Three albums, all classics. Let’s rejoice a budding rock & roll legend
Olivia Rodrigo has spent her profession making pop historical past, dropping three of this century’s finest albums. She made her mark along with her 2021 instant-classic debut Bitter, and the even-better 2023 follow-up Guts. However along with her good new album, You Appear Fairly Unhappy For a Woman So In Love, she proves what all people already knew: Olivia’s an artist along with her personal voice, not simply right here to remain, however already hitting the extent of the all-time greats. She’s a grasp of each transfer whether or not she’s serving pop-punk bangers or piano-ballad weepers. And he or she’s already sitting on prime of a basic songbook at 23.
So let’s rejoice the music Olivia Rodrigo has made to this point: a deep dive into each single music in her wonderful catalog. Clearly, this checklist doesn’t cowl Excessive College Musical—that will be an entire different checklist. (“All I Need” is arguably a particular case.) Additionally, no Bizaardvark, with all due respect to “Blobfish” and “Comeback Track.” It’s obtained the songs from all three of her albums, along with her soundtrack tunes, bonus tracks, cowl variations (however solely those she’s formally launched), loosies, and B-sides.
Bear in mind, each fan’s checklist can be completely different — that’s the purpose. The competitors for the highest is fierce, however this complete checklist is stacked with bangers from prime to backside. So increase a glass to Olivia, crank up the music, sense the undertones, and sing alongside loud. Hey, it actually IS brutal out right here.
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‘Drivers License’
Olivia seemingly blew in out of nowhere — effectively, out of Excessive College Musical — to hit Quantity One along with her instant-classic debut single, “Driver’s License.” “Drivers License” is a type of uncommon songs that you just hear the primary time and inside a minute, you realize it is a hit you’ll maintain singing eternally. Olivia sings about driving previous her ex’s home like no person else in historical past has ever performed this earlier than. An absolute basic, now and eternally.
Finest line: “Guess you didn’t imply what you wrote in that music about me / Since you stated ‘eternally,’ now I drive alone previous your avenue.”
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‘Deja Vu’
An not possible battle for Quantity One — any of the highest few songs may make a declare for this crown. However there’s no denying “Deja Vu.” This was the hit that confirmed Olivia as not only a vivid younger songwriter, however an entire new pop-queen paradigm, with a rock & roll coronary heart. She and Dan Nigro plot each genius second of this right down to the final micro-detail. These Conflict guitars. These U2 drums. So many scream-out-loud punch traces. And the totally insane method it’s about Olivia and her ex preventing over which one was the primary to get into Billy Joel. What a thrill to be within the crowd at Madison Sq. Backyard for the night time when Billy and Olivia lastly sang this collectively. (In addition they sang “Uptown Woman,” after all.) “Deja Vu” stands as one among this century’s weirdest, smartest, and just-plain-best pop classics.
Finest line: “Play your piano, however she doesn’t know/I used to be the one who taught YOU Billy Joel!/A unique woman now, however there’s nothing new/I do know you get deja vu.”
