With the fifth anniversary of Rodrigo’s breakout debut album, Sour, coming up in May, and the wrap-up of Rodrigo’s record-breaking GUTS World Tour in late 2024, fans have begun to speculate when the 23-year-old singer-songwriter will announce her third studio album.Â
Luckily for fans, a color-changing mural in Los Angeles, a cryptic hotline message, and a recent British Vogue interview all point to an upcoming official announcement from Rodrigo and the start of a new era.
On March 13, 2026, a plain purple mural, simply adorned with an updated version of Rodrigo’s logo, appeared in Los Angeles. Olivia’s prior logo, her initials OR in bubble letters forming the shape of a butterfly, had been swapped for a more simplistic, romantic swirled cursive OR with a small heart. With all her social media and website updating to include this new logo and matching font, fans were immediately tipped off that a change was coming to Rodrigo’s branding to tease the new album. The official livies hq TikTok account, Rodrigo’s official fan club/media team, posted a TikTok of the wall with hashtags “#OR3” and “#OliviaIsComing.”
Over the next week, the mural was painted over each day, getting lighter and eventually transitioning the deep purple, the hallmark color Rodrigo used for her first two albums, into a soft baby pink. On the final day of repainting, March 20th, the word “love” was painted on the wall, with many assuming this to be confirmation of the title of the album–this would follow Rodrigo’s pattern of four-letter album titles–but a new recorded message on Rodrigo’s official hotline hints that this could be misleading.Â
On the same day “love” appeared on the mural, fans noticed that the message on Rodrigo’s hotline had been replaced with a new message, which included cryptic hints about what the mural message meant and a potential date of announcement.Â
The message included the words: “You may think you have all the answers, but the universe has more to share. The writing is on the wall, but the first message may not paint the full picture,” and “Expect true clarity and renewal just after the pink moon.” This led fans to speculate that “love” might not be the title of the album, but rather a hint at an upcoming single or a part of something larger, since the “first message may not paint the full picture.” The pink moon mentioned in the hotline message refers to the full pink moon, which is supposed to appear in the night sky on April 2nd. With these hints, we could expect an announcement from Rodrigo, either revealing the title and cover of the album or a lead single, in early April.Â
Coinciding with the reveal of “love” on the mural, British Vogue released an interview with Rodrigo, their April cover star, which revealed more details about the sound of the upcoming album and its main themes.Â
In the interview Rodrigo played three of her new songs for the interviewer, Amel Mukhtar. Mukhtar had this to say about what she heard: “The fan theories were right: these are all love songs, but specifically about the obsession and anxiety of it – or the depression when your lover is gone.” This is certainly a tonal shift from Rodrigo’s other work which detailed heart break and the aftermath of a relationship, instead focusing on love and the complicated feelings when you’re in it.Â
Mukhtar described the first song as “smooth, trippy soft rock about the spirituality of finding the man of your dreams. Her voice sounds so different – laid-back and mature.” The second is described as “Dreamier, hazier…its chorus laments how grimly diminished you can become when you miss your other half.” Lastly, Mukhtar writes that “The final song is about that realization: love won’t fix you. It’s dancier, the most experimental I’ve ever heard her.” These tidbits reveal that this upcoming album will show a different side of Rodrigo–more maturity, introspection, experimentation, and the ups and downs of the process of love, not just the aftermath.Â
Another big question for the album is if it will contain any songs in collaboration with other artists, and signs are pointing to yes–possibly with one of Rodrigo’s idols and friend, The Cure’s Robert Smith. The two performed at the Glastonbury Music Festival in 2025 and have become close friends. Smith was quoted in the aforementioned British Vogue article about Rodrigo, saying, “She calls me up quite a bit to talk about clothes and fashion – and we have enjoyed a couple of memorable nights in the studio together… I can’t wait to hear what she does next!” Hinting at time spent in the studio together definitely points to a collaboration and there’s more evidence to be found if we look back to the mural. One of the songs that Rodrigo performed with Smith at Glastonbury was The Cure’s hit song, “Friday I’m in Love.” The song includes the lyrics “Thursday watch the walls instead. It’s Friday, I’m in love” Rodrigo’s mural marketing antics literally had fans watching the walls and the reveal of the word “love” happened on a Friday.Â
It’s unclear exactly when fans can expect the first look at the new album, but there is strong evidence for something early April, so keep your eyes peeled. Everything we know so far promises a pink, love song-filled, soft, and alt-rock-influenced new era for Rodrigo–unlike anything we’ve seen from her before!