Amala (album)

Amalais the debutstudio albumby American rapperDoja Cat. It was released on March 30, 2018, byKemosabe RecordsandRCA Records. The album's deluxe version was released on March 1, 2019, and featured her breakthrough singles "Juicy", "Tia Tamera", and "Mooo!". Her first commercial release in four years, Doja Cat has expressed strong disdain towards the record for a number of reasons.
Upon its release,Amalawas initially a commercial failure and was largely ignored by critics.In August 2018, the album and Doja Cat gained attention when her novelty song "Mooo!" became aninternet meme.As a result, songs "Candy" and "Juicy" becamesleeper hits, and the album debuted on theBillboard200chart in August 2019.Amalawould eventually peak at number 138 on the chart in November 2019, coinciding with the release of her second studio album,Hot Pink.
On March 27, 2018, Doja Cat's label announced the album viaTwitter. In addition to announcing the release date of the album, they also revealed the title of the project and its cover.When "Roll With Us" was released in February 2018 as the first promotional single, the album was originally titledBaby.Amalawas later repackaged with a deluxe version on March 1, 2019, which added three new songs: "Juicy", "Tia Tamera", and "Mooo!".
Doja Cat herself has expressed strong disdain toward the record, claiming that it does not entirely represent her as an artist.She has also stated that she believes it is not a "finished album", partially due to her constantly partying and being high onmarijuanaduring its recording.Her first commercial release in four years, she revealed that it was also rushed in order to meet deadlines, and that it was made in a "difficult time" as she received "almost no support" before its release.
"Roll With Us" was released as the album's sole promotional single on February 1, 2018,and entered theSpotify'sGlobal Viral 50chart upon release.The album's lead single, titled "Go To Town", was released on March 9, 2018, along with a music video.Doja Cat further went on to promote the single by appearing onGenius' show "Verified".In an interview withEllein May 2022, she stated she regretted putting the song out, stating that her not being vocally and lyrically evolved makes the song "really difficult to listen to" for her.
A week before the album's release, "Candy", was released as the album's second single on March 23, 2018.Only a year later would the track become asleeper hitafter a dance challenge on the appTikTokwentviralin late 2019.Consequently, the single charted in countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States, the latter having the song peak at 86 on theBillboardHot 100, becoming her first solo entry on the chart.
The song "Mooo!" was originally released on August 10, 2018, exclusively toYouTubeas a music video. The track would be the first of Doja's to become aviral phenomenon,and would eventually surpass over eighty million views onYouTubeas of October 2020. The track was subsequently released commercially on streaming services,and would later serve as the first single off the deluxe edition of the album.
The second single from the deluxe edition (fourth overall), titled "Tia Tamera", featuring American rapperRico Nasty, was released on February 20, 2019.A music video was released on the next day.
Ranking it among their favorite albums of the first half of 2018,NPRdescribedAmalaas a "13-track collection ofbubbly,hip-hop-influencedindie pop" and "manifesto of a young woman striving to take ownership of her craft, her image and hersexuality, mixing genres likedancehall,trap,houseandR&Bwith a healthy dose of sass and humor."
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