We list some of the best Olivia Rodrigo songs you can add to your favorite playlist. She brings the authenticity of her life to her music. It can be described as an emotive mix of pop, folk, and alternative rock.
Bio: Who is Olivia Rodrigo?
Olivia Isabel Rodrigo (born February 20, 2003) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She became famous as a teenage Disney superstar and the leading actress of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Recently, she turned singer/songwriter and released 2021’s record-setting smash hit “Driver’s License“, which made her the youngest artist ever to top the Billboard Hot 100 and that year she also released her debut album Sour. The album captures the highs and lows of a young woman expressing who she is and what she wants. In 2022, she won a Grammy award for Best New Artist. There’s also a Disney+ documentary, Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U, chronicling her creative process with Sour, released in 2022.
Top 10 Best Olivia Rodrigo Songs
1. good 4 u
“good 4 u” is a song about an ex moving on quickly and fans are connecting it to Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter. Olivia Rodrigo shared the inspiration behind the lyrics and the music video stating “It’s a super angsty song inspired by some of my favorite pop punk bands. It’s one of my favorite songs on the record and I really hope you love it. Oh, and there’s also a sick music video for it. My friend Petra Collins directed it. We wanted to pay homage to the iconic feminist camp horror movies we love.” In the music video, the last part, Olivia channels the cult classic movie ‘Jennifer’s Body’ where Megan Fox dips herself in a lake looking straight at the camera with killer eyes.
Stream “good 4 u”
2. drivers license
“drivers license” is the first single and third track on Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album SOUR. It is a possible love ode about Rodrigo moving on from her previous relationship with Joshua Bassett. Its accompanying music video spins a vivid portrait of Rodrigo as she drives aimlessly, longing for an ex-love.
Stream “drivers license”
3. deja vu
“deja vu” is the second single from Olivia Rodrigo’s debut studio album, SOUR, and her first release since the breakout success of her debut single, “drivers license.” This song finds Olivia at a different stage than its predecessor, with her beginning to move on from heartbreak. Olivia questions both the authenticity of her ex’s new relationship, as well as their emotions for their new girl. She also portrays feelings of pity towards this new girl, who is not experiencing anything unique with her now-lover. The song debuted at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and made Rodrigo the first artist to debut their first two singles in the chart’s top 10 along with “drivers license”.
Stream “deja vu”
4. 1 step forward, 3 steps back
“1 step forward, 3 steps back” is the fourth track from American singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Rodrigo and her debut album “SOUR”, which was released through Geffen Records on the 21st May 2021. The pop song contains a slight interpolation of Taylor Swift’s 2017 song “New Year’s Day” as well as Swift’s 2010 song “Dear John”. “1 step forward, 3 steps back” talks about the ups and downs of a romantic realationship as well as navigating a partner who is inconsistent in their emotions and actions, feeling as if whenever they make “1 step forward” in their relationship, they take “3 steps back”. Rodrigo has openly admitted the love and respect she has for Swift as a writer and a businesswoman, speaking to Nylon Magazine about the artist: “Obviously, I think she’s the best songwriter of all time, but she’s so business-savvy and she really cares about her career in that regard, too. That’s been really inspiring for me to watch somebody take control of her career life like that.”
Stream “1 step forward, 3 steps back”
5. traitor
“traitor“, uncovers the 18-year-old’s heartache following a breakup, which some fans have speculated could be about Joshua Bassett and their rumoured love triangle with Sabrina Carpenter. The piano-driven ballad finds Olivia Rodrigo expressing her feelings of betrayal as she watches her ex move on with another girl. “traitor” peaked at the number 9 spot in the US Billboard’s Hot 100 and at 5th place on the UK Singles list. The music video shows a heartbroken Olivia surrounded by other teenagers on a fun night out. Despite everyone around her being happy, this painful heartbreak makes her unable to share their joy.
Stream “traitor”
6. happier
“happier” is the eighth tracks from Olivia Rodrigo’s debut studio album. The song deals with the concept of heartbreak and moving on, and was written by Rodrigo and produced by Rodrigo’s long-time collaborator Dan Nigro. Olivia wishes the best for an ex-lover and their new relationship, but simultaneously hopes to remain a significant memory in their life. In her Disney+ documentary Driving Home 2 U (A Sour Film), Rodrigo recalled posting “Happier” online, then looking back on it and thinking it’s a terrible song. It had no likes, and she sang it terribly. But Rodrigo had a gut feeling the song had potential, and she was right – it changed everything for her. “The fact that I posted it was the reason that I met Dan,” she said, “because he found it and was like, ‘Oh my God, I love this song. We should work together.'”
Stream “happier”
7. favorite crime
“favorite crime” is a stripped-down folky song where Olivia Rodrigo looks back at a dysfunctional relationship. She employs various Bonnie and Clyde-type metaphors to illustrate how her ex committed the crime of walking out, leaving her heartbroken. A clever lyric in the song is “One heart broke, four hands bloody.” This insinuates that there was a third party who was involved in this crime. The guy did not just break up with Olivia, but he cheated on her with another girl. So, the guy’s hands as well as this other girl’s hands are bloody of the murder of Olivia’s heart. Speaking about the song in the “Sour Diary ‘Journal / Zine’”, Rodrigo spoke about the origins of “favorite crime”: “Dan & I wrote Favorite Crime sometime last summer I think. I had ‘Know I loved you so bad I let you treat me like that’ written in my notes app for awhile & it sort of sparked the entire song. I really love how the song is one big metaphor. Figurative language was something I had to work on in my song writing. I’m a very literal, specific writer & metaphors & similes aren’t often where my brain tends to go, so I’m super proud of this song.”
Stream “favorite crime”
8. jealousy, jealousy
“jealousy, jealousy” sees Rodrigo talk about the unrealistic standards that society expects of young people and young femme presenting people. Here, she tackles social media envy as she sings of the girls in Instagram with “paper-white teeth and perfect bodies.” Rodrigo’s insecurity complexes when confronted by the sight of these beautiful people are killing her, but she can’t help comparing herself to them. When speaking to the BBC in March 2021, Olivia stated that “I wrote that song at a time when I was borderline addicted to social media and I just felt crippled by the comparisons. I am someone who has somewhat of a large following, so I think it’s cool that I can be like, ‘Yo, I still hate myself. I still compare myself to other girls.’”
Stream “jealousy, jealousy”
9. All I Want
“All I Want” is a song written by Olivia Rodrigo for the television series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. It was performed by Rodrigo’s character, Nina “Nini” Salazar-Roberts, in the fourth episode of the first season, which aired on November 29th, 2019. Here, Olivia Rodrigo sings about her troubles with past boyfriends, and her desire to to meet a “good guy” to share a “love that lasts.” The song marked Olivia’s songwriting debut. The 16-year-old actress penned it in just three days while filming the series and going to school. She said in a behind-the-scenes video: “(It’s) basically about Nini, and, kind of, her boy troubles. She just found out that E.J. really betrayed her and did something untrustworthy, so she’s just grappling with that, and also looking back on her relationship with Ricky. I think it’s a very relatable concept, at least for me.”
Stream “All I Want”
10. brutal
“brutal” is the first track on Olivia Rodrigo’s 2021 album ‘Sour.’ The song dives into all the hardships of youth that pretty much everyone goes through. The song is Olivia Rodrigo’s punk-rock take on generational trauma. The production by Dan Nigro complements Sour‘s other tracks like “good 4 u” and “jealousy, jealousy.” The “brutal” video opens with Rodrigo in a blue wig, surrounded by ballerinas, and posing against an animated cityscape backdrop. When the song’s beat kicks in, Rodrigo’s ankle snaps and she falls to the floor in what looks like a dance studio. She looks up at the other women, visibly uncomfortable. The shot recalls Taylor Swift’s more lighthearted video for “Shake It Off,” the lead single from her 2014 album “1989.” Swift is shown trying to fit in — and looking obviously out of place — with a variety of dance groups.
Stream “brutal”
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