Updated
Updated · Pitchfork · Jun 12
Olivia Rodrigo Releases 13-Track Third Album With Robert Smith Duet
Updated
Updated · Pitchfork · Jun 12

Olivia Rodrigo Releases 13-Track Third Album With Robert Smith Duet

3 articles · Updated · Pitchfork · Jun 12

Summary

  • Olivia Rodrigo’s third LP, “You Seem Pretty Sad For a Girl So in Love,” arrived Friday as the follow-up to 2024’s “Guts,” with 13 songs led by previously released single “Drop Dead.”
  • Daniel Nigro again anchors the project, with Rodrigo keeping a small core team that also includes Amy Allen, Jim-E Stack and Mike Wise rather than a wide roster of outside collaborators.
  • Robert Smith appears on “What’s Wrong With Me” — Rodrigo’s first featured duet on record — after she first unveiled the song during a surprise Primavera Sound set earlier this month.
  • The rollout also included a Versailles-shot video for “Drop Dead” and an “SNL” appearance where Rodrigo hosted and performed “Begged,” while Conan Gray adds background vocals on “Honeybee.”
  • Smith, who said he bought both “Sour” and “Guts” on CD, told British Vogue he was already a fan, underscoring Rodrigo’s reach beyond her core pop audience.

Insights

After collaborating with Robert Smith, will Olivia Rodrigo’s next era trade pop heartbreak for a '90s rock revival?
Is depicting love as an illness a powerful metaphor, or does it pathologize romance for a generation of listeners?