WEEKEND #FYP: Behind The New Doja Cat Song Dominating TikTok

Just one month after its release, Doja Cat’s music is once again trending on the video-sharing app.

And as “squirrel girl” Sienna Mae asks, could ‘Kiss Me More’ be the new ‘Say So’ of 2021?

The disco-infused R&B song has become the soundtrack to everyone’s TikToks. ‘Kiss Me More’ currently features in over 650,000 videos, already a 60,000 increase in just the last few days.

Being used to showcase outfits of the weeks, makeup tutorials, storytimes, and with the addition of a new dance trend spreading across the platform – ‘Kiss Me More’ shows no signs of going away anytime soon.

In an interview with Zane Lowe, Doja Cat revealed that she wanted to write a song that tackles “the topic of needing love, needing to be kissed, or needing to be shown more in a relationship.”

 

The opening lyrics clearly echo these sentiments:

We hug and yes we make love

And always just say “Goodnight”

And we cuddle, sure I do love it

But I need your lips on mine

 

The desire for intimacy is obvious, with Doja Cat practically begging in the chorus:

Can you kiss me more?

We’re so young, boy

We ain’t got nothin’ to lose

 

“This song uses panning which is when sound is louder on the left or right,” Dev Lemons of @songpsych shares, “there’s a cowbell-like sound that pans to our right ear and electric guitar pans to our left ear.”

“Not only do these add to the groove of the song but the way they’re panned makes the song sound wider with a sense of space,” she concludes.

Director Warren Fu (a frequent collaborator with the likes of Paramore, The Strokes, and Daft Punk) takes advantage of the song’s mixing and upfront lyrics. The ‘Kiss Me More’ music video tells the story of a crash-landed astronaut discovering a pink planet of temptation, with Doja Cat and SZA as giant sensual beings who successfully seduce the explorer.

The ending even seems like an elaborate PS5 ad. SZA watches as Doja Cat plays as the astronaut and poorly moves him across the river in a video game version of their planet. Meanwhile, the real astronaut is stuck inside a glass tube beside other men who presumably faced a similar fate. 

When SiriusXM’s Morning Mashup commented that the groovy track was “made [for] sitting near a pool on a beach”, Doja Cat shared she just wanted to “make some music that reminds you of being outside again.” And in the socially-distanced world we now live in, ‘Kiss Me More’ serves as the anthem for disconnecting and just pashing it out.