Olivia Rodrigo kicked off 2021 by dropping her debut single “Driver’s License” – which ended up becoming a massive hit. And all eyes are on her as she continues on her musical journey.
As she gears up to release her debut album, Sour, Olivia had an interview with The Guardian where she opened up about her upcoming record, which happens to be about teenage heartbreak – hers, but, then again, emotions are universal.
“Something I’m really proud of is that this record talks about emotions that are hard to talk about or aren’t really socially acceptable especially for girls: anger, jealousy, spite, sadness, they’re frowned-upon as b–chy and moaning and complaining or whatever. But I think they’re such valid emotions,” she shares.
“I think there’s a lot of strength in saying: I don’t know anything and I feel so insecure and unwanted,” she continues. “If I were a younger person looking up to my favourite songwriter, I’d be really moved by that so I hope I can provide that.”
She also addressed people’s expectations and perception of female singer-songrwriters – particularly how “they only write songs about boys.”
“I’m a teenage girl, I write about stuff that I feel really intensely – and I feel heartbreak and longing really intensely – and I think that’s authentic and natural. I don’t really understand what people want me to write about; do you want me to write a song about income taxes? How am I going to write an emotional song about that?”
But she does her best to brush off the negativity. “I try not to look at it or take that stuff super seriously.”
Looking back, she’s come a long way from heartbreak. “I feel like that period of my life is sort of over now, like dead,” she says with relish. “It’s fun to look back on those memories and know that they’re not real and happening right now, but you still experienced them.”
And her star is rising fast. She’s gone from “Driver’s License” being the focus of a Saturday Night Live sketch – which she was totally stoked about, btw – to making her SNL debut as musical guest on the show’s May 15 episode.
