Olivia Rodrigo Speaks For All of Our Feelings
Written by Mallory Thompson
Graphic by Rebekah Witt
After almost 4 months since her debut single “driver’s license” flipped the world upside down, Olivia Rodrigo has once again released a viral song. Her second release “deja vu” is a dreamy follow-up to the emotional ballad that plays on some similar ideas to her first song. With 57 million Spotify streams, she’s on her way to many more records.
With inspiration and similarities to Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer,” the song plays on the ideas of a romantic interest moving on and doing the same things with their new partner. Olivia is questioning her ex by saying, “When she’s with you, do you get déjà vu?” The song starts slow and light before picking up to an electronic second verse.
The accompanying music video starts with Olivia using her driver’s license to drive down the coast of Malibu, wearing a headscarf and sunglasses, which reminds me of a stylish getaway driver who’s escaping and starting over. After her dreamy coast drive, she arrives at a house that appears to belong to her ex, and she finds a girl who looks similar to her, wearing a dress she has an exact copy of. This causes her to spiral into the song and go on an adventure, doing all the things her ex did with her, and simultaneously showing how the girl is copying their relationship, as “everything is all reused.”
In an interview with Zane Lowe for New Music Daily, Olivia explains the idea for the song, “I thought it would be a cool play on words to kind of use déjà vu as a metaphor for like how it’s a very universal thing that happens. You break up with someone, and they get with somebody else, and you kind of see them living the life you lived with them… It’s this super universal thing that happens to everyone that we just don’t talk about a ton.”
Olivia is filling a gap in the music world by singing about the things in a different way than what’s been previously done. Her dreamy voice, accompanied by her relatable lyrics, are consistently capturing audiences. “Driver’s license” showed the pain in her voice, while “deja vu” shows her need to get over old flames. Over the course of 2 songs, she’s evolved her emotions, and fans are eating it up.
I keep thinking back to my favourite lyric of the song, “I hate to think that I was just your type.” They’re 10 words that are heartbreakingly accurate when you come to the realization of a relationship. When you or another person move on from a relationship, are you seeking similar people?
Imitating behaviour is something we do sometimes without realization, and it can have major impacts on our friendships and relationships. Sometimes breaking out of that pattern is the best thing you can do for yourself, and Olivia is showing in this song how she's trying to get there.
Several creators on TikTok have started playing on ideas of this song while imagining how the new girl feels about the song. Once again, her song is going viral all over again on the platform in a whole new way. Creator @emswildride plays this role perfectly and describes a POV that we don’t get to see.
This song has even created an entirely new trend called the “inverted trend,” which shows users switching angles and showing their faces for all the angles. It has shown the beauty, as well as the insecurities of those who don’t like the inverted angles. It’s wild to see the impacts and trends that come from viral songs and how these creator platforms continue to play on different unique ideas.
I can’t wait for the rest of Olivia’s music to come out. I will be anticipating her debut album, SOUR, when it drops on May 21st, and I have a feeling that the world will continue to listen and want more.