A new era of Olivia Rodrigo music may be right around the corner. More than two and a half years since the release of her second album, Guts, Rodrigo has been teasing a third studio album, leaving fans speculating about everything from the name to the theme and release date.
One of the earliest confirmations of Rodrigo’s new album was during her final show of the Guts tour at the Osheaga Festival in Montreal on Aug. 3, where she wore a red crop top with a bedazzled “3” on it during part of her performance.
On March 19, during her appearance in Vogue’s Now Serving series, Rodrigo made some of her most detailed acknowledgements of her album yet. She said she wanted to write about joy on this album, which is very different than her last two albums, which she described as more “angsty and heartbroken.” She also mentioned that she wanted to write about love in the new album.
“I think in music, my favorite love songs are love songs that are a little bit sad or have a little bit of, like, wistfulness or mourning or fear or something,” Rodrigo said. “And so I kind of set out making this album, like, trying to write a sad love song, and I hope I did it at least in a few.”
The 23-year-old artist’s career took off when her song “Driver’s License” from her debut album Sour became a global sensation. Rodrigo won several GRAMMYs for the song and album back in 2022, including best new artist and best pop vocal album.
Now, Rodrigo appears to be sending off these past eras with murals around the world that are branded with her new logo. Fans have been taking photos with the murals in places like Berlin, Germany, and Sydney, Australia, according to the livieshq official fan Instagram account. The Los Angeles mural has gradually shifted color, repainted several times to lighter shades, and is now a light pink.
While fans initially thought the album would be red, recent hints are convincing them it may be a pink theme. People noticed Rodrigo wearing the same shade of pink as the current mural color at the Vanity Fair Oscars After Party. Plus, Rodrigo’s website for purchasing music and merchandise has also changed to pink.
There is also evidence that Rodrigo’s new music album has already been completed. In a post made to his Instagram on Feb. 24, Rodrigo’s producer, Dan Nigro posted a photo of him and Rodrigo with the caption “Finishing records…”.
Rodrigo commented, “The palpable stress in this photo hahahha,” on the post, which has over 250k likes.
The name of the album is still left up to speculation. Rodrigo said during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel two years ago that she likes the four-letter word theme. Some of the most popular names fans have come up with that fit this trend are love, amor, and luck. Rodrigo, however, has not confirmed any name details just yet.
“Oh no, you think I’m going to give that away right now,” Rodrigo said when asked about the title of her album at Paris Fashion Week. “No, no, no, I’m keeping that close to the chest.”
It’s clear that OR3 is no longer an “if,” but a “when.” It’s been a long time coming, but if there’s one thing Olivia Rodrigo has proven, it’s that she doesn’t rush perfection. Whenever it arrives, fans already know it’ll be worth the wait.