“Doja who?” was Dionne Warwick’s reaction to her song being sampled in “Paint the Town Red”

Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on December 4, 2023

Doja Cat‘s “Paint the Town Red” became her second number one a few months ago, no doubt in part due to the catchy sample of Dionne Warwick‘s 1964 classic “Walk On By” that goes through the entire track. But while appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Friday, Dionne admitted her first reaction to finding out about the sample was, well, confusion.

“It’s amazing, I didn’t know it had been recorded by her,” the legendary singer told Kelly. “My granddaughter called me and said, ‘Grammy, do you know you’re on a record with Doja Cat?’ And I said, ‘Doja who?'”

“She said, ‘She’s a rapper,’ and she’s explaining all this to me,” Dionne continued. “And I said, ‘OK, what song are we talking about?’ And she said, ‘”Walk On By,” you’re completely through the entire song.’ Well, apparently it’s a major hit for her.”

It certainly is: When “Paint the Town Red” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in September, it became the first rap song to hit #1 on that chart in more than a year.

“I hope ‘Walk On By’ is as good for her as it has been for me,” said Dionne. “They’re great songs, and finally [young people] are being exposed to some good music.”

Dionne seemed somewhat put out that Doja didn’t get her permission to sample the song, but since she didn’t write it — Hal David and Burt Bacharach did — she likely didn’t have a say in the matter anyway.

(Doja Cat video contains uncensored profanity.)