Olivia Rodrigo on fame and music – Interview

Olivia Rodrigo has addressed the comparisons between some of her songs on ‘Sour’ and insisted every artist is inspired by those who came before them and discusses love and life

Olivia Rodrigo has insisted it’s “disappointing” that her work has been “discredited” for its similarities to other artists’ songs.

The 18-year-old pop star recently gave Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Josh Farro writers credits for her hit ‘Good 4 U’, after fans and music critics made comparisons between the track and the emo-pop group’s 2007 track, ‘Misery Business’, with a mashup of the two songs, originally shared on TikTok, racking up millions of views on YouTube.

What’s more, Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent were added to the songwriting credits for Olivia’s song ‘Deja Vu’.

But the ‘drivers license’ star insisted “nothing is ever new” in music and she can’t understand why people made a big commotion out of it.

She said: “I think it’s disappointing to see people take things out of context and discredit any young woman’s work.

“All music is inspired by each other. Obviously, I write all of my lyrics from my heart and my life first. I came up with the lyrics and the melody for ‘good 4 u’ one morning in the shower.

“Every single artist is inspired by artists who have come before them.

“It’s sort of a fun, beautiful sharing process. Nothing in music is ever new. There’s four chords in every song. That’s the fun part — trying to make that your own.”

Olivia, a die-hard Swiftie, previously revealed ‘Cruel Summer’ inspired ‘Deja Vu’.

She explained: “I wanted [the bridge] to be really high energy because the rest of the song is very serene and eerily calm.

“But I wanted the last bridge to kind of go crazy and I love ‘Cruel Summer,’ it’s one of my favourite songs ever. I love the harmonised yells she does. I feel like they’re super electric and moving, so I wanted to do something like that.”

Taylor, 31, and Jack, 37, are also both credited on her track ‘1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back’, which features a sample of the former’s song ‘New Year’s Day’ from 2017’s ‘Reputation’.

Who did she get starstruck by when hearing they were a fan? “Ed Sheeran the other day was like, “I love Olivia Rodrigo.” And like, “I love that she writes her own songs, like rocks out.” And I was like, “Oh, my God—that’s so cool.” I think he’s one of the best songwriters ever. It’s weird to think about people like that looking at my Spotify and turning on my songs. That’s so crazy. But yeah, I’m excited to meet my peers too. I haven’t met many people, so that will be fun.”.

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“I love living alone,” she tells us. “I also just don’t know how to take care of myself, though. I don’t know what to buy from the grocery store or how to clean up after myself, I realized. It’s been a learning experience.” She’s been navigating many of the typical markers of nascent adulthood during the past few months: moving out on her own, turning 18, graduating from high school. And some of the less typical ones too, like becoming the biggest new pop star in the world.

When asked “Do you still want to act going forward?”, Olivia replied “Not sure. I really don’t know where my career’s going to go in the next five years or in the next 10. I’m really grateful that I get to be doing both now. I just think it’s about finding projects and writing songs I feel really passionate about”.

Meanwhile, Olivia recently praised Taylor for being “so supportive of other women”.

The star received a sweet letter from the ‘Cardigan’ hitmaker after she achieved global stardom with her hit single ‘driver’s license’, and said it felt “so nice” to be “welcomed” into the music industry by a fellow female musician that she looks up to.

She said: “It’s so nice to be welcomed into the music industry and so great to be supportive of other women.

“She wrote me a letter a while ago, and she wrote something about how you make your own luck in the world, and how you treat other people always comes back to you.”

Raised in Temecula, California, by a Filipino American father and a white mother from Wisconsin, Rodrigo is an only child, though there was a pet snake named Stripes in the picture. (“They kept it in my bedroom when I was three years old. I’m like, ‘You kept a fucking snake in my bedroom?’ ”) Lorde and Taylor Swift soundtracked her youth, along with the Cure, the Smashing Pumpkins, and her mom’s favorite riot grrrl bands. That ’90s influence bleeds into her look today: a thrifted purple floral overall dress and T-shirt paired with Doc Martens creepers.

Her artistic impulse for songwriting was seemingly ever present. “Olivia loved making up ‘gibberish’ songs almost from the time she could speak,” her mom told me in an email. “Once she learned how to play instruments, that’s when her passion for music really escalated.”