If anyone knows how brutal life can be, it’s Olivia Rodrigo. Her lyrics work like a surgeon’s knife, revealing our innermost bitterness, jealousy and the sour taste of growing up. Like any 18-year-old, Olivia does not pretend to know it all or have everything all worked out. That’s why we love her so much. Here’s where she is in her teen life.
Facing challenges in growing up
“I just had this conversation with my therapist yesterday morning,” Olivia says. “Shit’s real.”
“When you’re in the industry, you’re sort of treated like a child but expected to act like an adult. That’s a really terrifying thought, to think that I’m not allowed to make any mistakes, because I think that’s how you grow as a person. I’m no different from any other 18-year-old out there. I’m definitely going to make a lot of mistakes in my life and in my career probably too. That’s just life.”
Brutality of Social Media
“I think it’s disappointing to see people take things out of context and discredit any young woman’s work.
“It’s so frustrating to see young girls held to a completely different standard than other people. Social media is making it even harder for young girls to grow up.”
“I don’t even think it’s about me being like, ‘Oh, I’m hurt to see people say mean things about me or my friends.’ It’s really toxic for young girls to open their Snapchat app and see the articles about young women who are just sharing their art and existing in the world, and watching them being torn apart for doing absolutely nothing.”
“We’re so much more alike than we are different. At the core of it all, we’re all feeling the same feelings of fear and sadness and loneliness and happiness and love.”
Getting support
Olivia finds her greatest happiness writing songs that comes from her heart. “But at the end of the day I’m just really proud and happy to say that my job is being a songwriter … 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.”
Referring to Dan Nigro, producer of ‘Sour’ album, she says “My favorite people in the world are people I feel like will be totally honest with me and care about me enough to be like, ‘Oh, you can do better.”
“It’s just about finding people you can trust and whose opinions you can trust.”
No one is spared from the vicious teen years, but here’s how you can make less punishing:
What can you do about Cyberbullying
Boucing back from disappointment
Feeling the feels and confused about what to do? Try our Mood Check
