Rodrigo's debut studio album, SOUR, topped the charts globally and was met with widespread critical acclaim. She is nominated in seven categories at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist, Album of the Year for SOUR, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year for "drivers license". Time named her the 2021 Entertainer of the Year and Billboard named her the 2022 Woman of the Year.
Rodrigo signed with Interscope Records and Geffen Records in 2020. She negotiated the record deal to secure for herself ownership of the masters of her music. On January 8, 2021, she released her debut single, "drivers license", which she co-wrote with producer Dan Nigro. Within the week of its release, "drivers license" was critically acclaimed, and broke Spotify's record twice for most daily streams ever for a non-holiday song with over 15.7 million global streams on January 11 and over 17 million global streams the next day. It went on to break another Spotify record for the first song in history to hit 80 million streams in 7 days. The song debuted at number one on Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one in numerous other countries. Rodrigo stated in an interview that "It's been the absolute craziest week of my life ... My entire life just, like, shifted in an instant."
On April 1, 2021, Rodrigo released her follow-up single, "deja vu", which debuted at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first artist to debut their first two releases in the top 10 of the Hot 100. The third single preceding her debut album, "good 4 u", followed on May 14, 2021, and became her second single to debut at number one on the Hot 100. SOUR, her debut studio album, was released on May 21, 2021, to critical acclaim. Charlie Gunn of The Forty-Five called it "the greatest coming-of-age album since early Taylor Swift or Lorde". Slate's Chris Molanphy said its first three singles alone established Rodrigo's "early status as Gen-Z's most versatile new artist". According to Clash critic Robin Murray, Rodrigo is regarded as one of Generation Z's finest artists, while Variety dubbed her "the Voice of her Generation" in its cover story of Rodrigo. SOUR debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and spent a total of five weeks at the spot, becoming the longest-reigning number-one album by a female artist in 2021.
In June 2021, Rodrigo premiered SOUR Prom, a prom-themed concert film on YouTube. On December 6, 2021, Rodrigo announced a world tour, including tour stops in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Three days later, she was named Entertainer of the Year by Time. In an Instagram post on December 24, 2021, Rodrigo uploaded a snippet of a Christmas song called "The Bels" that she wrote and recorded at age five. According to Billboard, Rodrigo closed 2021 as the best-selling singles artist worldwide, placing eight songs on the year-end Global 200 chart, including "drivers license" at number four, "good 4 u" at number nine, and "Deja Vu" at number 27. In the US and UK, SOUR was respectively the third and fourth best-selling album of 2021. SOUR and "drivers license" were also respectively Spotify's most streamed album and song globally. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) ranked Rodrigo as the tenth best-selling artist of 2021 and SOUR as the second best-selling album of 2021.
On February 17, 2022, Rodrigo announced and released the trailer of her Disney+ documentary film 'Olivia Rodrigo: driving home 2 u', which was released on March 25, 2022.
Rodrigo cites Taylor Swift and Lorde as her idols and main musical inspirations, and also dubbed herself Swift's biggest fan "in the whole world". She dubs The White Stripes band member Jack White her "hero of all heroes". Her other influences include Alanis Morissette, Kacey Musgraves, Fiona Apple, St. Vincent, Cardi B, Gwen Stefani, and Avril Lavigne.
love is embarrassing
Olivia Rodrigo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
After I'd known you like a month
And then you kissed some girl from high school
And I stayed in bed for like a week
When you said space was what you need
Waited by my phone like a goddamn fool
And now it don't mean a thing
Just watch as I crucify myself
For some weird second string
Loser who's not worth mentioning
My God, love's embarrassing as hell
And I consoled you while you cried
Over your ex-girlfriend's new guy
My God, how could I be so stupid?
You found a new version of me
And I damn near started World War III
Jesus, what was I even doing?
'Cause now it don't mean a thing
God, love's fuckin' embarrassing
Just watch as I crucify myself
For some weird second string
Loser who's not worth mentioning
My God, love's embarrassing as hell
I give up, give up
I give up everything
I placed my bets and
It's not worth anything
I give up, give up
But I keep comin' back for more
Yeah, it don't mean a thing
God, love's fuckin' embarrassing
Just watch as I crucify myself, hey, hey, hey
For some weird second string
Loser who's not worth mentioning
My God, love's embarrassing as hell
Yeah, yeah, I give up, give up
I give up everything (ah-ha-ha)
I'm plannin' out my wedding with some guy I'm never marryin'
I'm givin' up, I'm givin' up, but I keep comin' back for more
The lyrics to Olivia Rodrigo's song "love is embarrassing" delve into the raw emotions and experiences that come with navigating love and relationships. The singer expresses her vulnerability and the mistakes she made, highlighting the embarrassing nature of love. The song begins with her proclaiming to her friends that she believed this person she had only known for a month was "the one." However, her hopes are shattered when she discovers that this person kissed someone else from high school. This betrayal causes her to plummet into a state of despair, spending a week in bed and waiting for their attention.
The chorus reveals the singer's realization that love can be humiliating. She feels foolish for investing so much in someone who turns out to be a "second string" lover, not worth mentioning. Despite comforting this person during their moments of sadness over their ex-girlfriend, the singer questions her own judgment and actions, wondering how she could be so blind.
The bridge shows the singer finally giving up on the relationship. She acknowledges that she has placed her bets and lost, realizing that it was not worth the sacrifice. However, despite her resolve to give up, she finds herself coming back for more, showing the complex and often contradictory nature of love.
Overall, "love is embarrassing" portrays the rollercoaster of emotions that come with love, highlighting the moments of humiliation and self-reflection that can arise when navigating relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
I told my friends you were the one
I confidently declared to my friends that you were my soulmate
After I'd known you like a month
Even though we had only been together for a short time
And then you kissed some girl from high school
You betrayed me by intimately engaging with another girl from your past
And I stayed in bed for like a week
I was heartbroken and emotionally devastated, unable to face the world
When you said space was what you need
You claimed that you needed personal space and distance from our relationship
Waited by my phone like a goddamn fool
I anxiously waited for your call or message, foolishly hoping for reconciliation
And now it don't mean a thing
Our relationship has lost all significance and importance
God, love's fucking embarrassing
Love is utterly humiliating and shameful
Just watch as I crucify myself
Witness me torturing myself emotionally and mentally
For some weird second string
For a substitute lover who is not worthy of recognition
Loser who's not worth mentionin'
A pathetic and insignificant person not worth acknowledging
My God, love's embarrassing as hell
Goodness, love is excruciatingly and humiliatingly painful
And I consoled you while you cried
I comforted you while you were weeping
Over your ex-girlfriend's new guy
Because of your pain over your ex-girlfriend having a new partner
My God, how could I be so stupid?
Oh dear, how could I have been so foolish and naive?
You found a new version of me
You discovered a different version or replacement for me in someone else
And I damn near started World War III
I almost caused a huge conflict or argument
Jesus, what was I even doing?
My goodness, what was I thinking and why did I act that way?
'Cause now it don't mean a thing
Now our relationship holds no value or significance
I give up, give up
I surrender completely
I give up everything
I abandon all hope and let go of everything
I placed my bets and
I took a gamble and
It's not worth anything
It turned out to be worthless and meaningless
But I keep comin' back for more
Yet I continue to return, seeking more pain and disappointment
I'm plannin' out my wedding
I'm imagining and organizing a future wedding
With some guy I'm never marryin'
With a man whom I will never actually marry
I'm givin' up, I'm givin' up
I'm surrendering and letting go
But I keep comin' back for more
Yet I repeatedly return, subjecting myself to further pain
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Daniel Nigro, Olivia Rodrigo
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Taylor Duran
GUTS IS OFFICIALLY OUTTT olivia and i’m so proud, thank you so much for your service with all of these AMAZING songs, you did it again babe
NAMAN
Olivia inspires me.. My parents said if i get 50K followers They'd buy me a professional camera for recording..begging u guys , literally
Begging...
moon-light aura
Frr
M_edits
@NAMANsubscribed😌 hope you get that camera
Noahzx Roblox Checks
@NAMANive seen this kind of comment like 50 times already
Dreamsicle
God, I LOVE this song!!! There’s sooo many single worthy songs on this album!!! This is one of them!💕 Don’t sleep on it!
Sabrina
I'm 100% convinced Olivia can never make a bad song. Even though I'm not a fan of some of her songs on the first listen, it immediately grows on me after the second listen lol.
Shuktara Samkalpa
ALL of her songs don't fit with me first listen, except Driver's License, Traitor and All I want, but I've learnt it this way- listen to her songs twice.
Seerat Bhatia
HONESTLY I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE
Avizarr
EXACTLY how I feel with this album. Last night my first listen I was like “This feels a bit disappointing first listen”. My second listen it has been going better.