Doja Cat's "Paint The Town Red" Gets A Blue Election Twist

The chorus of "Paint the Town Red" got a timely makeover in Dallas, where Doja Cat turned one of her biggest hits into a celebration of the midterm election results. With Democrats securing major victories across Texas, the rapper decided that red wasn't quite the right color for Wednesday night's (Nov. 4) performance. Her audience at the American Airlines Center seemed more than happy to go along with the change.

"I think some of y'all might know what I'm about to do," Doja told the crowd before launching into the familiar track. "We're going to replace it with blue." As the song reached its closing refrain, she switched the lyrics to "I don't care, I paint the town BLUE!" The crowd erupted, repeating the altered line as the stage lighting turned blue.

The performance arrived one day after the Nov. 3 elections delivered significant victories for Democrats in a state that Republicans have dominated for decades. Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, becoming Texas' first Latina governor and the first Democrat elected to the office since Ann Richards. Democrat James Talarico also defeated Republican Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race, becoming the first member of his party elected to the Senate from Texas since 1988. The Texas Tribune confirmed the results, and Democrats also secured control of both chambers of Congress nationally.

Doja didn't turn her concert into a political speech. Instead, she worked the election results into a record that was already an appropriate vehicle for a color change. The original "Paint the Town Red," released in 2023, became her second No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Built around a sample of Dionne Warwick's "Walk On By," the song was initially a response to criticism surrounding Doja's public image. Three years later, its familiar refrain served an entirely different purpose.

The Dallas concert was part of her ongoing Tour Ma Vie World Tour, which supports her fifth studio album, Vie, with Latto joining the North American dates. Doja had performed in Austin on Election Day before bringing the show to Dallas the following evening. She'll remain in Texas for two more performances, visiting San Antonio on Friday (Nov. 6) and Houston on Saturday (Nov. 7). Whether those audiences will also get the blue version of her hit hasn't been announced.