2021 has been quite a year for Olivia Rodrigo. The High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star broke into the music scene at the beginning of the year with “driver’s license” and her career has skyrocketed since the release. However, not all of it has been good. Some fans have been accusing Rodrigo of ripping off the hit Paramore song “Misery Business” with her #1 hit “good 4 u” and now the singer is speaking out about how she feels.
Although Olivia Rodrigo recently gave writing credits on “good 4 u” to Hayley Williams and Josh Farro of the band Paramore, it didn’t hurt any less for people to be coming at her. Rodrigo told Teen Vogue how she felt when she was getting those accusations thrown at her:
I think it’s disappointing to see people take things out of context and discredit any young woman’s work. But at the end of the day I’m just really proud and happy to say that my job is being a songwriter … All music is inspired by each other. Obviously, I write all of my lyrics from my heart and my life first. I came up with the lyrics and the melody for ‘good 4 u’ one morning in the shower.
Like many artists, Olivia Rodrigo is just inspired by the music around her, which is exactly how she came up with “good 4 u.” And it’s not the only song on her album Sour that she’s given song credit to. Taylor Swift, whom Rodrigo has mentioned before as having an impact on her, is credited on “1 step forward, 3 steps back” thanks to Swift’s song “New Year’s Day.” She’s also credited, along with Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent, on the single “deja vu” as the song’s bridge is similar to “Cruel Summer.” Rodrigo explains her musical inspirations and why she’s so drawn to it:
What’s so beautiful about music is that it can be so inspired by music that’s come out in the past. Every single artist is inspired by artists who have come before them. It’s sort of a fun, beautiful sharing process. Nothing in music is ever new. There’s four chords in every song. That’s the fun part — trying to make that your own.
Obviously the inspirations work for Rodrigo because she has had a madly successful year as a breakout artist. It’s not uncommon for artists to take inspiration from songs and try to make them their own. Maybe these inspirations can turn into collaborations and we can look forward to some team ups for Rodrigo’s next album? For her acting skills, you can also check out both seasons of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series on Disney+ now.
