Olivia Rodrigo opens up about first true romance inspiring her upcoming album

Olivia Rodrigo has revealed that she was experiencing “real romantic love for the first time” while writing her upcoming third studio album, offering new insight into the inspiration behind her latest era.

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter made the comments during an appearance on On Air with Ryan Seacrest on April 22, where she discussed the meaning behind her album title You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, set for release on June 12.

“I started writing this album at a time in my life where I was experiencing real romantic love for the first time,” Rodrigo said, adding that she was tasked with creating a collection of love songs during that period of her life.

The Vampire hitmaker explained that while preparing to write the record, she revisited some of her favorite love songs for inspiration.

However, she noticed that the tracks she gravitated toward were not purely joyful.

“I realized that the thing that I loved so much about them is not that they were really happy, but they had sort of an element of sadness or fear or melancholy or longing,” she said. “That’s what kind of made them tug at your heartstrings so much.”

That realization, she added, led her to focus on writing what she described as “a sad love song,” shaping the emotional tone of the project.

Rodrigo also shared that the creative process felt different from her previous work, noting that writing from a place of happiness presented its own challenge.

In a separate interview with British Vogue, she said it was difficult to write from pure joy, explaining that strong emotions often come with complexity.

During her conversation with Seacrest, Rodrigo said the album cannot be defined by a single feeling, describing it as emotionally layered and reflective of personal discovery.

“There’s a lot going on,” she said. “It’s hard to encapsulate it in one word or one specific feeling. It’s very all over the place in a way that I like.”

She added that being in a real relationship influenced her songwriting in a more introspective way, noting that love often acts as a mirror that reveals new parts of oneself.

“I think it was about discovery for me,” she said. “Discovering so many things about myself and also being in a real relationship.”