Growing up with Olivia Rodrigo: An Evolution From SOUR to GUTS
Image Courtesy: Audacy
Around the time Olivia Rodrigo's debut album “SOUR” came out, I went through a phase where my obsession with her music was one of my core personality traits. If you asked anyone that I went to high school with, they would agree with that statement and probably roll their eyes at the memory. I admit that thinking back on it makes me cringe a little at how overboard I was. But when the lyrics aligned exactly with how my failed situationship at the time ended, what else was I supposed to do but listen to "traitor" on repeat?
But maybe I could have dialed it down a little bit. Maybe my Instagram bio didn't always have to be a line from one of her songs. Maybe I didn't have to choose "jealousy, jealousy" as the song for my music video project for my Media Studies course. Maybe I didn't have to recreate her SOUR Prom Video look for my Halloween-themed homecoming dance. But Rodrigo was in her unforgiving “SOUR” era and going absolutely wild, so I refused to bring it down a notch.
In all seriousness, I don't know what I would have done if her lyrics hadn't encapsulated exactly how I was feeling at the time and made me feel validated. Not only did she help me with what I was going through, but she also inspired me. During her acceptance speech for the Billboards 2022 Woman of the Year Award, she stated that she wanted to dedicate the award to all of the "young girls who write songs every day in their journals on their bedroom floors." Yet again, I felt that Rodrigo was speaking directly to me, just as she did with her lyrics.
Image Courtesy: Variety
I will say that my music taste has changed significantly since “SOUR” came out. I don't listen to Rodrigo’s music as much as I used to. So when “GUTS” came out, I was prepared not to like it and see that I couldn’t relate to it. But I decided to listen anyway as a tribute to my younger self and to say that I did. After listening through the album, I was taken by surprise at how accurate her lyrics were to my current state in life. But then I thought about it; Rodrigo and I are the same age and consequently experiencing life at the same time. That's partly why I found her so relatable in the first place. And while our lives are very different and I have grown a lot since her first album, so has she.
I found this is the case for a lot of Rodrigo fans. We all kind of grew up with her in a way and continue to connect with her over our life experiences. A specific example of this is how comforting it is to listen to "pretty isn't pretty" and know that we're not alone in the struggle of being faced with the unattainable beauty expectations of society. Not only does this song perfectly encapsulate the hopeless feeling, but it also demonstrates how much Rodrigo has grown. From simply resorting to comparing herself with others, she confronts the fact that it's a result of society's standards. This helps us feel less alone and helps us realize that the standards of society are the problem; we also shouldn't spend our lives chasing after them.
So yes, I sometimes do get a little emotional when Rodrigo softly sings "Got your whole life ahead of you, you're only 19." It makes me think back to my younger self who was "so sick of 17," just like she sang in "brutal." It makes me realize how much things change and how fast time goes. I think Rodrigo will always have somewhat of a special place in my heart because of how much her music meant to and impacted the younger version of me. No matter how much time goes on, I'll probably always connect with her music in some way.
Strike Out,
Writer: Kendal Asbury
Edited by: Nina Rueda and Olivia Wagner
Orlando
Kendal Asbury is a content writer for Strike Magazine Orlando. She's always stopping to write her thoughts down in her notes app or to take a picture of the sky. When she isn't writing, she's probably making another Spotify playlist or watching Emma Chamberlain. You can reach her at krasbury04@gmail.com and @kendalasbury on Instagram.
