Doja Cat’s Dionne Warwick-Sampling ‘Paint The Town Red’ In Chart Battle
Doja Cat’s Painting The Town Red – based on a sample of Dionne Warwick‘s classic Walk On By – is locked in a battle to top the UK singles chart.
Olivia Rodrigo’s Vampire is currently ahead on sales in the mid-week charts, but its all to play for. Doja’s Paint the Town Red reached its current best of No 4 last week, while Vampire – the first song lifted from Olivia’s upcoming second studio album GUTS – previously peaked at No 2 in the UK.
Doja is yet to secure a UK No 1 single. She boasts four Top 10 tracks to date: 2020’s Say So (2), 2021 SZA team-up Kiss Me More (3) and The Weeknd collaboration You Right (9) and – the song in question – Paint the Town Red (4).
In an Instagram post shared last month, Warwick praised Paint the Town Red and encouraged her followers to listen to the track.
“I wanted to say, I think it’s wonderful that these youngsters who are recording today had decided to listen to some really good stuff of the old folks,” Warwick began. “Those that been recording for well over 20, 30, 40, 50 years and making decisions that good music plays a very important part. So I’m thrilled that you’re discovering us, that you’re keeping us alive.”
She continued, “Did you know that Doja Cat’s recording is gonna be released today? Now listen, all through the recording is a song that she sampled and [I’m] somehow quite familiar with — I must say that and I certainly hope you are too. This little thing called ‘Walk on By.’ Yeah, I am all through that recording which is very nice of her to do. I certainly do hope this is lucky and good to her as it has been to me.”
Painting The Town Red is far from the first track to sample Walk On By. Previous artists who have used the hit – originally released by Warwick in 1964 – include Slick Rick (on Mona Lisa), Raekwon (on The Living Room), and Joss Stone and Randy Jackson (on Just Walk On By).