In her Disney+ original film, “Olivia Rodrigo: driving home 2 u,” singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo takes viewers through the intimate process of her debut album “Sour.” Released on March 25, the cinematic experience reveals what went through the singer’s mind when writing these songs with her producer, Dan Nigro. With never before seen musical sessions and insight, this film is something that any Rodrigo fan is not going to want to miss.
One couldn’t miss hearing Rodrigo’s debut single, “Driver’s License,” when the California native dropped her first single on Jan. 8, 2021. Within a week it became the number one song on the Billboard Hot 100. The success from the single changed Olivia’s life as she went from performing in her bedroom to performing in high scale stadiums. The pressure of what was coming next hit the teen singer fast, and she felt as if her one song wouldn’t be enough for this new audience she had created. A week after Driver’s License was released Rodrigo contacted her label about starting an album.
“I was like ‘oh shoot, there are going to be so many more people that are listening to my music than I initially thought’ and I really wanna put my best foot forward.” a determined Rodrigo said in the film.
Despite her label feeling as though it may be too soon, “deja vu” was Rodrgio’s next release. In the film, she goes through her thought process as she wrote the song. An important part about creating songs for Rodrigo is specificity and authenticity. If a song she writes doesn’t have those things, she does not love it. In learning about love for the first time, Rodrigo’s inspiration for “deja vu” was how obsessed she was with the idea that all relationships are recycled feelings.
“When Dan and I wrote ‘deja vu’ together, we really wanted to write a song that was really vivid and specific. And I think “deja vu” really accomplishes that, especially in the verses really painting a picture.” Rodrigo said.
There were a lot of fears releasing the song, as her first single had gained a lot of success, as well as a lot of drama surrounding it with her past relationship. The rumors of who “Driver’s License” was about began with the history of her relationship with “High School Musical: The Series” co-star Joshua Bassett. Fans took to social media to keep track of Bassett and Rodrigo as the two dated on screen as well as off screen, as rumors suggested. When Basset was spotted with Disney actress and singer Sabrina Carpenter, posts and comments about their love triangle took the internet by storm. In the film, Rodrigo reveals she did not want people to think she was feeding into drama by releasing another song.
“There was so much drama that was around ‘Driver’s License’ and so much hate. I thought that if I was playing into this drama, love triangle, like let’s hate on other girls thing, and I just did not want to do that. I never write any of my songs from that point of view.” Rodrigo said.
The album isn’t only heartbreak tunes like “Driver’s License” and “deja vu,” the album features songs such as “Brutal” that have an angsty, punk flair. This song goes through the experiences of youth and struggling with self esteem. In the film she goes over a line in the song that reads “Cause who am I if not exploited.” The singer felt as though she was trapped, pushed into this new life of fame that she almost didn’t feel prepared for. Other songs such as “jealousy” are about comparing oneself to others on social media, a topic that most teens and young adults can relate too.
The singer goes into depth about what it was like growing up as a child actress. She recounts times where she was constantly told that everything she did was amazing. From a young age this created delusions in her self esteem. Despite what adults might have told her, she became her own worst critic, doubting that she wasn’t good enough. Rodrigo gravitated towards her dad during these times as she felt as if he was one that would always be honest with her. She feels as though there is a level of kindness one must have to have the courage to tell someone the truth.
The last song in the album, “hope ur ok” leaves the listener on a hopeful note. She wanted to write a very folksy song that inspired the listener. In ending a relationship, there is so much growth and hope for the future and that is what Rodrigo wanted to convey. At the end of the film she sings a heartfelt performance of “hope ur ok” finishing the road trip at the beach in Malibu.
Olivia doesn’t want to only write sad songs. The film features the songs of her first album, but since then the singer has grown tremendously as an artist and a young adult. She now views each of her songs with older eyes and hopes that the next album explores different emotions.
“I think I’m so much of a different person in a good way. I think I had to learn how to have thick skin and stand up for myself, and I think I just wanted to tell people what was going on in the depths of my heart and the back of my hand in a way that was proud.” Rodrigo said in the last interview footage of the film before singing “hope ur ok.”
Moorea Pike is an Entertainment Intern for the spring 2022 quarter. She can be reached at mepike@uci.edu.
