Hey everyone,
For today's album review, I will be listening to Olivia Rodrigo's debut album called 'SOUR' which was released back on 21st May 2021. She is previously known for appearing in High School Musical: The Musical (which I haven't seen), and at only 18 years old, she's now got 3 of her singles in the Top 100! Social media has gone absolutely crazy with support and love for her first single 'drivers license' and she has already been supported by brands including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and has even performed at The BRIT Awards of 2021 and also on Saturday Night Live! Without further delay, here's my review of all the songs on the album!
1- 'brutal'
The first song on the album is called 'brutal' and the overall vibe of the song is that I think Olivia has had enough of being young, and instead wants to begin living as a legal adult. The opening of the song has soft violin music which transitions into Olivia saying the words
I want it to be messy' and then the entire tune transforms into a rock ballad with drums and guitars. Some of the lyrics she sings include the words 'I'm so sick of seventeen, where the f*ck is my teenage dream' which makes me feel like she wants to be taken seriously in the world and that she is ready to grow up. She also goes on to sing the words 'I wish people liked me more' and describes having to like people that she doesn't like and admits to only having 2 best friends. Overall, this first tune on the album seems to be a great opening of Olivia's edgy personality and for somebody who says that they 'hate every song they write', she's definitely got a good reaction to the songs on this album!
2- 'traitor'
The next song on the album is called 'traitor' which opens with angelic singing which sounds almost like a church kind of song. She says the words 'I played dumb but I always do' which gives the impression that she knows about her ex lover talking to another girl, but she 'kept quiet so I could keep you'. This sentence of the song explains that although Olivia knows she was potentially being cheated on, she wanted to ensure that she didn't ruin the relationship that she had with the individual because she must have loved him that much. It's quite a slow and emotional ballad which explains how Olivia talks about how this other girl was just a 'friend' and it took less than 2 weeks to talk to another girl.
3- 'drivers license'
Up next is 'drivers license' which is the song that raised the profile of Olivia Rodrigo in 2021. It seems like this song is simply about Olivia getting her driving license, and driving past her ex lovers house, thinking of all the memories and experiences she had with someone special. She sings the words 'I guess you didn't mean what you sang in that song about me' which hints at the fact that he must have mentioned to Olivia that this individual wanted to be with her forever...but I'm sure they are now regretting their decision, as Olivia now has a No.1 selling album speaking about her breakups. Throughout the song she explains that the relationship may not have been perfect, but adds that she has 'never felt this way for no-one'. It's another emotional ballad, but also shows that now that she has a driving license, she is able to drive wherever she wants, and hopefully that takes her mind off of the previous relationship.
4- '1 step forward, 3 steps back'
This song seems to confirm that this entire album is about a guy as she repeats the words 'boy' throughout the song' She sings the words 'I called you on the phone today, just to see how you were' which is quite an ordinary thing to do, but she continues to explain that she always used to date herself including whether she was pretty or fun. Olivia also explains that she's 'the love of your life until I make you mad' which suggests that the guy she was dating might have anger issues, or she might do things differently to how he wanted her to, and that made him angry. I feel like all relationships and couples will have their ups and downs, but if it's a regular occurrence, then it almost becomes a bit of a toxic environment to be keeping yourself in, and you might as well end it and move onto somebody who will actually treat you right. She also sings the words 'do you want me, love me, hate me, boy I don't understand' which could also relate to the fact that he might be a closed book with his emotions and is only able to show his feelings when he is angry. She continues to say the words 'which lover will I get today?' almost hinting at all the different personalities he could zone into, and she's always on the receiving end of his unpredictable actions.
5- 'deja vu'
This next single seems to also be about finger pointing to Olivia's ex lover with the song title called 'deja vu' which simply means to feel the same or similar things happening again. She sings about going for ice creams and trading jackets with this individual, watching re-runs of Glee and even singing with him in harmony, which are all memories that she is reminiscing about. She adds 'I bet she's bragging to all her friends saying you're unique' which also seems to explain that he's not unique, and in fact she was the inspiration behind all of the things that he now likes. Other lyrics include 'that was our plan, I found it first' which suggest that she's rightly jealous about the new girl in the picture taking advantage of all the places that Olivia must have thought were special occassions at the time with the man that she was in love with, also at the time.
6- 'good 4 u'
Up next is 'good 4 u' which is my favourite song on Olivia's debut album. The song is about throwing shade about the guy who almost forgot about her and moved onto a new relationship. She sings the words 'remember when you said you wanted to give me the world' which explains that he might have said one thing and acted in another, which is sometimes what people do when they are in relationships when they aren't sure if they can commit or not. It's always better to just be honest than give people false hope. She adds that 'I guess the therapist I found for you really helped' which also shows that she managed to step in when she realised that her lover needed help, and although the relationship between the two of them has ended, she is still happy for the guy that he's been working on himself and has become successful in his career...but if it's another social media influencer or young actor, then who is it that she is talking about? Towards the end of the song, she says the words 'maybe I'm too emotional' and sometimes people who find themselves in love, are too emotional, but sometimes it's just important to put your own feelings and thoughts first, before working out if you're going to hurt someone's feelings.
7- 'enough for you'
The next song is called 'enough for you' which is another emotional ballad where she initially admits that if she looked like the other Prom Queens then her ex lover would have loved her more. She explains in the song that she 'tried so hard to be everything you like' which is maybe a big mistake in itself, as you shouldn't have to alter your look or personality to make somebody else happy. She explains that this particular guy would explain to her that he's not the compliment type of guy, so even if he did think Olivia looked great in a particular dress, or her songwriting skills for a particular tune were amazing, he wouldn't give her that self confidence to believe in herself. Olivia goes on to explain that she seems to be stupid and obsessive, and understand that she knew exactly how he'd leave, to find 'someone more exciting'. One of the difficult things about being in a relationship, or just being in love, is always comparing yourself to people that you want to be like, or be similar to. Especially with people like Olivia being so young, and the other young people who are already delving into this world at anywhere between 14 and 17, it's important for them to understand that their bodies are continiously changing, their moods are constantly changing, and their friendship groups, life circumstances will always be the most important thing, than just finding the 'perfect partner'. Olivia goes on to say that he broke her heart, and maybe even more than that, which could suggest that he ruined her life, or the stress affected her mental or physical wellbeing. At the end of the song she says 'hopefully one day I'll be everything to someone else' and added that he'll be the one that is crying, as he would have realised by that point that she may have been the right girl for her.
8- 'happier'
Olivia's next song on the album is called 'happier' which is simply a celebratory song, but a song to ensure that her ex lover doesn't forget about her. She explains that they broke up over a month ago and she seems to be another girl on the list who has brought out the best in him. She explains throughout the song that she might come across as selfish but reveals that she can't 'let you go'. She goes on to sing 'I know you're happy, but don't be happier' which suggest that she's happy for him, but doesn't want the new girl to make better memories with him that they had already created together. She explains that she is also trying to pick the new girl apart but admits that she's beautiful and that 'she probably gives you butterflies' which is something that happens when people are nervous, or genuinely in love with somebody else! I think this is a mentality that I have had with previous guys that I have been talking to; I want them to be happy, but I also don't want them to forget about me!
9- 'jealousy jealousy'
In this song, Olivia seems to sing about being jealous about what other people have and maybe what she lacks in. She explains that sometimes she wants to 'kinda wanna throw my phone across the room' as she is always seeing social media updates of girls who look too good to be true and seeing everyone being successful and happy, when she's still trying to work out what she wants to do with her life. She adds that she 'thinks too much about kids who don't know me' which hints at her large fanbase who are primarily people in the younger demographic, and this could also be the group of people where she might have the most haters as well, thinking to themselves why was it Olivia that has been given this massive platform, and not them, or someone else. Olivia also seems to discuss that jealousy seems to be following her wherever she goes, which means she could either be hanging out with other successful people who she wants to try and be like, or just the constant social media usage on a regular basis, showing her how she should look, what she should be doing and the best way to use her platform. I think it's natural for people to be jealous of other people's lives, but as Olivia hinted in this song, a lot of it isn't real..the apartments you've seen are rented, the clothes are rented, the boyfriends are just to promote both people's social media following in order to get brand deals and news stories. Being jealous of successful and hard working people isn't a bad thing, but it's got to be the right people who influence you, and not the next 'Instagram influencer' to have gained 20k followers by 'promoting' brands that they 'love working with'..
10- 'favourite crime'
The 10th song on the album is called 'favourite crime' which seems to hint that Olivia and her previous lover may have put themselves into difficult situations in order to be there for eachother. She said 'you know that I loved you so bad, I let you treat me like that' which suggests that they worked together to ensure that they had a stable relationship, and that they would protect eachother at all costs. She explained that 'there's things that I did just so I could call you mine' and that 'the things you did, well, I hope it was your favourite crime' which are both sentences that explain they might have managed to get out of situations, or persuade their family, friends and loved ones that they were going to one place, when in fact they were meeting eachother and making memories together. When Olivia sings the word 'crimes', I don't think she literally means that they went out and caused a riot, but they might have been involved with petty crimes in one way or another. I believe that if you love somebody so much and want to spend time with them, then you probably would do anything and everything to ensure that they stay in your life forever...but I'm a 23 year old man now, so anything from my past that might have put me in a bad light was to please those around me at the time, and now I'm over those situations and want to continue building this professional personality that I have been creating since my start of University. Olivia also jokingly says that everytime she sees a siren around, she wonders if he's there, and she also says that she would 'do it all again', suggesting that whatever she was involved with previously might get her in trouble, but she would do it to save her relationship.
11- 'hope ur ok'
The final song on the album is called 'hope ur ok', which sounds like it could be a song that anyone would be happy to receive, especially due to the last year that we have all had to endure as a nation. It seems to be another emotional ballad where she simply wants to know if somebody who used to be close to her is in fact doing alright. She explains that she hopes 'you took his bad deal and made a royal flush' which hints that she is singing this song to a girl who is talking to somebody that Olivia used to go out with. She continues to send her love and support by saying that if she's out there, she hopes that she is ok'. The girl is also described as being creative and having the courage to unlearn all of the hatred that she had grown up with in her family, and wanted to ensure that she was succeeding now more than ever before. It seems to be somebody that Olivia is distant to, but you never know...friendships and relationships are often made stronger with a break in the middle for both sides to focus on themselves and their own futures, until it's time that they both miss eachother and want to continue where they left off before, but with more self confidence, more life experience and more respeect for eachother and eachother's space
Wow that was an interesting blog post to write! I must say that I absolutely loved listening to Olivia Rodrigo's debut album, and I don't think it will be the last! My favourite songs on the album are 'brutal', 'good 4 u' and 'happier' and the other 8 are also amazing, but these are the 3 with the most unique lyrical meanings! If you enjoyed this blog post, don't forget to check out my other content, and I'll hopefully be back soon with another music blog once more music is released!
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