Olivia Rodrigo may be ready to leave her good-girl image behind. In a new interview with Homme Girls, where she appears as the magazine’s latest cover star, the 23-year-old singer teased the possibility of a “bad girl phase” after years of feeling like she has played it safe in public.
“I’ve always been such a goody-two-shoes. Maybe I should have my bad girl phase in a year and really go crazy or something — make up for lost time,” Rodrigo said, offering a playful glimpse at a side of herself she might be ready to explore.
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For someone who built her early public image during her Disney Channel years, the idea of breaking away from expectations carries a particular significance. Olivia Rodrigo’s songwriting, however, has rarely been as restrained as the persona she describes. Across three albums, she has turned jealousy, anger, impulsive decisions and romantic chaos into some of her biggest pop moments, even while maintaining a comparatively careful public image.
Her 2021 debut album, SOUR, established that contrast almost immediately. “drivers license” captured the devastation of watching an ex move on, while “good 4 u” traded heartbreak for snarling pop-punk fury. On “brutal,” Olivia Rodrigo questioned the frustrations of being a teenager, and “jealousy, jealousy” confronted the insecurity and comparison encouraged by social media.
With GUTS in 2023, she pushed that tension further. “all-american b-tch” challenged the impossible expectations placed on young women, while “bad idea right?” celebrated the messy decision to reconnect with an ex despite knowing better. “get him back!” blurred revenge and desire into one deliberately contradictory fantasy.
Her third album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, takes a different approach. The LP follows the emotional arc of an adult relationship, moving through infatuation, uncertainty, heartbreak and the possibility of starting again. Songs such as “Drop Dead,” “The Cure” and “expectations” lean into yearning and self-examination, with New Wave and synth-pop textures expanding beyond the pop-punk sound that defined much of her earlier work.
A more openly rebellious era would therefore represent a shift not just in image but potentially in sound and subject matter. Rodrigo has already written about desire, spite and impulsive choices; the question is whether she would bring that same unfiltered energy more directly into her public persona.
Meanwhile, Rodrigo is preparing to release a new version of “expectations” featuring Chappell Roan on October 15, accompanied by a music video.
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