Olivia Rodrigo, the star of her debut album Sour, has a unique take on singing about teenage heartache, and she has opened up about it in her own unique way.
Sweeping to superstardom at such breakneck speed certainly brought its challenges for Olivia Rodrigo, and recalling her meteoric rise in 2021, she has said, “It was, obviously, just absurd and crazy. I’d been writing songs and working my whole life, but it did seem sort of instantaneous.”
Speaking of the psychological impact of the sudden pressure she came under, she added, as OK! reports, “It can be really tough on your mental health. I’m grateful for the people who like me for me, and keep me separated from all the noise.”
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At one point, she dealt with it by deleting her social media accounts, and she found repeated Covid lockdowns oddly helpful. “I couldn’t play a show. I couldn’t go meet people who were listening to the song. So it was very insular in a way that I think was actually really beneficial for my mental health,” she said.
Having first started therapy at the age of 16, Olivia opened up about her battles in her 2022 Disney+ film Driving Home 2 U. Describing the pain of a breakup while making her debut record Sour, she said, “It felt like my world was ending every single day.”
She once suggested that older people “trivialise” what teenagers go through, and that the advice is that it is “so real and valid.” Just because something isn’t harmful for adults or because you haven’t paid taxes yet, or whatever, doesn’t mean it hurts. She described times of crippling self-doubt when she “started believing everything I did was really bad” despite dominating the charts.
That came to the fore while writing second album Guts, and in an interview with music writer Laura Snapes in 2023, she admitted, “There were a good few months where I would sit at the piano and all I would think about was how I was never going to make something as good, or all the mean things that people on Twitter would say.”
Laura recalls the conversation that occurred, saying, “One thing I found sad when I interviewed her was her comments about insecurities about her appearance. If a young, attractive woman can feel that way, that is proof to me of how dangerous social media can be.
However, Olivia’s sincerity has some benefits, she points out. One of the things that this new generation of popstars does is talk about the pressures of being famous and how much women are expected to be, she says, is “one of the really positive things about this new generation of popstars.” People like Olivia, Billie Eilish, and Chappell Roan are telling fans, “You have to understand what we’re going through and what the personal cost is for us,” they say.
Olivia, thankfully, appears very wise and knowledgeable about taking care of herself. When touring leaves her “burned out and exhausted,” she makes a countermeasure, saying, “I do all the classic things.” Call my therapist, visit the gym, and see if I’m drinking or using any alcohol. She regularly participates in journaling. She said, “I could journal forever.
“Writing down every hazy thought that comes to mind.” I’ll make a list of all the things I’m grateful for, or if I’m anxious, I’ll make a list of them. She finds comfort in seeing her oldest pals as well during her free time. I adore spending time with my friends. That really brings me back, in my opinion. And I enjoy bringing up topics unrelated to music or industry.
Maintaining her own space is mentally beneficial as well, and she has said, “I love spending time by myself. That’s the best thing ever.” Speaking on the YouTube series Actually Me in 2021, she said it was “very exciting” to move out of her parents’ house and into her first “big girl apartment”, but later added, “It’s like a soft move out – my parents are there a lot of the time.”
One of the most difficult times for Olivia came in 2021 when she faced accusations of plagiarism in songs from Sour. When critics drew attention to a likeness between her hit Good 4 U and Paramore’s 2007 anthem Misery Business, band members Hayley Williams and Josh Farro were later credited as co-writers on her song. But it proved controversial, as many disputed the claim, saying they were two different songs with just fleeting similarities.
It opened a debate about the blurred lines of musical influence, and as BBC music correspondent Mark Savage tells us, “When you’re starting out as a songwriter, of course you try and imitate your heroes. Sometimes those imitations are more overt than others, and sometimes you might combine six or seven different influences. I think that’s something Olivia does well across her music, and for me, as long as you’re putting your own spin on a song, it’s original.”
Olivia was clearly hurt by the fallout, admitting that she was “a little caught off guard” by what transpired. She said, “I find it disappointing to see people discredit any young woman’s work by misinterpreting it.” She continued, “What’s so beautiful about music is that it can be so inspired by music that’s come out in the past,” while mentioning that Good 4 U’s lyrics and melody were written in the shower. Nothing about music is ever “new.”
Unfortunately, the same issue reared its head with her song Deja Vu, and Olivia also gave retrospective songwriting credits to Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent for its resemblances to Taylor’s 2019 track Cruel Summer. Olivia later said it was “very confusing,” and that she had been “green and bright-eyed and bushy-tailed” at that stage in her career, but the saga led to a reported rift with Taylor – who Olivia grew up idolising.
She once asserted that, “I truly would not be the songwriter I am today if I hadn’t grown up being so inspired by everything she does.” However, many months later, rumors began to surface that Olivia confessed to not attending any Taylor’s Eras Tour shows that the lyrics to Vampire, which contained the words “bloodsucker, fame f*cker,” were intended to be directed at her pop rival.
When asked directly about it, Olivia replied, “How do I answer this? I mean, I never want to say who any of my songs are about. I’ve never done that before in my career and probably won’t.” She also told how she was “very surprised” when people assumed she was dissing Taylor, insisting, “I don’t have beef with anyone.”
It’s still not known whether the two people have reconciled even now. Nobody has any idea what happened there, according to Laura. Whatever you think about the circumstances surrounding the writing credits, Olivia is unlikely to ever make the error again. She was just so young, with so many formative influences, and they just came out in ways she didn’t realize until it was pointed out to her, so I don’t believe it was done intentionally.
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