you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love - Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo is back with her third studio album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. This album comes three years after her smashing sophomore album GUTS. Rodrigo’s new album is full of newness, ditching the one word album trend for ten and seeing a lot less of the color purple. All adding to the excitement of what this third album is. you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love or girl so in love was released on June 12, 2026, it has 13 songs totaling a run time of 51 minutes. It is categorized as a Pop album. This album is broken into two conceptual halves starting with Part I: Girl So In Love including tracks 1-7 and Part 2: You Seem Pretty Sad including the remaining tracks 8-13. And continuing my favorite first listen tradition here are my initial picks for my favorites off the album.
Lily’s List – Pre-Listen
maggots for brains
begged
cigarette smoke
less
And the full track list:
you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love
drop dead
stupid song
honeybee
maggots for brains
u + me = <3
my way
purple
the cure
begged
what’s wrong with me (ft. robert smith)
less
expectations
cigarette smoke
Now the new list, post first listen.
Lily’s List – Post Listen
expectations
begged
cigarette smoke
u + me = <3
Olivia Rodrigo’s work is nothing if not deeply confessional. In Part 1: Girl So In Love, we are riding the high of a relationship. drop dead details the beginning of the relationship “stalking on the internet” and knowing that you will end up together. Rodrigo’s feelings and affections surmount anything a stupid song could ever describe. She takes us through the silly nicknames and there is a breathlessness to these initial songs, she is all consumed by this new relationship. Sonically, it feels nostalgic, like an old classic RomCom. It is warm and exciting and even a little juvenile which is fun. maggots for brains for me is the first indicator that something is not all that it seems, even though we won’t get this transition for three more songs. A song describing that she is a completely different person when he is gone, “a shell of a woman.” Then snapping back into it with u + me = <3. This relationship means so much to her that she is jealous over this man with my way, the pop-rock song revealing that there is also an “ugliness” that starts to shine through. This song also shows a certain insecurity within the relationship because there is the girl that for some reason is still constantly hanging around. Our transition song, purple, starts on the high we started with, while sonically being softer, lower to highlight what has been happening in the background of this relationship. The song closes with “melt with you ‘til it all turns black / melt with you ‘til i just feel sad.” ending the Girl So In Love part of this relationship.
You Seem Pretty Sad starts with another insight into Rodrigo’s inner struggle with self-image. These lyrics for me are reminiscent of lacy and pretty isn’t pretty enough. the cure talks about how the standards can be impossible but relying on a relationship to fix these inner issues will never work, despite the partner’s attempts to “cure” this mindset. The rest of this part takes us through the side of the relationship that is completely hidden. Details of having begged for affection and how much does it actually mean if she had to ask so much. what’s wrong with me features Robert Smith, the front man of The Cure. I think that it is interesting to bring a man’s voice into this song. The chorus being “i think you are what is wrong with me” being sung by both of them symbolizing that neither of them really felt truly committed in this relationship, something that was holding them back and it was each other. After this hard hitting realization we move onto less. A song about wishing that they were still together. I think that this song highlights the back and forth of a breakup, knowing why you broke up and deep down it is for the better but you can’t help remembering the beginning and wanting things to be different. expectations an unusually upbeat song as we start to close the album, we have come full circle, “they seem so desperate for loving but baby, i’m not.” Rodrigo has found comfort in her own company, she knows what she wants and won’t settle for less. And finally, cigarette smoke, a wonderful, reflective way to end the album. There are callbacks to honeybee taking a more sarcastic tone and to my way resenting her former partner for taking “her side.” A song about regrets in a relationship and blame being placed on her for making it “hard.” The want of the memories to be gone, to go “dark.” Darkness being a major theme in this album, a concept that wasn’t fear with him around, resented when he left and wanted now that he is gone.
My post listen list definitely changed but not by much, I kept two from my original list but definitely shuffled around. I really, really enjoyed this album. I loved how conceptual it was, how I am taken through this story that I can see and feel and know. That I can make connections about lyrics and how everything flows together for this album. Sonically, I loved all of the layered vocals that made an appearance in most if not all of the songs, I think it added to the overall feelings of the work. I felt as though each sounded different and distinct but still worked together very nicely. I think this adds to the chaoticness of the mind when pre, during and post relationship. Visually this album is very different for Rodrigo, none of that classic purple with the exception of a song title. A lot of blues and pinks and a light brighter than her last two albums, even Sour which featured a lighter purple. We have three music videos, drop dead which features Rodrigo running around The Palace of Versailles as mentioned in the song as well. This is where we start to see a lot more purple come in. The video matches the song as she’s running around in pajamas with headphones in lip syncing to the song. Very reminiscent of being in your room putting on a performance of your own, dreaming about a guy, despite being in The Palace of Versailles. The video for the cure takes us to a fake hospital complete with cardboard and felt, while Rodrigo desperates tries to find something that won’t make one of the felt hearts shrivel and turn grey. Ultimately, unsuccessful, until the end when she starts to literally unravel withered yarn stringing out from all over eventually connecting to the failed hearts and it is herself that revives them. The video closes with the hospital becoming a miniature in Rodrigo’s room that is all packed up in boxes. Finally, stupid song we are brought back to the real world, yet there is still a surreality to it. This video definitely gives a different meaning to stupid song Rodrigo is dawned in a zip-up hoodie for most of the video accompanied by ballet dancers in pink. This connects the original visuals from first announcements and this video also brings in a lot of green which is a strong secondary color to this album’s palette, despite it being absent from the cover art. This video ends with a sprinkler coming on over the dancers and Rodrigo. This feels cleansing and sets us up for the rest of the album, I would say the visuals for this song definitely highlight lyrics of uncertainty and insanity. Beautifully shot video, definitely my favorite of the group.
I am super excited about all that is to come for this album, I am excited to see how the tour looks and what direction she will take with the setlist in terms of the story she is telling right now. While new music is always anticipated, I am content to be pretty sad for a girl so in love for the foreseeable future.
Photo Credits: Chad Moore
