Olivia Rodrigo

Olivia Rodrigo recognizes that the yearning, melancholy aspect of her love songs is key to their intense emotional appeal—beginning with 2021’s weepy smash, “drivers license.” “I think that grounds it in something real,” she told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in 2026, “and that’s why we resonate with those types of songs so much.” Born in 2003 in Murrieta, California, Rodrigo juggled childhood lessons in piano, voice, and acting before starring in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and eventually turning to pop music with an abashed passion for seething ’90s alt-rock.

Rodrigo was only 18 when she released her debut album, SOUR, a breakup record with a meticulous rage: “Where’s my f*****g teenage dream?” she wondered on “brutal,” the album’s Elastica-recalling opener.

GUTS followed in 2023, with Rodrigo and repeat producer/collaborator Dan Nigro placing her pointillistic lyrics in an expanded sonic palette that incorporated influences from off-kilter ’90s acts like The Breeders and Butthole Surfers.