New drop from Olivia Rodrigo heads in a new direction

A new single from pop singer Olivia Rodrigo released Friday “drop dead,” marks Rodrigo’s first solo release since 2023. In her Instagram post announcing the release, she dubbed the track “chapter 1” in the story of her new album you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. The album, seemingly focused on the romance, comes off the heels of a rumored ending of the two year relationship between Rodrigo and English actor Louis Partridge. 

“That relationship, is definitely a big part of this album,” zoology sophomore Addison Hoddinott said. “The whole album title itself, especially this song, it’s first on the album track list. I’m getting the vibe, like, ‘oh, I have a crush on someone, this is the start,’ maybe the end of the album is gonna get really sad and end with that breakup that may or may not have happened.”

Though Rodrigo categorizes herself as “seeming pretty sad,” in the title of the album, the single does not reflect that. It is a hopeful synth-pop tune on the bubbly feelings of a beginning of a relationship. 

“I think it’ll be very nice to hear more (synth-pop) on the new album,” bio systems engineering sophomore Toph Day said. “She’s finally making love songs again. Before on GUTS, there were really only, like, two actual love songs, and the rest of them were more depressing, but this album seems to have some more, which I’m a big fan of. (She) has a way of representing these more high energy, happy moments, very humanly. Especially with her vocal delivery, a lot of the time, she’s breaking a lot of, traditional singing conformities to convey a more human emotion.”

While on break from the studio, Rodrigo spent time touring, performing with legends such as Robert Smith, lead singer of The Cure, and sporting electric guitars. Some of her later releases like “get him back!” and “obsessed” in combination with her live performances, have signaled a possible genre shift from the artist. 

“I love her going more into like pop punk,” zoology sophomore Addison Hoddinott said. “The drums on (‘get him back!’) were phenomenal. Even at her live shows, I think it was one of her Lollapalooza shows, she brought out (Smith,) and they sang ‘Just Like Heaven.’ Her voice is made for those types of songs. She’s so versatile, so I hope that she can really bring that to this album.” 

In the lyrics of the single, Rodrigo nodded to “Just Like Heaven,” stating that she knows why he wrote the words to the song after becoming close with her subject. 

“I like her lyrics, she kind of tells a story and makes people feel a way when they listen to her stuff,” public relations sophomore Sadie Grossman said. “I feel like she writes her songs kind of about things that she experiences and I feel like she puts her real feelings in the songs and I feel like people recognize that when we listen to it.”

Jumping off the diving board of two purple covered four-letter word albums, Rodrigo is leaping into new territory with a blue covered album and a 10 word title. 

“She’s trying to enter a new, adult era,” Hoddinott said. “I think she’s trying to break away from especially some of her early songs on, like, SOUR and GUTS. And now, especially the longer title and the way she’s presenting herself, like, very much adult.”

She is also playing around with her reputation of releasing many sad songs. The bonus track, “So American,” tacked onto her 2023 album, GUTS, was recognized by fans as her “first love long,” so the release of “drop dead” helps to steer her further in the happy direction while the title of the album still holds mystery for the emotions yet to come from her. 

“you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love is so, encapturing of what I think a lot of her past work has been too,” Day said. “It sets the stage really well for an album, this song, you can tell that this is off of this album, you can see the parallels. I think the swing (in the album cover) especially is supposed to be the changing in emotions, portrayal. She doesn’t necessarily look happy in it, she looks excited, she’s on a swing, but she doesn’t necessarily look happy. Which I think is supposed to be representative of the fact that, you would seem pretty sad for a girl so in love.”

The drop came with a music video recorded in the Palace of Versailles featuring a giddy Rodrigo running and dancing as she sings. 

“I thought it was like the running was so cute,” Hoddinott said. “That’s exactly how I was, I wanted to run around when I heard the song. I think (the video) was honestly, a little bit boring, but in a good way, you. It was simple, it was cute, she’s just running around, having fun. The coloring sort of the video was very pink. It was kind of monochromatic. I think she’s just trying to go, more adult. It goes so well with the vibe she’s trying to create.”

The remaining twelve chapters of the story are scheduled to hit streaming services on June 12.