In case you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard, Olivia Rodrigo is the music industry’s latest Disney star turned critically-acclaimed pop sensation. You might recognize this 18-year-old singer from Disney Channel’s Bizaardvark back in 2016 or from High School Musical: The Musical: The Series on Disney+. Olivia’s new album, “SOUR”, is currently ranked #1 in the US and has had three of its songs debut in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. This includes her little known debut single, “Driver’s License,” which spent 8 straight weeks at the top of the charts earlier this year. With over 50,000,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, there’s no denying Olivia’s musical prowess.
So, I’m here to give you something nobody asked for: my definitive ranking of all 11 tracks on “SOUR”. To be honest, I’m convinced that this album doesn’t have any bad songs, so this is mostly just an order of which songs I loved the most.
Disclaimer: This list comes from a Gen Z girl with a taste for good lyrics, fun rock melodies, and no experience in the dating world whatsoever.
- good 4 u
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This is my favorite song on this album. Despite it having been released a good week before the rest of the tracks, I’m still not bored of listening to it. Not only am I a big fan of the “angry rock girl” vibes, but the song is just so fun that it’s impossible to listen to without bobbing your head. Plus, I think the rest of the nation agrees with me because this song debuted at #1 in the Billboard Hot 100.
Score: solid 10/10
- jealousy, jealousy
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This is another really good angry girl song, but it’s like Olivia is way cooler and confident now; I feel like a badass just listening to this song. The bass in this song is amazing and once again forces me to jam out, but I’m not a fan of the discordant piano notes toward the end of the song.
Score: 9.9/10
- happier
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I don’t usually like ballads, but this song is just so beautiful I can’t not love it. The piano starts out like some sort of grand symphonic piece, and then the bass kicks in and I am obsessed. Somehow, the song manages to be angry, frustrated, and heart-wrenching all at the same time.
Score: 9.5/10
- brutal
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This is the ultimate fun, intense, angry girl song (it’s like these are becoming Olivia’s thing). It’s impossible to listen to without head banging, and I love that we have a legitimate rock song about teenage break-ups. The same riff is repeated over and over with some amazing, frustrated lyrics mixed in – makes me feel like a delinquent in a 90s movie.
Score: 9/10
- 1 step forward, 3 steps back
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This is the best melody on this album (makes sense, it’s partly interpolated from a Taylor Swift song) and Olivia sings it so well. It’s so catchy, but somehow also sad and cute at the same time. I also happen to love that the whole thing sounds like it’s sung over only two instruments (and do you hear those nature sounds?); goes to show her vocals are just that powerful.
Score: 8.5/10
- hope ur ok
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This song has amazing lyrics, but in a way that’s different from the rest of the album by far. I like this solely for the lyrics, because it’s like Olivia’s sending a heart-felt message to her old friends instead of singing about her ex-boyfriend. Pretty similar to the other slow songs on the album, but the lyrics are what do it for me.
Score: 8/10
- enough for you
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This song, once again, has some beautifully written lyrics. Olivia sings with so much emotion but, somehow, the song is still so cute. I love a good acoustic guitar, but the chorus isn’t as catchy as the others; it seems to blend into the rest of the song without any real pick-up in the melody.
Score: 7.5/10
- drivers license
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The infamous drivers license. This song debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and broke several records across streaming platforms. Unpopular opinion: I don’t really love this song. I think it just reminds me how young Olivia really is (I mean, most people get their driver’s license at 16) which, to be honest, makes me feel a bit too old for this song. I mean, it does seem like a song that could give you a good cry if you’d just broken up with your partner, though.
Score: 7/10
- favorite crime
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I like this song, but it kind of just sounds like the rest of the ballads in the album. I do think that the whole harmony theme she has going on and the small little fast part are pretty cool, but the majority of the song is pretty normal. Being me, I do really like the acoustic guitar, though!
Score: 6.75/10
- traitor
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Another song with good lyrics, but a little too sad and slow for me. I also think this is one of those songs I could understand more if I’d actually ever had an ex-boyfriend. I could totally simultaneously sing and cry to this song if I were a decent singer, but in comparison to the other songs on the album, it’s not my favorite ballad.
Score: 6.5/10
- deja vu
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deja vu was the second song of this album to be released, and debuted pretty high on the charts. This might be another unpopular opinion, but this song is my least favorite in this album. That does not mean in any way that it’s a bad song, but I don’t really understand the chorus in the song; there’s not much lyric to it and it seems to me like it’s just a bunch of sound. I just don’t think it’s her best song. Maybe I could relate more if I’d actually been in a relationship before?
Score: 6/10
The main themes of this album include: some magnificently beautiful lyrics, soulful singing, the creation of 2020s angry-girl rock, and an amazing use of instruments to highlight how good of a singer Olivia really is. If you haven’t listened to “SOUR” and don’t know where to start, maybe this will help you get acquainted with Olivia’s music. If you’re a die-hard Olivia Rodrigo fan, maybe you can compare your own tracklist ranking to mine. Regardless, please take this list with a grain of salt; these are my opinions, and it’s totally okay if they don’t match yours!