Doja Cat takes fans dancing at the United Center on her ‘Tour Ma Vie’ 

Doja Cat put on a bodacious showing on the second date of the American leg of her world tour at the United Center Oct. 3, showing just how bad to the bone she truly is.

Before the greatly anticipated headliner made her grand entrance, it was Big Mama Latto’s time to “put it on da floor” and bring “big energy.” The “Georgia Peach” made the most of her 30-minute set with male backing dancers wearing cheetah-print ski masks to match her cheetah-print bodysuit and tights and DJ Von serving as her hypeman. She performed breakout hits like “Brokey” and “Bitch From Da Souf,” before concluding with “Big Mama,” which featured the appearance of the eponymous mascot — a larger-than-life caricature of Latto.

Following a brief intermission, Doja Cat took center stage. As the lights dimmed, a spotlight was placed on two mimes on the lower deck of the stage who were being toyed with by an increasingly frustrated Doja Cat. Interrupted by flashing bright lights, the mimes fell into a hip-hop dance break before trumpeters took their place, playing a quick tune that sounded like it belonged in “Pink Panther.” 

At long last, Doja Cat finally emerged, gracing the packed arena with her presence, as she appeared on the upper deck of the stage to open with “Cards.” 

She rocked a funky, fresh 80s-inspired fit, featuring bright colors and clashing patterns. Similarly, her dancers rocked hip-hop fashion inspired by the same decade. 

After the opening, she followed with crowd-pleaser “AAHH MEN!” The arena roared as they sang along to the chorus and cheered Doja Cat on as she began popping and locking during a dance break, showing off her dance roots.

She took a smoke break, taking an exaggeratedly long puff from her cigarette, before sparking a generational run of jams, starting with Grammy-winning track “Kiss Me More,” followed by “Get Into It (Yuh),” where the crowd erupted in cheers. The run continued as she performed “Gorgeous,” a standout from her fifth studio album “Vie.” Her all-male dancers followed her with mirrors reflecting her beauty.

The set slowed down with the R&B love ballad “Acts of Service,” brilliantly transitioning into the 2023 hit “Agora Hills” and concluding with “Make It Up.”

As much as Doja Cat receives praise for her dancing and performing abilities, her vocals deserve the same acclaim. The way she can flawlessly sing the mellifluous choruses in “Need to Know” and “Paint the Town Red” but then transition into her raspy and sharp rap voice is astonishing and deserves more credit.

She’s also an exceedingly expressive performer — not just in the way her body moves, but also in her facial expressions, oftentimes mimicking those of a mime, or exaggerating her face to emphasize a lyric’s delivery, elevating the performance.

There’s a certain aura Doja possesses when she’s on stage. She looks comfortable, confident and in her element — as if she was made to do this. The word “dope” was thrown around quite a few times in section 113 every time she strutted across the stage, which is the perfect word to describe her. 

She’s the total package — the look, the voice and the dancing abilities make her a superstar, despite still not getting the mainstream success she deserves.

There was also a quick segment where one lucky audience member voluntarily got pied in the face — as random as it was, it was a fun bit fans at different shows look forward to, evident as the audience begged to be the chosen one that would get hit with the dessert. 

Latto returned to the stage so the pair could perform their collaboration “Okayyy,” which had the crowd singing along and swaying back and forth. 

Doja Cat summoned her alter-ego Scarlet when performing hype-inducing tracks “Wet Vagina,” “WYM Freestyle” and “Demons,” where the crowd went bar-for-bar. 

As the night came to a close, she performed the song that launched her into stardom, “Say So,” before ending her nearly two-hour set with 80s-themed pop hit “Jealous Type,” marking the end of her totally tubular set at the United Center.