Sour

Plot Summary: Released when Olivia Rodrigo was eighteen years old, this album’s concept, from her own words, revolves around a teen’s struggles in love and high school friendships. “Traitor” is one of the best known songs off the album. In the song, Rodrigo sings about an ex-boyfriend who has another friend that he gets together with two weeks after he and the singer break up. The song’s chorus mentions how the boy didn’t actually cheat while they were dating, he betrayed the good that was in the relationship and was a traitor (where the title comes from) since it’s obvious he was thinking about the other girl while they were dating. Songs like “Happier” and “Drivers License” also touch on dating. “Happier,”  along with other songs, openly hopes that even though they’ve hurt her, she hopes that the other parties are happy. “Hope ur ok” is on a different subject, but is still heartfelt. It discusses someone who had to leave their parents’ house because the mom and dad decided they loved their Bible more than their child. Again, the narrator of the song expresses continued love for the parents even though they were kicked out of their childhood home. The reason for why they were kicked out is not said in the lyrics, leaving the listener to come up with an explanation from their own experiences (Rodrigo, 2021).

Author Background: Olivia Rodrigo was always interested in music. She started writing music when she was 14 years old. Some of the songs she wrote in those early years ended up on Sour. Because her parents enjoyed listening to a wide range of genres, she also listened to a wide range of music ("Olivia Rodrigo," 2023).

Critical Evaluation for Books and Non-Print Items: Olivia Rodrigo’s voice is amazing. The album has been universally lauded as one of the greatest albums in the last few years (“Sour,” 2021). The production quality is clean. The instruments and Rodrigo’s voice are well balanced. The singer has mentioned that she wanted the album to represent a wide range of genres. The first track, “brutal,” is a rock song reminiscent of pop-punk acts like Green Day and Sum 41. Olivia Rodrigo’s vocal performance on “Traitor” makes its sound a convincing power ballad, while other songs are more sultry (Rodrigo,  2021).

I will now reiterate how good Olivia Rodrigo’s voice is! It’s magnificent. When I’m listening to music, I like putting music on shuffle and mixing genres. The way Sour moves from pop-punk to power pop to a heartbreak song made this album a pleasure to listen to from start to finish. I’ve officially added it to my music library.

Speed-Round Book Talk or Short Book Trailer: A young woman with a beautiful voice pens her own songs about her experiences then puts them together on a great album! Come listen!

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: There is some swearing in the songs. The themes touched upon in the songs include dating and friendship struggles. Family struggles and religion over children's happiness are taken to task in the last song, "Hope ur ok." The songs are deep and show heartache. However, even with the language and heavy topics, Olivia Rodrigo's music feels hopeful.

Reason for Inclusion:  I picked Olivia Rodrigo's Sour for a few reasons. First, she was eighteen when she recorded Sour, and even younger when she wrote some of the songs that ended up on the album. I had also seen teenagers do covers of “Traitor” on YouTube, so I knew they were listening to the album. 

References

Jadyn Rylee. (2021, October 21). Billie Eilish & Olivia Rodrigo "Traitor" cover by Jadyn Rylee. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOj02QaOGeg.

Olivia Rodrigo. (2021, January 7). Drivers license (official video). [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmDBbnmKpqQ.

Olivia Rodrigo. (2021, March 5). Olivia Rodrigo- get to know me. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh6xks7R1Ts. 

Olivia Rodrigo. (2021, August 23). brutal (official video). [YouTube].  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGUy2UmRxJ0. 

Olivia Rodrigo. (2022, May 13). In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 19, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_Rodrigo. 

Rodrigo, O. (2021). Sour. [Album]. Geffen Records.

Sour (Album). (2021, May 21). In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 19, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sour_(album).