The breakout pop star of 2021 is Olivia Rodrigo, the singer and actress whose debut single, Drivers License went straight to the top of the Billboard charts in January and stayed for two months.
The heartbreaking ballad is cleverly constructed around a scenario that's teen angsty in the extreme. Finally old enough to drive herself to her boyfriend's house, the singer now finds herself replaced by that "blonde girl" who's "everything I'm insecure about". Now she spends her days driving past his house alone,"'cause how could I ever love someone else?".
The thin line between art and life is treacherous: Rodrigo is the star of the Disney+ show High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and is believed to have written many Sour songs about co-star Joshua Bassett, her ex-boyfriend now rumoured to be dating Disney Channel Girl Meets World star Sabrina Carpenter.
But never mind the gossip. Whether Rodrigo's songs concern characters real or imagined, the album finds her skilfully shifting perspectives amid emotional tumult as she searches to find a comfortable version of herself.
The most obvious influence is Taylor Swift, but Rodrigo is no mere imitator, and when she sings with a sob in her voice, she also brings to mind confessional songwriters like Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes.
Sour, which is a collaboration with songwriter-producer Dan Nigro, makes multiple musical moves, from grungy guitar-rock on Traitor to delicate folk-pop on breakup songs like the almost-ready-to-forgive Happier and the anxious Deja Vu. The returns diminish toward the end of the album, but on the whole, it's an impressive enterprise from a young talent with a bright future. — Review by Dan DeLuca/The Philadelphia Inquirer/Tribune News Service
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Summary:
Impressive enterprise from a young talent with a bright future
