Olivia Rodrigo has built much of her career on being painfully relatable. Whether she is crying over an ex in “drivers license,” comparing herself to everyone around her in “jealousy, jealousy” or screaming through the insecurities of growing up in “ballad of a homeschooled girl,” Rodrigo has always had a talent for putting uncomfortable feelings into words.
Her third album, “you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love,” might be the best example of her relatability yet.
Released June 12, the album follows Rodrigo through what she has described as her first mature relationship. The first half sounds like someone completely consumed by love, while the second half shows what happens when that love becomes much more complicated.
At first, Rodrigo is almost ridiculously in love. “drop dead” captures the excitement of meeting someone and wanting to throw every bit of common sense out the window. “stupid song” continues that feeling, while “honeybee” shows a softer side of the relationship. She misses him, thinks about him constantly and seems convinced she has found something worth completely falling into.
Listeners have connected the album to actor Louis Partridge, whom Rodrigo dated for more than a year; nevertheless, a deep understanding of their relationship is not really needed to understand the album.
Rodrigo is not simply writing, “I love this person so much,” she is writing about what happens when you fall in love and realize that your insecurities, anxiety and overthinking do not magically disappear just because you are happy.
Those feelings become more noticeable as the album goes on. In “maggots 4 brains,” even being away from the person she loves sends her spiraling into loneliness and overthinking.
Younger generations have become increasingly open about struggles with anxiety, insecurity and mental health, and Rodrigo writes about those feelings in a way that feels natural. She is not just singing about being in love; she is singing about being in love while still having all of those thoughts running through your head. That is part of what makes the album feel so relatable, especially for teenagers and young adults.
Being in love does not automatically mean being OK.
“Purple” serves almost like a bridge between the two sides of the album. It still carries the love and closeness of the first half, but it also introduces the doubt and discomfort that take over later.
In the song, Rodrigo describes herself as blue and her partner as red. Together, they become purple. At first, it sounds romantic — two people becoming so close that their lives blend together. But then she begins to question whether becoming “purple” also means she cannot tell which parts of herself are still hers.
From there, the album changes.
In “the cure,” “begged” and “what’s wrong with me,” Rodrigo starts questioning herself just as much as the relationship. Instead of simply blaming the other person, she keeps wondering whether something is wrong with her.
That is what makes this more interesting than a traditional breakup album. There is no clean switch from “I love you” to “you are terrible.”
She can love someone and resent them. She can recognize problems in the relationship while still desperately wanting it to work. She can know she is losing herself and still be afraid to let go.
Even “less,” one of the album’s most heartbreaking moments, carries this contradiction. By “cigarette smoke,” the album ends, not with a huge revenge anthem, but with the quieter process of trying to let the memories fade.
People do not always experience relationships in neat stages. You can be happy and anxious at the same time. You can be deeply in love and still feel lonely. You can know someone is hurting you and still miss them when they leave.
Maybe that is why the album is so relatable. Rodrigo never pretends that being in love fixes everything else going on in your life or in your head. Sometimes you can be completely in love and still be sad, anxious, confused or insecure. “you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love” understands that, and Rodrigo’s listeners do too.
Photo via SilverBullittt on WikiCommons
