Doja Cat‘s “Paint the Town Red” is a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit thanks in part to a heavily featured sample of Dionne Warwick‘s “Walk on By.” And on the Friday (Dec. 1) episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the 82-year-old singer recalled how she found out about the tribute — revealing she didn’t also understand that Doja went to the moment.
“I didn’t know it had been recorded by her,” she stated, informing Clarkson that Doja didn’t require her authorization to make use of the 1964 hit. “My granddaughter called me and says, ‘Grammy, do you know you’re on a record with Doja Cat?’ I said, ‘Doja who?’”
“Well, apparently, it’s a major hit for her,” Warwick included of “Paint the Town Red,” concerning which Clarkson validated, “Oh no no, it’s huge.”
“I’m thrilled,” responded Warwick. “I hope ‘Walk on By’ is as good for her as it has been for me. They’re great songs, and finally [young people] being exposed to some good music.”
When “Paint the Town Red” came to a head at the Hot 100’s top in September, it ended up being Doja’s second song to do so and her very first solo struck to get to No. 1. “B—h, I said what I said/ I’d rather be famous instead/ I let all that get to my head/ I don’t care, I paint the town red,” she raps over Warwick’s duplicating “Walk on By” refrain.
Warwick’s tune was likewise a leading 10 hit in its day, coming to a head at No. 6 on the Hot 100 in 1964. Warwick herself has actually covered the graph two times, initially in 1974 with her Spinners cooperation “Then Came You” complied with by “That’s What Friends are For” including Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder in 1986.
Watch Dionne Warwick discuss “Paint the Town Red” on The Kelly Clarkson Show over.
