Olivia Rodrigo, the 23-year-old former Disney Channel star who turned heartbreak into a billion-stream industry, is back with a new album. And yes, she's still sad - but this time, she's sad about being in love.
On her third album, "You Seem Pretty Sad For a Girl So in Love," out June 12, the singer-songwriter swaps her usual targets (ex-boyfriends, petty grievances) for a more introspective quarry: an entire doomed relationship, from the giddy start to the messy finish. Across 13 tracks, Rodrigo charts the arc with surgical precision: the thrill of new connection ("Drop Dead," which hit No. 1), the reckless plunge ("stupid song," "u + me = <3"), the inexplicable unease ("Maggots for Brains," "My Way"), the gut-punch realizations ("Begged"), and the final exhale ("Cigarette Smoke").
Rodrigo initially wanted to write about contentment - a daunting task for someone who built a career on power ballads and pop-punk fury. "That was a daunting task for me," she told Popcast, The New York Times pop culture show. As "someone who was very known for writing breakup songs and being angry and sad," she said, "I wanted to prove to myself that I didn't have to be miserable to write a song that I liked."
But halfway through the album-writing process, life intervened. Working again with producer Dan Nigro, Rodrigo went back to tweak the love songs. "After writing breakup songs," she said, "we had the fun challenge of going back and actually tweaking some of the love songs on the record and making them a little more honest and more sad and creepy."
Because who needs happiness when you can have creepy honesty?