When I found out that Olivia Rodrigo came out with another song, I was shocked. It feels like her first major hit “Driver’s License” wasn’t even released that long ago. It’s also still at the top of the charts everywhere and all over TikTok. My first thought was “no wayyy” and I immediately knew I had to listen to it. Her first single had this huge backstory of a love triangle between her and fellow Disney stars Sabrina Carpenter and Joshua Bassett. This really added to the dynamic of the song. I knew her newer song probably wouldn’t be as good as “Driver’s License”, but I told myself to be open-minded and honestly…”Driver’s License” is in a field of it’s own, it wouldn’t be a fair comparison. So here’s my honest first impression of Olivia Rodrigo’s new single, “Déjà vu.”
Lyrics:
Before I listened to the song, I wanted to know the lyrics. The lyrics to her other songs I know are absolutely golden, so I figured it’d be nice to know if I needed to grab a box of tissues or not. To no surprise, I thought they were great. She opens up the song with eating strawberry ice cream and watching reruns of Glee, sounds like some good times. But then she got deeper and you find out it wasn’t actually Olivia doing those fun things with that guy. My immediate thoughts were “he’s probably with that blonde girl” (Sabrina Carpenter again??). Olivia talks about how this guy uses all the same moves with the new girl that he’s used on her previously. Ouch. This leads to the chorus which is:
Played you the song she’s singing now when she’s with you
Do you get déjà vu when she’s with you?
All I have to say, is that the guy (potentially Joshua Bassett) better watch out and so should the new girl who’s also apparently an actress like Olivia according to the line:
We kinda do sound the same
Another actress
Olivia dropped so many bomb shells in this song just by the lyrics, 10/10.
Music:
I listened to this song on Spotify for my first impression and I was really nervous. I didn’t want to be persuaded or blinded by the music video that I knew was going to be bomb. This was the only part I was a little disappointed over. It started out soft which allowed me to really hear Olivia’s voice, which I enjoyed. But I also got excited because I knew there was going to be a beat drop, and I LOVE beat drops. The one in “Driver’s License” was life-changing. The beat drop happened about a minute and a half in and did not disappoint. It really changed the vibe in a good way. However, the rest of the song was kind of underwhelming sadly. It sounded like every other pop song today, in my opinion. To be fair though, it was still really catchy. I found myself humming it the rest of the day and as I’m writing this, I still hear it. I feel like as I listen to the song more, it’ll grow on me. But my first impression of just the music probably gets a 6/10.
Music Video:
I saved the music video portion last because I absolutely love music videos and felt like it would distract me from the rest of the song. I’m glad I did this though because the music video gets a 9.5/10, I’ll explain why I didn’t give it a perfect score in a second. The music video starts out with Olivia driving in the car, on a sunny day, with her sunglasses on. I always like this vibe because that’s what I would do if I had my own music video. Having the windows down on a hot day is one of the best feelings in the world. Then she pops up with this cute little white tank top outfit on the beach, I thought that was super cute. But then she walks in on this new girl who kind of looks like, you guessed it, Sabrina Carpenter. I wasn’t sure if it was just in my head because of the love triangle from her last song, but that’s what I got from this visual. I was a little confused for the rest of the music video because of this, that’s why I didn’t give it the full 10/10. The rest of the music video shows Olivia watching the new girl on the beach through these old TV’s. It gave me Mamma Mia “Lay All Your Love On Me” vibes, which is amazing because that’s my all-time favorite movie. Olivia then gets tired of watching the new girl and takes out this huge hammer and starts smashing things. Let it all out, you go girl. Very empowering to watch. Then the music video ends with the new girl driving in the same car Olivia was at the beginning in the same outfit and everything. I really liked how the music video tied into the lyrics of the song perfectly, it was kind of like watching a movie. We love a full circle moment.
Overall:
To wrap things up, I would say her new song gets an 8/10. It was no “Driver’s License”, but it was still Olivia Rodrigo. I stan the way she expresses herself and puts her entire heart into every song she comes out with. Each song she writes is in a lane of its own and tells a different story and explains some of the hardest parts of her life. She’s truly an inspiration for my generation and the younger ones as well. I think Olivia is definitely here to stay, and I’m proud that she’s accomplished so much at such a young age. It’ll inspire me and other women everywhere to live every day to be the best versions of themselves.