Welcome back.

Thank you so much.

It's so great to be back.

We're backstage at Austin City Limits with Olivia Rodrigo, the one and only.

You were here five years ago.

Yes.

and you debuted "sour," and you spoiled us.

You gave us the first full length live performance of that album.

Yes.

I remember being really, really nervous because it was the first time I'd ever kind of sung so many of the songs in front of a live audience, and I was obviously very green and 18 years old, so I, I'll always have, ACL and a very, you know, special soft spot in my heart.

Not to be corny, but it's kind of like deja vu.

Yeah.

Here we are with your third studio album, and once again, you're spoiling us and giving us your first full length live performance of.

"you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love."

Yeah.

So it sounds like we're making this a tradition.

I know, fourth and fifth album.

I know where I'm going.

I love it, I love it.

Well, you always have a home here with us.

Is there anything different about Austin City Limits to you compared to the world tour you've gone on to the stadiums?

Other than the no phones - that makes this special for you.

I mean, I think it's just like.

I mean, look at this wall.

It's all of the incredible icons who have performed on that stage.

It's just like there's just a spirit and energy in that room that is very singular.

And so it was a real honor to get to perform here tonight.

Well, it was an honor for all of us, to have you back and to hear these tracks performed for the first time.

and I can't wait to have you back for a fourth.

Like you said, I want to talk a little bit more about some of the firsts that you've done.

You did the first full length for sour, the first full length for you seem pretty sad.

in addition to that, you also collaborated for the very first time with someone on this record.

You've never really collaborated and featured an artist, Robert Smith.

Can you talk a little bit about that?

Yeah, I mean, I still can't really believe that it happened.

I'm obviously the biggest Cure fan, as we all are.

And, I got the incredible opportunity to sing with him at Glastonbury and, after Glastonbury, that kind of just, like, spawned an unlikely friendship.

And, I love talking to him.

And we're pen pals, and I spent a few nights in the studio with him.

He's, like, nocturnal.

He doesn't, like, work in the day, so I, like, would go over to the studio at, like, 9 p.m., which was not very, usual for me, but, yeah, he's just the most wonderful, wonderful human being ever.

Just couldn't be kinder and warmer and smarter.

And, so, yeah, asking him to be on this track was definitely a little nerve wracking.

But I'm so, so grateful that it happened.

And it's it's one of my favorite songs.

From what I can tell, I'm sure your dad probably lost his.... Probably crashed out a little bit.

Like a lot of excitement.

Was he, like, just over the moon about that?

Yeah.

Getting my parents to sign off on my songs is very important.

My dad listening to, "what's wrong with me?"

It was a huge moment for me.

My mom listening to the album was a huge moment for me, too.

When she first heard "less," she was like, inconsolably crying.

It's a very sad song, but she was just like, she could not contain it.

so my parents are a pretty good litmus test.

Very cool.

Well, I love that you've said that like the foundation from your family and those in your inner circle is super important to you.

And it's incredibly clear that despite how far into stratosphere you are, you're still really humble and really kind.

And that's really unique to see.

Oh thank you.

One of the things that you said, in addition to kind of this theme of firsts, you had mentioned that this album was one of the first albums that felt chronological for you, that it had almost like a first of first middle and a first, second and third part to it.

was that intentional or was that just something that happened serendipitously?

It sort of happened serendipitously.

I think I always had the title "you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love," because I was very interested in finding, like, the uglier, more broken parts of romantic love.

And, it kind of just, you know, life happened and the story evolved in the way that it did.

but there were specific things that we did, like putting "purple" in the middle.

"purple" was kind of the the song where everything turned or, you know, having "honeybee" in two songs on two different sides of the record.

just stuff like that, that kind of made it feel like a complete body of work to me.

so yeah, I, I really encourage people to listen to it beginning to end.

Well, in a world where vinyl is taking the, you know, the front row and ways that people consume media, I feel like that's the only way that you can really listen to an album is side A, side B, C, and D - if you have that.

I mean, yeah, that's the dream, because if you listen to side A, it's so in love and then you flip it over and it's you seem pretty sad.

it's quite literal.

So yeah, I definitely encourage people to listen to it on vinyl.

Well, this album feels chronological.

It feels like a story has been woven and there's definitely, like, almost like Easter eggs from beginning to end.

Your first track, "drop dead," you, one of the lyrics says, "you know all the words to 'Just Like Heaven.'"

And then later on, we get into, the song "the cure," and then we have Robert Smith on there.

But "the cure," specifically, you said tonight that that was probably your favorite song you've ever written.

It's my favorite song on my record, and also maybe my favorite song that I've ever made.

I think it really serves as the thesis statement for what I was trying to say in the album "you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love," and I just remember writing it and feeling like I had expressed something that I had been trying to express for a really long time.

Yeah, I really love it.

It moves me even to perform today, just like something stirs in me whenever I play it.

But I think it it's about something that I've been trying to express for a really long time and maybe didn't have the words or the, like, maturity to to talk about it, because I think, you know, the realization that love isn't going to fix all of your problems is a very important event in one's life.

And so to be able to put it into a song form and kind of like take it with me everywhere I go is really special.

Well, you said that it's the apex of the album.

Yeah.

At some point.

and it, I mean, each of the songs, if you look and you read, you can find things that just kind of like tug at the heartstrings.

But on "the cure" specifically, you say, "feel so alone., might as well be on the moon."

I just feel like there's a song on the track on the album for everybody, somebody that someone can connect with, relate with.

You can be falling in love for the first time.

You can be falling out of love for the fifth time.

And there's just something there for everybody.

Ah thank you.

And I think everybody is going to resonate with it in a really different way.

Thank you so much.

That's the dream.

I want to find out, fangirl with you real quick.

That's okay.

So you said "honeybee" was one of the oldest tracks on the album, and that "less" was one of the newer tracks on the album.

One of the more latest tracks.

Going back to that chronological kind of intentionality that you might have had.

"honeybee" is three songs in and "less" is three songs out.

And they're kind of like sisters, like a 180 from each other, one's about falling in love and not wanting to lose it.

And then the other is about losing it and feeling it, like, slip out of your hand.

Sure.

That intentional?

Yeah.

I think sonically, "honeybee" and "less" are like sisters.

They're kind of classic piano ballads, which I love.

And yeah, I think "honeybee," and "less" they're sort of about similar things, they're both about like a fear of of losing something good.

And, yeah, I think less is another song that I probably didn't have the emotional maturity or perspective to write maybe a few years ago.

because I think that that's a that's a tough realization.

I kind of talk about it on stage.

I think one of the things I learned about myself and about life in general, is just how nuanced love can be.

I feel like when I was younger, I kind of thought of people like, oh my God, you're the love of my life.

You're perfect.

You're my husband, and you can do no wrong.

Or like, you broke up with me.

I hate you and you're the worst thing ever.

And I think as I grew up, I sort of realized how complicated love can be.

And, I think this song is an example of that, and it's sort of about how sometimes the most loving thing you can do for someone is leave them alone.

You know, realizing that possessiveness isn't the be all, end all for for how much you love someone.

and, yeah, it's it's very sad.

So both of them are actually pretty sad.

Even though I wrote "honeybee" thinking it was a love song, when I listen back to it now, it's like it is a little sad.

You know, like all the all great love songs.

Kind of are.

I really need you to put the melody of "honeybee" in a music box and just sell it!

Because I would buy all of them.

That's a great idea.

Like, the melody feels like something.

I would put a child to sleep.

I can just see it.

It's so beautiful, and I just love it, so.

Thank you.

I might take you up on that offer!

Put it in a music box, put a little ballerina in it!

Magic.

Market that!

And I just wanted to ask if you can speak a little bit about the importance of using not only your voice, but your platform for advocacy and for things you believe in.

Yeah.

I mean, I care so much about women and girls.

Even tonight, looking out into the audience and seeing so many young women or girls sing along to these songs and feel like it's a safe space for them to express themselves, it's a feeling that never ceases to amaze me.

It's so wonderful and, something that I really need and, you know, maybe other people need to, but, yeah, I think that it's just a part of being an artist.

I think that in this line of work, your job is to express yourself and make your thoughts and feelings known.

And so similarly to, like me writing a song about my breakup, that's me expressing my feelings.

And also, you know, me advocating for women and girls and reproductive freedom is another facet of me expressing how I feel.

So, yeah, I'm really excited for my festival Daisy Chain Fields too.

I think maybe by the time this airs it will already have happened.

But, right now we're a month away and, I've been putting so much love and care and thought into it, and so, it's definitely at the forefront of my mind right now.

Well, it's amazing to see all of that work that you're doing, all of the foundations that you're setting for generations to come in the future, especially at your age, being 23 and just leading by example, really.

So it's just really impressive.

And I just wanted to take a moment to touch on that.

Thank you.

Yeah, it's very nice.

The last thing I wanted to ask you is it's been five years since you've been on this rocket ship.

Just going up.

Just full speed.

Big questions.

But what's next?

What?

What does an Olivia Rodrigo do in the next five years?

That's a good question.

I just, I love music, I love listening to music, I love making music, I love talking about music.

And if I can keep making records that feel inspiring to me or that, you know, feel like they express some part of me that's maybe difficult to express in conversation, I'd be so happy.

Sounds very cheesy, but it's true.

And even if no one wanted to listen to the record, I would still write songs, because it's just like who I am and it makes me so happy.

Well, I don't think anybody's going to stop listening anytime soon.

You never know.

Especially the people here at ACL.

You got that tradition to keep up.

It's true.

I just want to thank you for your time and your talent, and leaving it all out on the stage and choosing us to deliver this full length live performance with, for the first time.

just thank you.

Oh.

Thank you.

It was such a pleasure.

Thanks for the thoughtful questions.

Yeah.

All right, that's a wrap.