olivia rodrigo sets a record

it hasn't charted at #1 yet on billboard it's just at #1 on all the streaming charts i think. seems like it has a good chance though. i don't really have any idea exactly how popular hsm: the musical the musical the series is, but surely it's big with teens if it can propel her to stardom like this. my guess is the 'who is she singing about' schtick abcfsk mentioned is a big driver of its success too

definitely feels like a version of phoebe bridgers polished for maximum pop appeal, or last year's taylor albums except blander. not really surprising that something like this could be such a hit, between lana/billie/taylor etc. in the last few years. hardly an exciting debut single though yeah, it's a pleasant ballad but i don't see myself coming back to it ever.

I’m seeing compilations of tiktoks and I can say empirically that the actual hook of the song is the bridge since it’s the one people used the most.

I’m also kind of hearing the Phoebe and Taylor thing now, the chorus is annoying me after hearing it 20+ times in a row in a compilation.

I think I’m getting the popularity of it now. Gen Z hit songs for the past couple of years have been very rhythmically catchy - I assume because you can make tiktoks dancing to them- and this is more of a ballad for Gen Z to make tiktoks uglycrying to the song. I guess in that context the song does feel refreshing and it’s likely we wont see a musical trend here. I don’t know how to express this in an interesting form but it did feel like most of the dancing in 2020 was done via tiktok and it’s getting stale and this song is a cathartic breakup from that.

i think pop has been trending this way for a while actually so it's probably a sign of more to come

With no clubs or concerts, it would have made sense for all pop in 2020 to be more introspective. I guess the trend will continue for another while but hope the 20’s get back to dancing soon, because I have no patience for this sort of ballads.

The bridge is really good (I guess it is Lorde-y).

More on the Spotify angle: https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/9511182/olivia-rodrigo-spotify-hit-success

Many opinions from tsj https://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=29752

[5]s OTM

it's fairly plain imo

as for the significance of its somewhat eye-popping charting achievements, this is basically on par w/ ariana grande debuting in the top 10 w/ "the way" the greater part of a decade ago. the hot 100 is pretty weak currently and streaming/sales are so consistently misaligned w/ airplay these days that debuting at/near the top is quite a bit easier now than it used to be

dan nigro did quite a few songs w/ sky ferreira also

xp I don’t follow how this comment relates to the song’s massive streaming performance(?)

(fwiw, the track impacts the Hot 100 next week)

yeah it won't be on the hot 100 until next week but it will obviously be #1

idk i guess i am unfairly downplaying the song's performance somewhat. it just seems weird to me that a bunch of millennials' and gen-xers' ears are apparently perking up at a not-very-remarkable song by someone they'd never heard of just b/c it's getting streamed en masse by tiktok zoomers partly due to some e-drama. this isn't to say the song won't have lasting/broader appeal or that the machinations setting her up for success are inherently illegitimate, but, like... the number of ppl who felt the need to weigh in w/ a blurb on that tsj link is dumbfounding

completely unrelated to the actual topic at hand but the way that popcrave account always writes MILLION and BILLION (along w/ PLATINUM and even GOLD) in all caps is always so funny to me. like, some of the numbers they post are legitimately not remarkable at all but the emphasis always makes it seem so dramatic and earth-shattering. i want them to start writing THOUSAND like that

i guess part of why i felt compelled to compare it to "the way" was just b/c of grande's stature at the time (i had never heard of her before i saw that song high up on the itunes charts)

its the most interesting thing happening in pop at the moment i guess since its a quiet time of year and people are bored

Who knows if it's a harbinger of anything, but I think it's still worth noting its success as a story, because streaming has been so dominated by specific male-heavy genres, even as a few female mega stars have been the exception.

https://chartdata.files.wordpress.com/2020/12/eoig54gweaeesjt.png

And yeah, it's a quieter period on spotify, but the song has also peaked higher than any other song on spotify before.

It's also fun to see where someone who loves phoebe bridgers ends up as a pop idol.

There are a lot of familiar things in this that call to mind everything from the aforementioned influences to Florence + the Machine to Mumford & Sons. I'll have to ask my kids what they think, because I am sure they have opinions.

“driver’s license” is fine, but the important thing is that it’s five million times better than gen z’s other favorite ballad “without you” by the kid laroi

Xxpost: that’s the chart for most streamed artists, not most streamed singles. I don’t think Olivia Rodrigo will be or even is right now in the top 10 streamed artists of 2021 despite being a #1 streamed song.

I don’t know if there’s a chart of most streamed songs of 2020 but I’d bet Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, Tones & I, Megan & Cardi and maybe the Lady Gaga & Ariana collab are in there

I mean for comparison: the Olivia Rodrigo song is near 100M streams right now which is very impressive considering the amount of time but “Dance Monkey” has 2B streams and even with that massive amount of streams you don’t see Tones & I on the top 10 most streamed artists.

I’m not saying “Driver’s License” doesn’t have a chance to get to 2B streams, I’m saying is not enough to be a top 10 most streamed artist of the year.

https://newsroom.spotify.com/2020-12-01/the-trends-that-shaped-streaming-in-2020/

top 5 songs on spotify last year:
“Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd
“Dance Monkey” by Tones And I
“The Box” by Roddy Ricch
“Roses – Imanbek Remix” by Imanbek and SAINt JHN
“Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa

top 5 artists on spotify last year:
Bad Bunny
Drake
J Balvin
Juice WRLD
The Weeknd

across all platforms including video, the top 10 streaming songs last year were (via nielsen):

1. Roddy Ricch, “The Box” (1.32 billion)
2. Future featuring Drake, “Life Is Good” (1.035 billion)
3. DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch, “Rockstar” (863.95 million)
4. The Weeknd, “Blinding Lights” (821.12 million)
5. Jack Harlow, “Whats Poppin” (788.74 million)
6. Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP” (732.7 million)
7. Megan Thee Stallion, “Savage” (612.03 million)
8. Lil Mosey, “Blueberry Faygo” (593.01 million)
9. Tones and I, “Dance Monkey” (570.48 million)
10. Doja Cat, “Say So” (562.38 million)

for comparison to more traditional metrics, here's the top 10 radio and digital download titles via the same source

airplay:
1. The Weeknd, “Blinding Lights” (3.81 billion)
2. Post Malone, “Circles” (3.51 billion)
3. Dua Lipa, “Don’t Start Now” (3.14 billion)
4. Harry Styles, “Adore You” (3.07 billion)
5. Maren Morris, “The Bones” (2.46 Billion)
6. Maroon 5, “Memories” (2.45 billion)
7. Gabby Barrett, “I Hope” (2.40 billion)
8. Lewis Capaldi, “Someone You Loved” (2.28 billion)
9. Lewis Capaldi, “Before You Go” (2.07 billion)
10. Doja Cat, “Say So” (2.02 billion)

downloads:
1. BTS, “Dynamite” (1.26 million)
2. The Weeknd, “Blinding Lights” (580,000)
3. Gabby Barrett, “I Hope” (351,000)
4. Tones and I, “Dance Monkey” (339,000)
5. Megan Thee Stallion, “Savage” (336,000)
6. Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP” (300,000)
7. Jawsh 685 x Jason Derulo, “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” (299,000)
8. Blake Shelton Duet With Gwen Stefani, “Nobody But You” (288,000)
9. Post Malone, “Circles” (281,000)
10. Maroon 5, “Memories” (264,000)

so yeah the top songs are overall still quite male-dominated but not to quite the extent that the top artists lists tend to be

(those are us-only stats, not worldwide)

https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9512983/olivia-rodrigo-drivers-license-number-one-hot-100-debut/

Many opinions from tsj https://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=29752

― abcfsk, Friday, January 15, 2021 10:35 AM (four days ago) bookmarkflaglink

i don't recognize any of the writers except Katherine which shows how long it's been since i read TSJ lol sorry contributors who are reading this post

I think Alfred was another, no?

yep!

We had a successful recruitment drive in December.

finally listened to this song, streaming numbers v impressive and beguiling for such a boring song

So now there’s like, an answer song? (I don’t know who any of these ppl are): https://variety.com/2021/music/news/sabrina-carpenter-drivers-license-olivia-rodrigo-skin-1234889998/

Big feelings and nowhere to go: how Gen Z reinvented the power ballad

Olivia Rodrigo’s global hit Drivers License is the epitome of new-school pop songwriting, where sexuality is complex, emotions are specific and bombast is traded for intimacy

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/feb/19/olivia-rodrigo-drivers-license-gen-z-reinvented-the-power-ballad

The sequel is out:

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-04-01/olivia-rodrigo-new-single-deja-vu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cii6ruuycQA

I like it, but the vocal similarity to Lorde is more distracting on this one... also not feeling the distorted beat so much.

i actually like it better than "drivers license," which i never really warmed to

'i hate to think that i was just your type' is a good line

it's like a polished, major label version of like, 00s indie pop, which at least feels a little distinctive but fitting in with broader trends. i like it more than "driver's license" for sure

she's clearly going to continue to be huge

I still don’t get it and I find her very un-charismatic. I’ve seen her a dozen times already and I can’t remember her face once the music video is over.

The beat gives me 2000s Dave Fridmann feels.

(Wasn’t Billy Joel referenced in another Zoomer anthem recently? Is he having a moment?)

https://pitchfork.com/news/olivia-rodrigo-details-debut-album-sour/

I liked the placeholder title (*O*R) and artwork a lot better:

https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/c2448614-0667-485d-b116-49a3187d7dcf.2e50766d10ee999d1be0fbc156e0f069.jpeg?odnWidth=612&odnHeight=612&odnBg=ffffff

that's channel purple

i don't really know where else to post this, but my daughter is into American Idol and so i watch it with her (and enjoy it! not trying to pretend otherwise) and i was just gobsmacked at the number of 15-year-olds who walked in and auditioned this season by playing a *good* song they wrote and performing it flawlessly, often on piano but sometimes on guitar. there are a whole army of Olivia Rodrigos on the way, i think.

good! bring 'em on

"(Wasn’t Billy Joel referenced in another Zoomer anthem recently? Is he having a moment?)"

oh maybe, I seem to regularly see him referenced on twitter by people younger than me without the derisiveness he justly deserves, so that would explain that.

this alternate (Target) artwork is godawful!

https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/GUEST_c4984bd5-b5ac-4c4a-afbe-b8c0ce840257?fmt=pjpeg&wid=700&qlt=80

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgOl2bdevqM

this one's pretty good, hope she can keep things up for the album. my only complaint is the last chorus needed to be a bit longer!

I think it’s awesome, best one yet!

She’s on SNL this weekend.

I had not heard Drivers License until this week and goddamn that is a teenage anthem.

What I love about the “Seether” / “Complicated” covers is that yes they were big hits (and she’s a big hit artist, after all), but also they sound like her “voice” (or at least a voice not unlike hers)—if those songs didn’t exist, and she wrote & recorded them for her next album, it would feel natural. Playing old covers could have seemed too obvious and “on the nose,” but instead choosing those particular songs somehow feels like an ingenious fleshing-out of an aesthetic, it’s so perfect.

(Also, while 90s/Y2K nostalgia is obviously big right now, it doesn’t feel like she’s chasing trends as much as embodying them.)

I know it's not Team Dresch but "Seether" wasn't a pop hit in the way that "Complicated" or "Driver's Licence" were pop hits, was it? Actually seems like an interesting choice.

no, seether was a niche modern rock radio hit, 'complicated' was a pretty massive pop hit.

let me know when she does a letters to cleo song

"Seether" was also a big MTV "hit"

Sounds like Alanis showed up at Tuesday night’s show, and they did “You Oughta Know.”

between bringing up Avril a few weeks ago and Alanis on Tuesday, she sure loves her Cancon icons

I like that she's using the fact that she only has like a half hour of songs as an excuse to deliver history-of-rock education to her teen fans instead of just turning in a short set

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmvQXHoCoDM

Guess it was inevitable

(Cringe factor of that video is a solid 8.5)

Jabba and Leia vibes

I think it's cool she's offering her forthcoming single in CD single format (in addition to 7")

reasonably priced as well! fully expected to see it be $10 for the CD too.

haha, i just lol'd at "Jabba and Leia vibes" before realizing it was me who wrote it.

i am so funny! (and mean.)

I mentioned that line to a few folks IRL at the time (citing you as "someone online"), and it got some good laughs.

tbf, i am someone online

anyway, i am flattered of course

back on topic: pretty stoked to hear new music from OR. i don't feel skeptical that she can do it again, though i feel like that would be a reasonable way to feel (and i have felt that way before in what feel like similar-ish circumstances).

When I saw the title, a tiny part of me hoped that it was a Sebadoh cover.

New album, Guts, out Sept. 8

(Is it just me, or is there a slight Pettibon influence in this t-shirt design: https://store.oliviarodrigo.com/products/guts-cd-vampire-t-shirt-boxset)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlPNh_PBZb4

Song is good! I had (wrongly) predicted it would be a banger; was misled at first into thinking it was a ballad... and it turned out to be a hybrid deal.

It reminds me of a Jim Steinman joint – especially when it kicks into that final section.

(I was afraid the “vampire” lyrical conceit would be corny & overdone; but if anything, it feels a little underdeveloped… and the “sold me for parts” line feels like a weirdly mixed metaphor? Maybe you’re meant to think of body parts…)

The little mall-EDM drop is a perfect bit of sonic branding

She sings “dream crusher” in the clean version. That’s pretty good, I thought they’d just drop out the f-word.

"Vampire' is great, can't wait for this album

V good song

The added urgency of the drums towards the end seals the deal

I made a thread for the new album (big achievement, I know): Olivia Rodrigo - Guts (Sept. 2023)

As great at Guts is, there’s something about going back to Sour… it just has that OG emo flava. Like your favorite band when they were young and just blowing up. I guess I “appreciate” it even more now, in a way…

(Listening to it also gives me a “time-and-place” sense memory of the summer of 2020… which is obv a weird moment to feel any type of nostalgia for.)

Whoops… I’m being told in my earpiece that the album came out in 2021. My sense of time is messed up!

https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/olivia-rodrigo-guts-tour-reproductive-rights-fund-4-good-1235614854/

“The fund will directly support community-based nonprofits that champion things like girls’ education, support reproductive rights and prevent gender-based violence,” continued the “Vampire” singer, noting that Fund 4 Good tables with resources for fans will be set up at all of her Guts tour stops.

Rodrigo also reminded fans that a portion of the proceeds from her ticket sales will go toward the Fund 4 Good, as well as the National Network of Abortion Funds in North America. “Thank you so much for supporting this cause that I care so deeply about,” she added. “I can’t wait to see you all on tour.”

Your move, T-Swizzle.

Opening night of her tour sounds like it was pretty cool (here's a somewhat floridly written review).

(Points off for the writer coyly hinting at a potential hidden message in song sequence... it displeases me for the spectre of Taylor to seep into every corner, as if it's always a necessary angle... no offense, Josh! :-P)

he said he saw a dad with a ‘Dad Idea, Right?’ shirt on.

Levelled-up Dad, right there.

What in God’s name do you people hear in this generic shitmusic? Just the blandest pop music I’ve heard in quite some time with high school poetry lyrics. Granted I’ve only heard the “You’re a… dreamcrusher” one and “Get Him Back”, but still. WORST CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ARTIST EVER OF THE DECADE EVER.

Those capital letters are cute

Go Girl!

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/olivia-rodrigo-hands-out-condoms-morning-after-pills-guts-tour-1235851618/

In a social media post, a fan who attended the St. Louis tour stop shared a photo of two emergency contraceptive pill boxes. On top of them was a purple, square sticker that read, “Funding abortions? It’s a good idea, right?” seemingly a reference to Rodrigo’s song, “bad idea right?”

In addition to providing contraceptives at her shows, the singer-songwriter also has National Network of Abortion Funds tables set up at each tour location.

...or not.

https://variety.com/2024/music/news/olivia-rodrigo-abortion-funds-not-allowed-distribute-plan-b-condom-1235943079/

Organizers tell Variety that after widespread media attention, local abortion funds were told Thursday afternoon that they were no longer allowed to hand out free emergency birth control pills and other reproductive health resources at the concerts.

According to three sources at local abortion funds, that decision came from Rodrigo’s team and was relayed over Slack by the National Network of Abortion Funds, which partnered with the pop star to set up booths at each of her North American tour stops. Jade Hurley, the communications manager for the DC Abortion Fund, says the NNAF said Rodrigo’s team preferred they no longer pass out lubrication, condoms and Plan B because “children are present at the concerts.”

“The reality is that youth have sex, and youth need access to birth control and emergency contraception,” Hurley tells Variety over the phone. “What we’re doing is completely legal in all 50 states.”

A representative for Rodrigo did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.