The highly anticipated debut album from 18-year-old Olivia Rodrigo has arrived. SOUR, by default is the perfect example of how a debut album should be. From teen Disney star to captivating of teenage angst and heartbreak Olivia Rodrigo is well on her way to becoming a key figure in the music industry.
Debut Success – Drivers License
In an industry where artists constantly break records, Olivia Rodrigo has become force to be reckoned with. Her first single, Drivers License, created a new wave of fans. These fans are passionate about songwriting and production. In addition, Driver’s License became the fastest track to hit 100 million streams on Spotify. It was also revealed that the song topped the Billboard Top 100 for a long eight weeks, which made it the 7th song in the world to do so.
Rager Teenager
Moreover, the album features songs that delve into the angst of being a teenager, growing up with social media and experiencing first heartbreaks. The honesty that SOUR contains is deeply captivating and highly personal. This can be heard when Rodrigo sings about comparing herself to “girls to good to be true” on the track Jealousy, Jealously. This matched with the heartbreak and sadness of track 7’s Enough For You, featuring lyrics like “you found someone more exciting” consequently display a wide generational feeling of self doubt.
“It’s Brutal Out Here”
Olivia is not afraid to put herself on the line in SOUR. For instance, the record opens with a furious and spiteful track titled Brutal. The song goes on to furiously express the anger that comes with being 17 whilst also singing that these are the apparent “golden years”. It’s extremely cathartic to see a young woman tell her truth regarding heartbreak. As a result of this, SOUR deserves a great amount of praise for including such raw and personal emotions in a debut album.
Do You Get Deja Vu?
Some songs on SOUR pay homage to few big names in music. Good 4 U takes influence from pop-rock tracks from the early 2000’s, such a Misery Business by band Paramore. Furthermore, track 4 on the album – 1 step forward, 3 steps back is a song that beautifully interpolates Taylor Swift’s 2017 track New Year’s Eve from her 2017 album Reputation. Olivia has received praise by fans for her immaculate bridges in her songs such as her second single Deja Vu. Which delivers a subtle yet powerful bridge featuring the lyrics ‘don’t act like we didn’t do that shit too’.
Rodrigo, a die-hard Taylor Swift fan herself says that she has always taken inspiration from Swift’s songwriting and it shows. Each song on SOUR perfectly tells the story of how she was feeling, similarly to songs released by Swift. Along with co-writer and producer Dan Nigro, the album perfectly encapsulates every ounce of sadness, rage and self-pity creating a mature yet beautifully adolescent album.
The SOUR Era
Overall, it is clear that the main theme of SOUR is heartbreak and the record doesn’t hide from this idea. With the strength of this album as a whole combined with the success of it’s singles. It is clear that Olivia Rodrigo is on a path to long term success. SOUR is an impeccable effort at a debut album.
SOUR by Olivia Rodrigo is available to download or stream from your preferred music service.
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