Olivia Rodrigo Is Not Who You Think She Is
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Everybody in pop music is trying to look busy right now. Sabrina Carpenter. Tate McRae. The new industry logic is: more output, more presence, more proof of life — or the algorithm forgets you exist. Olivia Rodrigo made two albums in five years, disappeared between them, and just headlined Glastonbury to 1.6 million people. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
In this video I’m making the case that Olivia Rodrigo is quietly building one of the most intentional careers in modern pop — not by being everywhere, but by going still long enough to actually have something to say. We’re talking Sour, the Guts era, why she didn’t rebrand when every label playbook said she should, and what all of it tells us about OR3 and where she’s actually going.
She took a poetry class at Berklee. She estimates only 10% of what she writes is usable. She and Dan Nigro spent 10 months on Guts. She headlined the biggest festival in the world without a new album out. She’s 22.
The comparison to early Taylor Swift isn’t the one you think it is. It’s not about sound. It’s not about Swifties or Taydaughters or who influenced who. It’s about a specific strategic patience — the kind that turns a debut into a decade.
With OR3 on the way, now feels like the right time to ask: is Olivia Rodrigo the only pop star who still knows how to wait?
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0:00 — Introduction
0:27 — Olivia’s Rule: Stop. Get Bored.
1:31 — What She Actually Does Off-Cycle
2:35 — Why Stillness Is Unfashionable Right Now
3:05 — OR3’s First Signal (The British Vogue Soft Launch)
3:54 — Is This Just the Taylor Swift Playbook?
5:00 — The “Copying Taylor” Narrative Is Over
5:48 — Why the Comparison Actually Matters
7:21 — The Advantage Nobody Talks About
8:26 — What Tate McRae & Sabrina Carpenter Are Doing Instead
10:28 — GUTS Proved Everything
13:01 — She Let the Era Breathe (Most Artists Don’t)
13:35 — The Reputation Play: Who She’s Choosing to Work With
14:21 — The Taylor Parallel Nobody Clocked
16:43 — Why OR3 Is NOT Her Lover Album
17:27 — Speak Now Is the Right Comparison. Here’s Why.
19:37 — Writing From Happiness Is Harder Than It Sounds
20:51 — Privacy as a Creative Weapon
22:13 — Why Olivia Rodrigo Fascinates Me
38 Comments
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I adore her! I have been needing something real and deeper after TTPD, the show girl era and Sabrina were very fun, but I am craving some real connection and I am sure Olivia will provide us with a project that resonates on that specific level. The only down side to her process, is waiting. However, in an instant dopamine culture, patience is an important virtue and focus is something to be admired.
I’ve BEEN saying that we need a speak now moment from miss olivia!!
The solution to loneliness is boredom
I feel like with what’s been going on politically in the U.S., it’s been affecting pop culture at large. With all the anxiety and news headlines, we fear being bored and alone with our thoughts. “Where’s My Phone” is a good example of this. “I just want my mind to be a clear glass, clear glass with nothing instead. Oh where did I leave? Where did it go? Where’s my phone? Where’s my phone?” Olivia and Mitski are very aware of the disastrous effects this has on art, so they keep their art alive with boredom. Boredom is almost becoming a luxury, which exists alongside loneliness being an international plague.
you're so good at speaking
So well thought out. This is my favorite type of commentary from you, Zach. The kind that connects information from multiple sources, through observation and reflection, into a cohesive chronicle. Thank you!
olivia is 23 btw!
Olivia is prettier, a better singer, a better performer, and a better person than Taylor. No wonder Taylor saw a younger "fairer" replacement in her.
the intro brought ME IN
Thank you for your insightful analysis and predictions! This has made me even more excited for OR3 😄
Excited for this. I feel like there hasn’t been a good pop album out since ttpd
I’m extremely excited for this album.
18:14 I actually think SOUR is Olivia’s Fearless, and GUTS is her Speak Now. I believe OR3 will be more like Red with more mainstream hits than vampire, get him back, etc.
GUTS has hits but the ones from SOUR are more well known to the general public
I’m wondering what everyone’s thinking as far as timeline! I was very surprised to learn the album isn’t done; but I love how she takes her time so that’s not a criticism! I’m just thinking… It takes quite a while for them to produce all of the vinyls… We aren’t getting this record for a long time, are we?😬I'm patient!! Lol! Just curious…🤣
she took a poetry class at USC not Berkeley
2:07 it was USC, not Berkeley
I think you should make this same style of this video for other artists like billie or Sabrina just the biggest artists of this generation basically
17:26 not saying Olivia is copying Taylor but even if Taylor marketed lover like "im happy and in love now" I think people are comparing them because what lover actually is as an album is closer to what Olivia is describing
Hasn’t Liv won three Grammys?
You are boring, find something else to do. Each artist does what they do.
Love the intro!!!!!!
Are we just forgetting Mine exists!? Like!?!?
my situation ship just reached out, coincidence? I think not.
Your writing skills – you could make a mouse nibbling cheese sound exciting!
OR3 will be a musical cornerstone of 2026.
I feel like the family lineage starts with joni mitchell and passes through people like alanis morissette and tori amos, both of whom she's made public appearances with, before reaching taylor. she has grandmothers and great-grandmothers too, and I think they matter to her. which is sort of touching and shows how genuine her sense of history is.
Olivia has been doing festivals all through 2025 so I wouldn’t say she’s been ‘gone’…. Just gone from the US 🤣
Interesting. I tend to see Olivia and Billie as similar trajectories although I’m still waiting to hear if Olivia has her own music identity… I feel as if she’s mostly ‘inspired’ to be like others rather than knowing herself yet so this album will be interesting. Given she was being pop punk princess if she is moving a long way away from that it might be odd
I feel like a lot of artists learn many hard lessons as they work there way through the industry. But very few of them turn that into positive growth. She seems to be an outlier and I love that for her.
No exaggeration, but the best choice I ever made in my life was watch my first Swiftologist video what.
Sound-wise, I can see it being something like Lacy or Birds of a Feather
Did she read the Artists way? By Julie Cameron. She's repeating what Julie advises
Oh my gosh, I hope it doesn’t flop or disappoint… her strength is relatability she can make a 50-year-old man relate to her song because of these subconscious feelings and thoughts, but love is not universal for her target audience, people in their teens and their 20s who are trying to figure things out. so it’s risky but not impossible! Fingers crossed🤞
I'm soooo excited that you're publishing your videos as podcasts now! Thank you!!
singer songwriter career-WISE, OR as a young artist sees through the noise, good for her 😊 will there be Olivia-EOAS tour someday soon 😊? Does she also draw inspirations from Lana? 😃
I respectfully disagree; to me, this album sounds more like Red than Speak Now. Moving into adulthood and the complicated freedom and romance that comes with it along with a change in sound reflects the Red era more in my mind. I love your videos and I’m so excited for this new era!!!
My two faves. I just know that Olivia is studying what the greats before her including Taylor were doing. She is definitely following Taylor’s pre Folklore release cycles. Olivia is the true Taydaughter even if they don’t talk anymore lmao
I HAVE BEEN WAITINGGGGG
Thank you for making this video, she is my favorite “tay daughter “ for the generation. She is very talented, and she’s taking time off and having experiences which is awesome for her. I believe she has good intentions and is and will continue to be a good role model for her audience.