Olivia Rodrigo’s hotly anticipated debut album Sour is out now, and during the lead-up to it, much was made about the relationship between Rodrigo and Taylor Swift. Like many, Rodrigo is a fervent Swift admirer and she’s been fortunate enough to forge a friendship with the pop legend. Now that Sour has been released, fans are drawing even more parallels between Rodrigo and Swift.
First, let’s get the obvious connections out of the way, ones that were made before the album was released. For one, Rodrigo previously told Rolling Stone that the bridge of “Deja Vu” was inspired by that of Swift’s “Cruel Summer.” It was also revealed this week that Rodrigo’s “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back” is an interpolation of Swift’s “New Year’s Day” and Swift has a writing credit on the song (along with Jack Antonoff). Some fans have speculated the reason Rodrigo opted to not sample the song directly is because Swift does not own the rights to the original recording, so Scooter Braun and Swift’s former label Big Machine (and not Swift) would be the ones to profit from a sample.
olivia asked permission to use the melody jack and taylor wrote but didn’t sample it and just played the song herself on the piano so the actual owner of the song wouldn’t get any money… olivia rodrigo the leader of the fuck sc00ter braun agenda!
— ro is moving accs (@jeqIousy) May 20, 2021
Now that Sour is released, fans have noticed that Rodrigo’s “Happier” and Swift’s Evermore cut “Happiness” are both perhaps the saddest songs from their respective albums despite their upbeat titles.
olivia rodrigo taylor swift
happier 🤝 happiness
Haha u got "happybait" lmao,
it's actually sad songs— augustine⸆⸉ (@swifttwiceu) May 20, 2021
https://twitter.com/romcnvas/status/1395665315464302592
https://twitter.com/cheerishthelove/status/1395691727969681412
There are also fans who just see similarities between the two in a more general sense, with one describing Rodrigo as “the second coming of” Swift.
i’ve always thought about what it was like to grow up having a similar age to taylor swift, especially in those early 20s years… i’m just now realising this is exactly what i’m getting to experience with olivia rodrigo
— lua ✨🖤 (@iknowtheendings) May 19, 2021
https://twitter.com/m_leonacosta/status/1395591741751930885
https://twitter.com/20thcenturydyke/status/1395521848092332032
It has also been reported that following the release of Sour, Rodrigo became the top-selling artist across digital platforms around the world. The artist who was No. 1 until Rodrigo took over? Swift, of course.
.@Olivia_Rodrigo becomes the #1 selling artist across digital platforms around the world, surpassing Taylor Swift. pic.twitter.com/x1krFX74Zp
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) May 21, 2021
Check out some other stray observations about Rodrigo and Swift below.
The fact that olivia rodrigo will own her masters from inception bc taylor swift paved the way is a really beautiful full circle/silver lining from everything taylor has endured- like she stood up so newer artists can gain more control in a way she didn’t have the chance to 🥺
— Allie 🏳️🌈 (@taybeautifulll) May 20, 2021
https://twitter.com/olivialivies/status/1393066583573110787
https://twitter.com/jubi_lance/status/1395421722514366465
Sour is out now via Geffen Records. Get it here.
