“Vegas” by Doja Cat

“Vegas” was written specifically for a project dedicated to the life and times of Elvis Presley, one of the most famous and influential musicians in industry history. One of Presley’s signature tunes is a (cover of another) song he dropped in 1956 titled “Hound Dog“. And in its original incarnation, via one Big Mama Thornton, said piece basically centers on the vocalist dissing her unfaithful lover.

So it is with “Vegas”, which samples Thornton’s rendition of “Hound Dog“. But truth be told, well first of all, these aren’t the easiest lyrics to comprehensively understand and are definitely relatively-complex compared to Doja Cat’s usual fare. But as for the first verse in particular, this track is more reminiscent of songs like, say like Toni Braxton’s “He Wasn’t Man Enough“. In other words, what we have here is a female vocalist basically dissing her ex or what have you, in the sense that it was rather she who was the man in their relationship, so to speak.

Or viewed from a different angle, dude is portrayed as being a playa and on top of that one monetarily dependent on his romantic interests. But it’s like once Doja became privy to the fact that he’s playing her or what have you, she decided to flip the script. And that includes, as seemingly inferred in the second verse, physically threatening him, even with death. So it’s like her predecessor, Big Mama Thornton, was content with punishing her womanizing and obviously dependent boo by cutting him off. But it’s like Doja Cat is a 21^st century chick and therefore ready to take vengeance to the next level.

Las Vegas

Meanwhile, (Las) Vegas itself, though namedropped in the first verse, doesn’t really play much of a role in this song. Rather, such is the city which it can be said Elvis was most associated with. So naming the track so serves as a further ode to the deceased legend.

“Vegas” Release Date

This single was released on the 6th of May, 2022. It was launched through Kemosabe Records and RCA Records.

“Vegas” is one of the songs from the soundtrack project of the 2022 American biopic “Elvis”. The movie stars Austin Butler as Elvis and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’ manager.

The album, consisting of 36 tracks, was released on 10^th June, 2022 via Apple Music. Eminem and CeeLo Green’s “The King and I” also appears on this project.

Songwriting Credits

Doja co-wrote “Vegas” with renowned American record producers and songwriters Rogét Chahayed and Yeti Beats. Chahayed has previously worked with Doja on “Kiss Me More”.

As “Vegas” interpolated Big Mama Thorton’s “Hound Dog”, the writers of that song are also credited. “Hound Dog” was written by American songwriting and record producing partners Jerome Leiber and Michael Stoller. Other hits they had written for Elvis Presley include “Love Me” and “Jailhouse Rock”.

Doja’s “Vegas” Performance in Coachella

Doja performed a portion of this song alongside gospel singer Shonka Dukureh in April of 2022. The performance took place at the said year’s Coachella Music Festival.

Important to note:

Dukureh plays the role of Big Mama Thornton in the “Elvis” movie, the original singer of “Hound Dog”.

Did “Vegas” chart?

Yes. It appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States as well as the UK’s official singles chart. In Australia, it was a top-20 hit.