A Dip Into Olivia Rodrigo's Hit Debut Album "Sour"
Olivia Rodrigo's self-written song "All I Want" for Disney's HSMTMTS had gained enormous popularity for both itself and its songwriter, even from people who didn't watch the show. Then, to prove it even more, she released her proper debut single "Driver's License" in January earlier this year, which rapidly launched Olivia's music career with its astounding success. After her debut single spending eight consecutive weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, and being the youngest artist to even debut on said chart, the expectations for her were definitely high, and after dropping two more singles and an album, she continues to exceed them everytime. Laced with generational trauma, insecurity, heartbreak, pop punk, and soft, dreamy tunes, her long-awaited debut album Sour is finally here.
Her opening track "Brutal" is a punk-rock, riot grrrl themed song, expressing Olivia's feelings as a teenager not being able to live up to the promises of the 'golden years' that is her youth. In the song, she continuously calls out each of her insecurities in both her music career and adolescence. This is one of the angsty (or shall I say, sour) songs on her album. Her ninth track "Jealousy, Jealousy" explores similar themes, focusing on her insecurities as a girl in a time where social media creates unrealistic standards of happiness and beauty. Its addicting melancholy tune and loud bass makes it stand out from the rest of the album, just as "Brutal" does with its straightforward lyrics and teenage, punk style.
Olivia Rodrigo while meeting with Dr. Fauci.
In contrast with the first track, "Traitor", being the second, sets the essence of the album, with its soft, hazy tune and heartbreak lyrics. She sings about the betrayal she felt after breaking up with her boyfriend and him running off to another girl. This topic was written in most of the album's songs, one of them being her eight track "Happier", where she wishes him well with his new girl, but hopes that he wouldn't be as happy as he was with her. Olivia also expressed this same heartbreak in her first two singles, "Driver's License" and "Deja Vu" with a dreamy melody and clear, pleasing vocals.
Her fourth track "1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back" is about being in a relationship with an unpredictable partner, and her anxiety in it as she constantly searches for her mistakes. Olivia has been known to be a big Swiftie, and she sampled the piano from "New Year's Day" of Taylor Swift's Reputation album for this song. Unlike other songs in Sour, this track was, from beginning to end, piano, making it the calmest.
With an Avril Lavigne-style sound and sarcasm dripping from every line, her sixth track and third single "Good 4 U" is a fan-favorite, right after Driver's License. Her sneering voice in this song emphasizes her anger on her ex moving on so quickly after they broke up and looking 'happy and healthy'. She experiments with guitars, drums and bass, giving off a 1990s teen pop vibe. This song topped charts all over the world, and according to Sydney Bucksbaum from Entertainment Weekly, is a "pop-punk breakup anthem", and there isn't a more accurate description for this chart-topping banger.
Even with all the different genres of music in this album, Olivia still manages to show off her acoustic guitar skills, twice even. "Enough for You" talks about her insecurities about not being able to live up to her partner's exes, and trying to be deemed 'enough' just for him to leave her in the end to be discarded. "Favorite Crime" concerns the same topic, but focuses on how she let him treat her terribly because she had put in so much effort to be his girlfriend. Her lucid, high pitched vocals in both songs, expressed the sincere sadness she had felt.
After all the tracks she made in this album about heartbreak and insecurity, she finishes it off with "Hope Ur Ok", a heartfelt song presumably dedicated to her old LGBT friends, and hopes they are happy now, though living in a world where any sexual orientation besides straight is deemed as wrong. This song was also a way for her to show support for all the LGBT people out there struggling with hatred and parental rejection. Olivia has definitely made the right decision with making “Hope Ur Ok” as the last track of the album as it gives a sense of closure to fans listening.
Olivia Rodrigo while performing for her concert ‘SOUR Prom.’
Written and produced by both Olivia Rodrigo and her producer Dan Nigro, this album was a massive success. When it came out, her 30 million-ish spotify monthly listeners skyrocketed to twice its number. Being one of the most successful debut albums of all time, Sour is a strong candidate for winning next year’s Grammys, and has captured so many new fans for Olivia all over the world. There is no doubt to people that she would definitely be the hit pop star of this generation, and be an inspiration to many young girls everywhere, just like Taylor Swift had been for her.
SOURCES:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drivers_License_(song)
- https://genius.com/23075528
- https://genius.com/Olivia-rodrigo-good-4-u-lyrics#about
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_4_U
IMAGES:
Olivia Rodrigo reading tweets about the COVID-19 vaccine with Anthony Fauci during her visit to the White House, on July 14, 2021 [Wikimedia Commons - The White House]
SOUR Prom [Olivia Rodrigo]
