Olivia Rodrigo not sour at all

Sour is the title of Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album. Why Sour? I do not know. But there is nothing sour, acerbic, sore, angry or rancid as in rotten milk about the album. In fact, while a lot of other artists seem to be cowering under the colossal offensive launched by the sweet, fatty Butter of BTS, Olivia is giving those overly cute boys from Korea a big run for their money.

BTS may be lording it over the Hot 100 four weeks in a row but Olivia is at No. 2 with Good 4 U and she has eight other singles in the chart. Déjà Vu, Drivers License, Happier, Favorite Crime, Brutal, Jealousy, Jealousy, Enough For You and One Step Forward Three Steps Back. That is almost all of the cuts in Sour.

This girl, an 18-year-old singer and songwriter who is part-Filipino, has got it made. She is also No. 1 in the Artist 100 while Good 4 U is No. 1 in the Global 200. The song is the No. 2 Song of the Summer and also No. 2 in the Global Chart which ranks songs’ standing outside the US. You all know which one is No. 1. But then this piece is not about them, but Olivia.

It is a fact that most young girls who want to get into the music business nowadays look up to Taylor Swift. Olivia is no different. So she has taken a failed relationship and a particular boy as her main subject. Just like Swiftie. The guy is said to be Joshua Bassett, Olivia’s leading man in the TV series version of High School Musical. Bassett should be put in chains for being a cad, but the way Olivia dealt with the experience has resulted in one great album.

Some might initially dismiss Sour as the musings of a young girl over her first heartbreak. But Olivia has an instinctive grasp of the right words to express her feelings. She sings with utmost sincerity and hits the right spot in her listener every time. She also knows music like a pro and sets her poetry in an assortment of pop styles I find so surprising in someone of her age and experience.

Recorded while in lockdown with Dan Nigro who I am sure is now the hottest producer in the U.S. of A, Sour explores punk rock in Brutal, sweet ballads in Traitor, sparkling alt-pop in Déjà Vu, even pared-down acoustic in the enchanting Enough for You and more.

Olivia is a born storyteller who is so charming in her self-deprecation, she invites cheers while singing about pain. She did everything right. Wallow in heartbreak, OK. But make cash out of it. She got that and more. Waiting for her second album has become truly exciting.

And since it has been quite a while when I last checked out the Billboard hit lists, I’d like to come out with the Top 20 titles of Top 200 Albums of the Week chart with Sour at No. 3:

Hall of Fame by Polo G; Culture III, Migos; Sour, Olivia Rodrigo; The Voice of the Heroes, Lil Baby & Lil Durk; Dangerous: The Double Album, Morgan Wallen; Taste of Love: The 10th Mini Album, TWICE; Inside the Songs, Bo Burnham; Jordi, Maroon 5; A Gangsta’s Pain, Moneybagg Yo; The Off-Season, J. Cole.

Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa; Mammoth WVH, Mammoth WVH; What You See is What You Get, Luke Combs; Justice, Justin Bieber; After Hours, The Weeknd; Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon, Pop Smoke; Evermore, Taylor Swift; Hollywood’s Bleeding, Post Malone; My Turn, Lil Baby; and Greatest Hits by Queen.

Here now are the Top 20 of the Hot 100 singles: Butter by BTS; Good 4 U, Olivia Rodrigo; Levitating, Dua Lipa ft. DaBaby; Kiss Me More, Doja Cat ft. SZA; Peaches, Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar & Givecon; Leave the Door Open, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak; Save your Tears, The Weeknd and Ariana Grande; Astronaut in the Ocean, Masked Wolf; Montero (Call Me by Your Name) Lil Nas X; Déjà vu, Olivia Rodrigo.

Rapstar, Polo G; Forever After All, Luke Combs; Without You, The Kid Laroi; Beautiful Mistakes, Maroon 5 ft. Megan Thee Stallion; Having Our Way, Migos ft. Drake; That Shit, Megan Thee Stallion; Blinding Lights, The Weeknd; Yanaguni, Bad Bunny; Drivers License, Olivia Rodrigo; Best Friend, Saweetie ft. Doja Cat; and Traitor, Olivia Rodrigo.