Olivia Rodrigo

Rodrigo says writing happy love songs was a challenge meant to prove she need not be sad to write well.

“I wanted to prove to myself that I didn't have to be miserable to write a song that I liked”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 46:17

Rodrigo describes herself as a prolific songwriter who writes many weak songs to find a few she loves.

“I write, like, 250 songs that are the worst and then I write, like, three songs that I love”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 22:42

Rodrigo says she writes songs to process her feelings rather than planning concept records.

“write songs to like process my feelings. So every day when I like come and like, I sit at the piano or I get the guitar”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 10:11

Rodrigo says she regrets not having a normal childhood, describing a lonely upbringing as a homeschooled only child.

“I'm a homeschooled only child. Like, it was very lonely, like, upbringing”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 1:11:51

Rodrigo says the audience accounts for most of what makes a concert great.

“it's like 75% of what makes a concert great is the audience”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 1:02:25

Rodrigo credits her parents for fostering her willingness to speak her mind.

“my parents never made me feel like stupid for saying something or never made me feel like I was being too much or too emotional or oversharing”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 51:53

Rodrigo says expressing her feelings about Gaza is part of being an artist and that no one on her team has discouraged her.

“I think it would just be disingenuous to be like I don't feel heartbroken about what's going on in Gaza”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 50:41

Rodrigo says the relationship taught her that a partner cannot solve one's own problems.

“I kind of just realized that the issues that you have aren't just going to be solved by some other person”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 19:32

Rodrigo describes "The Cure" as the central statement of her new album.

“I think that song is the thesis statement of the album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So In Love”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 18:27

Rodrigo rejects the label concept album for her new record, calling it more of a capsule.

“It's not a concept album. I think that's doing a disservice to actual concept albums”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 11:55

Rodrigo says that after writing the breakup songs, she and Dan revised earlier love songs on the album to make them sadder.

“tweaking some of the love songs that were on the record and making them a little more honest and more sad and creepy”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 10:39

Rodrigo says she frequently deletes Instagram and TikTok because social media harms her focus.

“And it like fragments my days and fragments my attention span”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 1:16:14

Rodrigo says she tries not to dwell on past songwriting-credit disputes and speculation about tension with Taylor Swift.

“I think there's no, it was so long ago. I think there's no use in like hopping on it”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 1:21:43

Rodrigo argues that criticism of her covered-up baby doll dress as inappropriate reveals a cultural problem with the sexualization of girls.

“It just shows how we just really normalize pedophilia in our culture”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 57:42

Rodrigo explains she no longer feels obliged to do things that do not bring her joy or align with her values.

“I don't feel like I need to do things that don't bring me joy or inspire me”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 54:04

Rodrigo names "All-American Bitch" from Guts as her favorite song she has written.

“I think like All American Bitch is like my favorite song I've ever written”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 33:22

Rodrigo says she did not grasp the scale of Sour's success at age 17 and now feels compassion for herself.

“What happened with Sour was crazy. And at the time, I didn't realize how crazy it was”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 33:31

Rodrigo says Annie Ernaux's novel Simple Passion inspired her exploration of how love can make one miserable.

“I was really inspired by this book, Simple Passion, by Annie Arnaud”

The Daily: Popcast: Olivia Rodrigo Tried Writing Love Songs. Then Life Got Messy. (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 13:14