Did Doja Cat swipe a Plini track for her MTV EMA performance?

MTV’s European Music Awards unexpectedly played host to some virtuosic progressive djent guitar playing this weekend, courtesy of pop singer and rapper Doja Cat – but as it turns out, her performance may owe a lot to 21st century Australian guitar hero Plini.

At the show, Cat transformed her dancefloor banger Say So into a nu-metal anthem – very cool – but many YouTube commentators have noted that the arrangement suddenly morphs into Plini’s Handmade Cities, taken from 2016’s album of the same name.

At the 2:50 mark, Doja’s as-yet-unidentified guitarist lets loose with a solo that is heavily indebted to the Aussie wunderkind, but it’s those thoroughly djenty rhythm guitars that really let the Cat out of the bag.

What’s more, it seems Plini was completely unaware any of this was happening.

Spotting the similarities, the guitarist tweeted, “Someone tell @DojaCat that if she digs the arrangement of this at 2:50 onwards, then she would love my song Handmade Cities 🙃”

But it seems there are no hard feelings. Stray From the Path drummer Craig Reynolds chimed in on the debate, saying, “I don’t think djent kids dragging Doja is the move.

“Could get the MD [Musical Director] in trouble for something that could have been an accident/an honest nod, and might even already be credited for ASCAP [American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers]. Better to use this energy to get Plini an insane pop gig!”

Plini agreed, stating, “This! And @DojaCat should make more music with heavy guitar cos it sounds wicked.”

You can hear Doja Cat’s performance above, and Plini’s Handmade Cities below (the section in question begins at 3:28).

Plini releases his new album, Impulse Voices, on November 27.