Doja Cat might be stepping away from the mic for a minute. The 30-year-old artist, known professionally as Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, recently revealed she is giving serious thought to a three-year hiatus from the music industry once her extensive "Tour Ma Vie" world tour concludes in December 2026. This potential break, shared in an Elle UK cover story published on May 14, 2026, would allow her to pivot to personal passions, including painting and furnishing her home.
Her announcement arrives as she navigates one of the most demanding periods of her career. The "Tour Ma Vie" world tour, which kicked off on November 18, 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand, is her third concert tour and marks her first arena tour across Oceania and Asia. It's set to wrap up on December 1, 2026, in New York City, United States, just after she turns 31 in October 2026. The artist is currently performing on the European leg, with a stop at London's The O2 arena scheduled for May 29, 2026. Fans in North America can expect her starting October 1, 2026, in Detroit, Michigan, with major stops including Chicago, Denver, Vancouver, Atlanta, and Boston.
The tour supports her fifth studio album, *Vie*, French for "life," which was released on September 26, 2025, through Kemosabe and RCA Records. The album is described as a pop-infused project with hip-hop and R&B elements, drawing inspiration from the 1980s, and features a sole guest appearance from SZA. *Vie* itself was a labor of love, recorded over a three-year period at the renowned Miraval Studios in Correns, France.
Doja Cat has been open about her desire for a different pace. In the Elle UK interview, she articulated her plans for the time away: "‘I think I want to take three years off. I want to just do whatever. I might do another mural. I’m going to furnish this whole upper area of my house because there’s literally nothing in here and there’s been nothing in here for four years or five. So, that’s bizarre." This sentiment reflects a palpable exhaustion from the relentless demands of her successful career.
Throughout her current tour, the artist has also expressed her dedication to her craft and her audience. She noted her fondness for London crowds, stating, "One of my favourite places to perform is London. I feel like that's a really good crowd and people know how to engage and enjoy. Nobody feels self-conscious and it just seems to be a really enthusiastic crowd." She also detailed her commitment to each performance's aesthetic, explaining, "I just really put my all into each look every night. I like to think about the hair and the make-up, marry it together, be poetic and meaningful, do something personal to each location. It's almost like when you watch a movie from the perspective of the protagonist and you feel like them. I want the audience to feel immersed in every emotion, every gag, every move – everything."
Born on October 21, 1995, in Los Angeles, California, Doja Cat began her musical journey by creating and releasing tracks on SoundCloud as a teenager. She secured a recording contract with Kemosabe and RCA Records at the tender age of 17 in 2013. Her career exploded approximately eight years ago with the viral sensation of her 2018 single "Mooo!", propelling her to widespread fame. Since then, she has consistently released music, building a robust discography that includes *Amala* (2018), *Hot Pink* (2019), *Planet Her* (2021), and *Scarlet* (2023), leading up to her latest, *Vie*. Her versatility in blending rap and pop music, coupled with her engaging presence on social media, has solidified her unique position in the industry.
This isn't the first time Doja Cat has voiced her feelings of burnout or a desire for a break. In October 2021, she reportedly posted a series of now-deleted tweets, expressing profound fatigue: "I'm just tired and I don't want to do anything. I'm not happy. :/ I'm done saying yes to mother***ers cuz I can't even have a week to just chill." She added, "I'm never not working. Im f***ing tired." A few months later, in March 2022, after a public interaction with fans, she even announced she was quitting music, changing her Twitter display name to "i quit" and declaring music was "dead to her." She later clarified that she would fulfill her contractual obligations but emphasized a longing to make music for enjoyment again, something she admitted hadn't happened in years.
However, the current announcement differs in its framing. This time, Doja Cat is not presenting her potential break as a consequence of depression or tragedy. Instead, it is a deliberate, proactive choice to carve out space for a more personal existence. This candor sheds light on the immense pressures artists face within the music industry and underscores the critical need for personal well-being, especially for someone whose entire adult life has been consumed by a highly successful yet demanding career. Public reactions have been varied, with some social media users voicing support for her prioritizing self-care, while others have expressed skepticism or even mockery.
The potential three-year hiatus represents a significant moment for an artist who has been consistently in the spotlight for nearly a decade. It raises questions about the sustainability of relentless touring and album cycles in modern music and highlights a growing trend of artists prioritizing mental health and personal fulfillment. Fans will undoubtedly be watching to see how this decision impacts her future artistic endeavors and her presence in the cultural landscape.