Kiss Me More

Doja Cat released her second studio album, Hot Pink, in November 2019.^[4] The album spawned seven singles, including "Juicy", "Say So", and "Streets". "Juicy" gave Doja Cat her first entry into Billboard's US Hot 100 chart.^[5] It then went viral on the video-hosting application TikTok, where it served as background music for several Internet dance challenge clips.^[6] Aided by their popularity in TikTok, "Say So" and "Streets" became her first songs to top the US Hot 100 and reach the top 10 of the Billboard Global 200, respectively.^[5][6][7]

Looking back at the success of Hot Pink, staff writers at Billboard observed that Doja Cat had the "innate ability" to produce hit singles, and argued that she was becoming a "quintessential [Generation] Z pop star". After the album had performed great on the charts, the senior staff at Doja Cat's record label, RCA, believed that they needed to release a good follow-up song that would attain Internet-driven commercial success just like her previous singles. Such a song turned out to be "Kiss Me More", featuring American singer-songwriter SZA.^[5]

In early January 2021, Doja Cat revealed that her upcoming studio album features numerous guest appearances, including SZA.^[8] On March 5, 2021, SZA first mentioned "Kiss Me More" during an interview with V.^[9] She revealed that the song was "a different strut and I'm just excited",^[10] while Doja Cat replied by praising SZA, saying "I commend artists, like you, who stick to something".^[11] On April 8, 2021, Doja Cat took to social media to reveal the cover art and announce the release of the song for April 9.^[12][13][14] In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, she said: "I wanted to make a song about kissing. I just thought it would be cute. That doesn't happen too often, but just a song that's solely about kissing."^[15][16]

"Kiss Me More" is a pop,^[17][18][19] pop rap,^[20] bubblegum pop,^[21] dance-pop^[22] and R&B^[23] song largely influenced by disco.^[24][25] It is composed in ⁴
₄ time and the key of A-flat major, with a moderately fast tempo of 111 beats per minute (BPM) and a chord progression of B♭m⁷–E♭⁷–A♭maj⁷–D♭maj⁷.^[26] Doja Cat opens the song with vocals that recall "the gentle airiness of a light breeze", before two crashes of cymbals "act like glue" as they precede the beat drop.^[27] The song is "bolstered" by a "sunny, glimmering riff" and both singing and rap verses which critics noted to spotlight Doja Cat as equal parts singer and rapper.^[27] It is distinguishable by its slightly distorted signature guitar lead.^[28] Lyrical themes include "romance, passion, bold sexual desires, and tenderness all at once".^[22] The song's chorus interpolates the melody from Olivia Newton-John's "Physical",^[20][29] for which songwriters Steve Kipner and Terry Shaddick are also credited as co-writers.^[30]

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

"Kiss Me More" received critical acclaim. Some critics drew resemblance between the song and Doja Cat's breakthrough 2020 hit "Say So".^{[31][32][23][33]} Jon Caramanica of The New York Times wrote that it "mixes the breeze of lite 1980s funk with the bawdiness of 2020s hip-hop, a juggling act that Doja Cat has pioneered, if not trademarked, by now."^[34] Justin Cutro of Vulture described it as "a silky, playful R&B jam",^[23] while writers at Rolling Stone deemed it a "groovy, disco-inflected jam".^[24] Heran Mamo of Billboard wrote that "the slinky, sensual jam will definitely be a summer playlist staple with its groovy bass line".^[17] Writing for Nylon, Steffanee Wang described the song as "a mid-tempo pop number with guitar and sticky melodies".^[35] Writing for Teen Vogue, Claire Dodson described the song as "excellent" and "a shimmering ode to kissing [...] with a somewhat melancholy underlying melody that contrasts well with that signature soft-disco Doja beat."^[36] Anders Hare of Rated R&B wrote that the "sunkissed, bouncy tune [...] features both musical prowesses sensually crooning about embracing the now with their significant others."^[37] Doja Cat and SZA's vocals were described as "smooth", "sultry" and "evocative".^[38] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard praised the duo's delivery and noted that they "keep their rhymes tight and chorus vocals breathy, but don't mince words".^[33] Both the song and its accompanying music video received all-round praise for its dreaminess^{[23][39][25][16][40]} and sensuality.^{[39][11][41][25][31]}

Complex ranked "Kiss Me More" seventh on its mid-year list of the best songs of 2021 and named it one of the most "infectious" songs of the year. Describing it as "light and uptempo" and deeming it "a masterclass in disco-adjacent pop music", they praised Doja Cat's "terrific job balancing singing and rapping over a catchy riff" with her "snappy flow" and "tongue-in-cheek punchlines".^[42] Insider crowned "Kiss Me More" the best song on Planet Her and hailed it as "easily one of the best songs released [in 2021]" since "every moment of this song is disarming and brilliant."^[43] Brandon Yu of Mic deemed it "the most refined showcase of her many talents thus far".^[44] In an album review for Consequence, Carys Anderson agreed that the song "sums up every layer of Doja Cat’s complex celebrity" with its infectious guitar line and chanted refrain, ultimately making it "a summery summation" of the "hyper-feminine, hyper-sexual, hyper-futuristic aesthetic" of Planet Her.^[45]

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Kiss Me More has won 16 awards, including one Grammy Award from three nominations, one MTV Video Music Award from two nominations, one Billboard Music Award from three nominations, one iHeartRadio Music Award from five nominations ,^[a] one MTV Europe Music Award from three nominations, one Clio Award and one Spotify One Billion Streams Plaque. It also has been nominated for one NAACP Image Award, one Brit Award, two BET Awards, one People's Choice Award and one Soul Train Music Award.

Rankings

"Kiss Me More" appeared on many mid-year best-of lists, with several critics identifying it as one best songs of the year so far. The following is a selected list of publications.

More information Publication, Accolade ...

Critical rankings for "Kiss Me More"

Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
Amazon Music	Best Songs of 2021	1	[71]
Apple Music	The 100 Best Songs of 2021	5	[72]
The A.V. Club	The 20 best songs of 2021	4	[73]
Billboard	The 50 Best Songs of 2021	13	[74]
Complex	The 50 Best Songs of 2021	5	[42]
Cosmopolitan	15 Best Summer Songs of 2021	2	[75]
NME	The 50 best songs of 2021	16	[76]
NPR	The 100 Best Songs of 2021	63	[77]
Pitchfork	The 100 Best Songs of 2021	35	[78]
Spin	The 30 Best Songs Of 2021	3	[79]
Uproxx	The Best Songs Of 2021	Placed	[80]

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The music video was filmed throughout the week of March 15–19, 2021, directed by Warren Fu.^[81] It premiered the same day as the single.^[82] It features an astronaut (played by American actor Alex Landi)^[83][84] who crash-lands and explores the fictional "Planet Her", where Doja Cat and SZA portray seductive aliens who "provide soulful ambiance to his journey." At the end, he wakes up in a glass tube displayed among a collection of other men who have tried to explore the planet before him.^{[85][31][11][86][35]}

Emlyn Travis of MTV News praised the music video, describing Planet Her as "a mysterious, flourishing world filled with glittering oases, calming zen gardens, pastel sunset skies, and blossoming cherry trees that is ruled by two larger-than-life queens".^[85] Meaghan Garvey of Billboard noted that the video is "bathed in pastel hues and high-femme futurism, and while it's over-the-top sexy, it still ends with Doja and SZA cracking each other up while playing a video game in a galaxy far, far away."^[87] Erica Gonzales of Harper's Bazaar described the video as a "fantastical" one that "only their creative minds could pull off."^[25] Jem Aswad of Variety deemed it "trippy",^[31] while Jackson Langford of NME described it as "sensual sci-fi".^[11] Mekishana Pierre of Entertainment Tonight noted that it was "as playful and sugary-sweet as the track itself".^[41] Trishna Rikhy of V wrote: "A celestial visual and sonic experience, the hints of surrealism Doja Cat constantly threads through her videos still lingers".^[38] John Wohlmacher of Beats Per Minute noted that the fact that these "playful goddesses" were more interested in videogames than men shows just how clever the thematic approach to Planet Her was.^[28]

Doja Cat performed a solo version of "Kiss Me More" for the first time at Triller's inaugural Fight Club event in April 2021.^[88] Doja Cat and SZA performed the song together at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards in May 2021.^[89] Doja Cat again performed a solo version of the song within a medley at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards later that month.^[90] During a solo virtual concert as part of American Express's "Unstaged" campaign, SZA performed her verse from the song as well as the chorus usually sung by Doja Cat.^[91] She performed it in the same manner during a solo virtual concert as part of Grey Goose's "In Dream" campaign.^[92] Doja Cat also included the song in the setlist for her The Scarlet Tour and SZA did the same for her SOS Tour. SZA covered the song again in 2025 during the Grand National Tour, which she co-headlined with rapper Kendrick Lamar.^[93] The performance included elements of "Kiss" (1986) by singer Prince, concluding with the single's distinctive guitar riff.^[94]

Target exclusive 4" vinyl single^[1]

Side A

1. "Kiss Me More" (featuring SZA) – 3:28

Side B

1. "Streets" – 3:46

Credits adapted from Tidal and the Planet Her liner notes.^[30][95]

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

On July 22, 2022, Sony Music Japan announced a remix of "Kiss Me More" was released to digital stores, with Japanese comedian Naomi Watanabe replacing SZA as a featured artist.^[226] The remix was produced by Kentaro Fuji with Japanese lyrics and vocal direction by Japanese rapper Awich. The remix was Watanabe's second official music recording, her previous being "Kira Kira" with Japanese-American singer Ai in 2017.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal and official release page.^[227][228]

• Doja Cat – lead vocals, songwriting
• Naomi Watanabe – featured artist
• SZA – songwriting
• Yeti Beats – songwriting, production
• Rogét Chahayed – songwriting, production
• Tizhimself – songwriting, additional production
• Carter Lang – songwriting, additional production
• Lukasz Gottwald – songwriting
• Stephen Kipner – songwriting, interpolation
• Terry Shaddick – songwriting, interpolation
• Joe Visciano – engineering
• John Hanes – engineering
• Lloyd "2Fly" Mizell – engineering
• Chris Gehringer – mastering
• Serban Ghenea – mixing
• Akiko Urasaki – translation, vocal direction
• Shimi – mixing
• Kenta Yonesaka – vocal recording
• Sora Aota – cover art
• Kentaro Fuji – remixing

Charts

More information Chart (2022), Peak position ...

Weekly chart performance for "Kiss Me More" featuring Naomi Watanabe

Chart (2022)	Peak position
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan)[229]	12

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