Olivia Rodrigo says she rewrote ‘sweet and saccharine’ song: ‘The part of the album where things start to sour’

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The latest chart-topping album from Olivia Rodrigo has a specific moment where “things start to sour” for the songwriter.

Rodrigo, who in recent years has headlined Glastonbury Festival and worked with the likes of Chappell Roan, David Byrne, and Robert Smith of The Cure, broke down her most recent studio album when speaking with the BBC. The seventh song from her latest album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl so in Love, Purple, was described by Rodrigo as initially a “love song” that she couldn’t find the right chords for. Those lacking chords left the song lingering a little, and a revision months later made it a part of the album where the themes of love “start to sour” for listeners.

Explaining this choice in an interview earlier this year, Rodrigo said: “Initially, it was a love song, and it was very sweet and saccharine. And a few months after we wrote it, we revisited it and put new chords underneath it and tweaked some of the lyrics. So, yeah, it’s definitely the part of the album where things start to sour and unravel.”

Further changes to You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl so in Love were made, despite Rodrigo believing nobody will notice those changes being made. Rodrigo told Dazed: “I love that song musically, and there’s a lot going on – a lot of harmonies – and literally in the car, I was like, turn that backing vocal up just one decibel. I was getting kind of weird about it. Nobody else will notice.”

Those slight changes have made all the difference, as has bringing up music legends during her headline spots across the globe. The pop star has collaborated with Weezer, David Byrne of Talking Heads, and most recently Robert Smith from The Cure on stage. Smith also features on her third studio album.

Her headline slot at Glastonbury Festival had Smith appear for a performance of The Cure’s classic Boys Don’t Cry. It was a dream come true for Rodrigo too, who said: “Ugh, dream come true. That was the best weekend of my life, hands down.

“It was one of the happiest and proudest moments of my career. I adore Robert – he’s such a genius. The fact that he was so generous to show up and do it with me is just beyond me… I’m so grateful to him to this day. I love those [Cure] songs too and being able to sing them with him in front of that amazing crowd was the stuff of dreams. No other way to put it. I’ve hung out with him for a few nights in the studio. He’s nocturnal – he only works when it’s dark out – which is awesome.”