 3 Indonesia (Billboard) 23 Israel (Mako Hitlist) 77 Italy (FIMI) 17 Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan) 1 Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit) 5 Latvia Airplay (LaIPA) 16 Latvia Streaming (LaIPA) 1 Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20) 2 Lithuania (AGATA) 1 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 7 Luxembourg (Billboard) 1 Malaysia (Billboard) 3 Malaysia International (RIM) 2 MENA (IFPI) 4 Moldova Airplay (TopHit) 127 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 1 Nigeria (TurnTable Top 100) 36 North Africa (IFPI) 7 Norway (VG-lista) 2 Panama (Monitor Latino) 11 Panama (PRODUCE) 13 Paraguay (Monitor Latino) 8 Philippines (Billboard) 6 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) 7 Romania (Billboard) 7 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 129 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 19 San Marino Airplay (SMRTV Top 50) 37 Saudi Arabia (IFPI) 8 Serbia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 12 Singapore (RIAS) 2 South Korea (Circle) 86 Spain (PROMUSICAE) 69 Suriname (Nationale Top 40) 6 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 4 Taiwan (Billboard) 10 Turkey (Billboard) 23 Turkey International Airplay (Radiomonitor Türkiye) 1 UAE (IFPI) 2 Vietnam (Vietnam Hot 100) 4

Monthly charts + Chart (2023) Peakposition Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 35 CIS Airplay (TopHit) 14 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100) 1 Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 2 Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit) 7 Latvia Airplay (TopHit) 21 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 5 Paraguay (SGP) 19 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 25 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100) 30 Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100) 1 South Korea (Circle) 91

Year-end charts + Chart (2023) Position Australia (ARIA) 14 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 30 Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia) 64 Canada (Canadian Hot 100) 40 CIS Airplay (TopHit) 113 Denmark (Tracklisten) 92 Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 44 France (SNEP) 60 Germany (Official German Charts) 37 Global 200 (Billboard) 82 Hungary (Single Top 40) 20 Iceland (Tónlistinn) 37 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 18 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 68 Netherlands (Single Top 100) 42 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 16 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) 60 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 182 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 23 UK Singles (OCC) 26 US Billboard Hot 100 52 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 20 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard) 44 US Rhythmic (Billboard) 32