Up-and-coming 18-year-old pop star, Olivia Rodrigo, released her highly anticipated debut album, SOUR, on May 21 with Geffen Records. As a young artist, Rodrigo is already making music industry history as her songs climb the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
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Rodrigo’s album explores the complexity of emotions like heartache, anger, jealousy, and desperation. Wise beyond her years, Rodrigo’s lyrics are self-aware and vulnerable in a way that many new artists strive for.
For those who may not be familiar with Rodrigo—she combines elements of alternative pop, punk, and singer/songwriter acoustic jams. Her lyrics are as catchy as Taylor Swift’s, while her style is as edgy as Alanis Morissette.
Many of the songs on Sour focus on the suffocating nature of heartache. Rodrigo has spoken openly about the therapeutic nature of songwriting, stating, “There’s nothing like sitting at the piano in my bedroom and writing a really sad song. It’s truly my favorite thing in the world; it’s so inspiring to see my music affect people and maybe help them to feel less alone too.”
She also addressed the albums title: “I’m also fascinated by the idea of a relationship going sour—how a person you loved so much and told all your secrets to can become the person you can’t stand,” she says. “For me, the goal of all music is to take these complicated feelings and externalize them in a way that makes people feel seen.”
Rodrigo’s debut single “driver’s license,”—also featured on her new album—dropped on January 8 and gained notoriety on TikTok, ultimately going triple-platinum and kick-starting her career. The song gained Rodrigo a significant following, solidifying her promise as the new artist on the block. The song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and stayed at the top for eight weeks.
On April 1, Rodrigo released her next ground-breaking single, “deja vu,” which made the 18-year-old the first artist to premiere her first two singles in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. On May 14, Rodrigo then dropped the third single track from SOUR, “good 4 u,” which has 70 million global streams and is now her second single to hit No. 1 on Billboard. She recently performed the new song during her musical guest debut on Saturday Night Live on May 15.
You can check out Rodrigo’s SOUR here; it’s not one to miss.
