How Doja Cat’s ‘Vegas’ Transcended ‘Elvis’ to Become Her Latest Pop Radio Hit

The past two years have been a whirlwind of success for Doja Cat, who emerged from TikTok virality to become one of radio’s most beloved artists of the young decade so far. And she’s been on the type of hot streak that has her in rarefied territory: With five top five hits on Pop Airplay off her latest album, the RCA-released Planet Her, her album became just the seventh to ever accomplish that feat, a mark she set over the course of an entire calendar year — an impressive achievement in an era when attention spans are short and longevity is fleeting.

This week, Doja Cat adds to her run of success as her latest single “Vegas,” off the Elvis soundtrack (also out on RCA), became her sixth No. 1 single at Pop Airplay — replacing her collaboration with Post Malone, “I Like You (A Happier Song),” atop the list and making her the first artist to replace herself atop the chart since Ariana Grande nearly two years ago. And as “Vegas” also becomes Dojo’s sixth top 10 single on the Hot 100 — all since 2020 — her manager at SALXCO and newly-named executive vp of A&R and artist development at Capitol Music Group Gordan Dillard is Billboard’s Executive of the Week.

Here, Dillard tells Billboard about Dojo’s success at pop radio, how her team has kept the album alive and charting for so long and how they leverage TikTok to help work records at radio, as well as some of the transformations in the industry. “We approach albums with longevity in mind,” he says. “When the music is complete, we work months to build out strategic marketing plans, release schedules, promotional assets and much more. We are very strategic when it comes to how and when the records are released [and] we work very closely and far in advance with our partners to ensure maximize impact and longevity for every record.”

This week, Doja Cat’s “Vegas” reached No. 1 on the Pop Airplay chart, her sixth No. 1 on that chart, and became her sixth top 10 Hot 100 hit. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen?

There were a lot of decisions that went into the success of this record. We approached it the same as we would any solo Doja record, but also gave a ton of support to the director Baz Luhrmann, the film itself, and the release. We executed our marketing efforts in tandem with the film. “Vegas” was first premiered with Shonka [Dukureh] — rest in peace — at Coachella before the film or trailer featuring “Vegas” was released which laid a great deal of anticipation for the release. Along the way, the entire team, both RCA and management, played a key role in executing and staying consistent with the efforts to hit these record-breaking achievements.

“Vegas” replaced her collaboration with Post Malone, “I Like You (A Happier Song),” on the chart, making her the first artist to replace themselves there since Ariana Grande almost two years ago. Why has she had such success at that radio format?

Doja is a world-renowned musical artist and one of the biggest female pop stars of her generation. She has always put music first and with the incredibly hardworking promotional team at RCA, she has had and will continue to have radio success. Our radio partners are also amazing and supportive.

This song in particular didn’t make big waves immediately on its release, but after picking up steam on TikTok has grown into her latest major hit. How have you guys been able to use TikTok to help fuel Doja Cat’s songs and career in other areas?

The digital world is an ever-evolving machine. Breaking records and artists are much different than they were even just a few months ago. Doja and her music has always had a great following on TikTok and the TikTok team has always been great to work with while always being supportive of our marketing ideas. Social media has always been a key component to Doja’s organic communication with her fans and we’ll always keep it that way.

Planet Her had produced five top-five hits at pop radio, just the seventh album to do so, and stretching across more than a year. In an era when albums tend to come and go relatively quickly, what did you and your team do to keep the album so relevant and producing radio hits for such an extended period of time?

We approach albums with longevity in mind. When the music is complete, we work months to build out strategic marketing plans, release schedules, promotional assets and much more. We are very strategic when it comes to how and when the records are released [and] we work very closely and far in advance with our partners to ensure maximize impact and longevity for every record. Also, our team is very strong, smart and we strike together. Teamwork is key in our success.

This song is from the Elvis soundtrack. Do you work songs differently for a soundtrack song as opposed to something from one of her own projects?

No, this record specifically came at the perfect time. The process is still the same even if this song was from a soundtrack. We still approach it as if it’s a solely Doja Cat record.

You’ve been a manager for a decade, both with your own company and with SALXCO. How has management evolved in that time?

In my opinion, management is much more involved nowadays more than ever. Managers have become CEOs of the artist’s business. We are much more involved in the growth of the artist’s initiatives outside of just music. We are somewhat business partners with our artists.

You also have a new job at Capitol. How do you balance that job with managing an artist at another label?

I don’t think about it like that. They are separate and I don’t mix the two. Although the skill sets are transferable and help with both positions. I also have amazing teams on both sides that support and allow me to be instrumental in the individual successes. Without them neither would be possible.

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