Image from @oliviarodrigo’s Instagram
By: Reese Petrie
On January 8, 2021, Olivia Rodrigo debuted her very first single, “drivers license.” 764,556,841 Spotify streams later, she became one of the youngest artists to have a number one song on Billboard’s Hot 100. Now, as of May 21, 2021, Olivia has released her new album, “SOUR,” but it has some very controversial opinions coming its way.
The album contains eleven songs, three of which were released before the official album’s debut. Rodrigo has taken her music to a whole new level on every new song she released. Her songs “traitor” and “happier” grasp the heart broken feelings of the artist, while “brutal” and “good 4 u” give off so much more than just sadness. “SOUR” contains every single emotion anyone could ever feel throughout all the album’s songs, but Olivia has truly created an album where she shared her emotions so other people could relate to them.
While the young artist has shown how much hard work she put into this album, some listeners seem to feel differently. Many of the album’s songs felt similar, like the same song with different lyrics. Rodrigo seemed to dwell on the idea of heartbreak in every song on the album, which really made fans feel a little disappointed on the execution aspect of the new music. As heartbroken as she may have been, Olivia really only took on the unhappiness she was experiencing, which really made for an overall depressing outcome.
As Olivia Rodrigo’s career continues to grow, will it last for long? She has a tremendous amount of talent, but is also considered a “copy-cat” artist when compared to female icon Taylor Swift, who Olivia has confirmed as her idol. Rodrigo shows some serious potential throughout “SOUR,” and it’s currently the number one album on the Spotify Charts, but is it number one because it’s really good, or because of how popular her first three singles became? When “drivers license” first released, it was an under-the-radar type of song, but as its popularity rose, so did the amount of times it was played on the radio. Olivia’s song “deja vu” came out three months after “drivers license,” and became just as over played.
I feel that Rodrigo is very talented, but focuses too much on one topic in her music. Initially, I was really looking forward to the release of “SOUR,” but once the album came out and I had the chance to listen to it, I was really surprised with the album’s similarities from song to song. Although I felt slightly disappointed, I really do think that every song on the album is beautifully written. Whether it was anger or love, Olivia really made me feel her emotions in every song. This young artist has shown her talent and potential, and overall, “SOUR” could be considered a success.
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