Olivia Rodrigo's Sour & its Impact on Women and the Music Industry
A year ago, there were only whispers about Olivia Rodrigo in the music industry. Back then, she started as a Disney actress with a catchy and popular soundtrack in “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.”
Flash forward to January of 2021, when Rodrigo soared to success when her hit single “drivers license” was released. The change from a year ago to today is astronomical. Now, almost halfway into 2021, Rodrigo stands with two No. 1 singles and her album, SOUR, scores the biggest Debut Album of the Year. So far, the world has seen her blossom from the Disney archetype into a new pop sensation.
There’s a reason why Rodrigo is so popular right now. And it’s evident when I listened to SOUR in its length because it showcases Rodrigo’s best talents: her cathartic singing, emotional lyrics, and catchy yet authentic breakup tunes. For Rodrigo, her songs have enraptured many regardless of their age or gender. Her songs have a way of enthralling anyone no matter their age or gender. Her album is also unusual compared to most. We live in an era in which albums are typically over an hour long to maximize clicks, whereas Rodrigo’s stands only at thirty-four minutes with eleven songs total.
Rodrigo’s album speaks to the universal experience of being heartbroken. What is a breakup song supposed to sound like? Whatever your opinion may be, Rodrigo captures it pretty accurately by using specific examples, but delicately enough that it can be relatable for any woman, no matter their age, listening to it.
So perhaps the question is this: what does Olivia Rodrigo and her music mean to her audience? Maybe even the bigger question is what does Olivia Rodrigo mean to the music industry going forward?
Olivia Rodrigo is important to the music industry because she is symbolic of the teenage angst and melodrama that coincides with being in high school. Her songs have a certain relatability and proves the many wrong who thought that teenage angst and breakup songs are destined to skyrocket and then fade just as quickly. But we can see now, that “drivers license” is going to stick around for a while.
There’s also the added layer that a lot of women, especially teenage women, are mocked for everything they do and enjoy. Girls can not enjoy things or have hobbies without someone mocking them for it, whether or not they are deemed shallow for liking makeup or pink, or for being a “pick-me” girl for going against the traditional feminne tropes. Either way, in society women are dehumanized to show how they cater towards male validation. We see how Taylor Swift, an idol of Olivia Rodrigo's, was constantly torn apart for how many people she has dated and wrote breakup albums about. Maybe that’s why Rodrigo’s new album is so powerful, because just as Taylor Swift has shown us, it shows us that we can still enjoy the things we have been mocked for such as the classic breakup album and teenage girl angst trope.
The partial-answer on why Rodrigo has gotten so popular so quickly is this: being a teenager is really hard. Growing up, school, the drama, your social life, classes, trying to apply to college, and just existing as a teenager is difficult enough on its own. For many, music is an escape from their life to get away for a little bit. And that’s what Olivia’s album accomplishes; it reminds us that we are not alone in what we are going through. For me, that would have been everything when I went through my first heartbreak and I thought the whole world was against me. Rodrigo’s album represents the relatability of being the main protagonist.
And for the music industry, it means that teenage angst is still, and always will be, a universal phenomenon and artists, even as young as seventeen, can still make music for people to resonate with. Her, along with the other breakup albums that have come before it, are made for those who aren’t even teenagers anymore can still listen to and enjoy.
And finally all I can say is this: so far Olivia Rodrigo is paving her way through the Disney teenage girl stereotype and into the music industry, so it will all come down to what’s next. She probably won’t continue to make breakup albums, but perhaps she will follow the same eras Taylor Swift started back in 2009. But for now, we can remember Olivia Rodrigo, in this moment, as a young teen set to possibly secure Best New Artist.
Olivia Rodrigo music:
