We live in a generation that loves to romanticize our nostalgia, our youth. I mean unlike Gen Z, the millennial teen experience has been captured on grainy old iPhone photos or even disposal camera pics for the older millennials. After all, when I was 17 Snapchat was still emerging.
Music has changed, how we communicate has changed, and fashion has changed (I won’t be doing a side part tho, sorry girls).
But Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album Sour reminds us of the one thing that is omnipresent in every generation.
Heartbreak and insecurity.
Olivia isn’t just a teen pop star selling a fictional and idealized version of the teen experience, she’s telling it like it is. And it’s so relatable. Sour has been able to bring together two generations in a way that is beautiful. Together, young women are bonding over their mutual shared experiences. It’s something I haven’t really seen in recent music.
Authenticity has allowed Olivia to take up her lane in a way that most teen musicians haven’t done since Miss Swift sang about teardrops on her guitar. I mean, there’s a reason why Olivia is being touted as Taylor’s first protege. It is a pretty impressive feat for a Disney darling. Though Olivia stars on Disney Plus’s High School Musical:The Musical: The Series, this album isn’t an extension of that work. Free from the shackles of Hollywood Records, Olivia is able to deviate herself from Olivia from Disney and Olivia, the artist. This freedom allows her to let loose and speak from the heart.
No song clearly highlights that Miss Rodrigo is built different from the average Disney startlette than the album’s opening track “brutal.” As Olivia ruminates all of her worries and fears of growing older, we are introduced to our narrator. This isn’t the confident over-achiever. This girl is self-conscious and painfully self-aware….She’s eighteen. And like anyone who’s been 18-years-old knows, the best years of your life really aren’t all of that. The teenage dream is a myth. Olivia disillusioned and that’s important to remember as we listen to the next ten tracks.
The second track on the album is “Traitor” a ballad (most of the album’s tracks are) but it’s sweeping and heartbreaking. The lyrics tell a story as old as time.
“And ain’t it funny how you said you were friends?
Now it sure as hell don’t look like it”
“Traitor”
Olivia Rodrigo
The lyrics are simple, and somewhat benign. But relatable – your ex chooses the person who made you feel insecure in your relationship, the girl you were told not to worry about. A moment when you learn that you’re easily replaceable. The gaslighting and heartbreak is devastating, much like Olivia’s performance.
“Driver’s license” was the album’s lead single, a whimsical and haunting song. And one of the songs that really make this a teen album. What’s the point of having a driver’s license if you have no one to drive too.
“1 step forward, 3 steps back” samples the melody from Taylor Swift’s “new year’s day” from Reputation. But the similarities stop there. Because Taylor is telling the beautiful story of falling in love.
Miss Rodrigo tho?
“You got me fucked up in the head boy”
“1 step forward, 3 steps back” Olivia Rodrigo
This is another classic telling of tumultuous teen love. Where one minute you’re the best, the next you’re the worst person on earth. It’s a toxic, or as Olivia calls it “masochistic”, push and pull that is fun but can cause you to start questioning yourself, your decisions and self-worth. I appreciate that Olivia doesn’t glamorize this relationship dynamic but calls it for what it is.
The album doesn’t stay in sad girl mode too long. “Deja vu” is the most pop heavy song on the album and definitely one of my favorites. The overall take away? Men are not only trash, they’re unoriginal.
The vibes however shift again with “good 4 u”, another rock inspired BOP that makes you want to set shit on fire.
Olivia sings in utter dismay, at her ex’s ability to just simply move on like a damn sociopath. The lyrics hit in such a visceral way. The anger you feel when you watch the person who hurt you move on, while you’re still dealing with the damage they made is universal.
The album slows back down with “enough for you.” Now I can’t lie. This one? Makes me sad. The ever-present theme of insecurity and self-worth is front and center here. Olivia sings about changing herself for the approval of her significant other, only for him to find someone “more exciting.” Again this is a topic and experience that has often been a cautionary tale for teen girls. But something about how Olivia approaches this track is different that doesn’t make it feel corny or heavy-handed. Especially as our narrator’s insecurities are well established in the previous tracks.
But I love the clarity that Olivia has in the song’s climax, where she knows she’ll find another person who will love her for her, and that who she is will be enough for the right person.
But even with clarity, there’s still lingering hope that the person you’re trying to move on from isn’t too happy. And that’s the vibe of “happier”. You wish the best, but you want comfort to know that you were still the one. The best. For a Pisces, it gives big Leo energy and I love that.
Sour isn’t all about heartbreak and seeking male approval. Olivia also touches on that feeling of inadequacy young girls can feel when looking at their own peers. “Jealousy, jealousy” is very fascinating coming from someone who is a teen actress. Someone who, I’m sure, many teen girls idolize and want to be with.
And in some ways it is refreshing? To see a conventionally pretty, teen still comparing herself to girls who probably have the same privilege as her. It goes to show that insecurities do not discriminate and we’re all comparing ourselves to other people.
My favorite song from this album, outside of the singles, is track 11 “favorite crime.” It’s similar to “happier” in hoping you’re the favorite of the exes. But this one is different from all of the other songs, as Olivia acknowledges that she was equally complicit in her toxic relationship.
“Know that I loved you so bad
I let you treat me like that
I was your willing accomplice, honey”
“Favorite Crime”
Olivia Rodrigo
In “favorite crime”, it’s two people making mistakes, like young people do. But at least, it was fun.
The closing track, “hope ur okay” is that feel-good closing track that inspires the listener. We hear two stories – fictional but inspired by real-life – about young people who grew up in turmoil but grew up to be the best version of themselves. The statement – I hope you’re okay – hits the heartstrings and will inspire tattoos on Gen Zers everywhere.
Sour is a hurricane of emotions and so authentically written. I can imagine that writing this album while going through a breakup was a great cathartic moment for Miss Rodrigo. She doesn’t hold back, speaks her messy and imperfect truth. There need to be more albums like this – attainable and real. I want more of this raw honesty from Gen Z in music – a generation full of feelings and emotions.
While there’s still room for Olivia to grow this was an excellent first introduction. Who knows maybe with age and time, her next album will be sweeter?
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