Olivia Rodrigo’s Big, Bloody Return

Hype comes in many varieties, most of them despicable, but the buzz that preceded Olivia Rodrigo’s new single was the relatively healthy sort. In 2021, the then-teenage Disney actor conquered the Billboard Hot 100 with not just a fresh face and a smart marketing campaign, but a sense of musical possibility, hinting that commercial pop still had new directions to evolve in. Chatty lyrics and breathy singing defined her debut album, Sour, but her hit singles—especially “Driver’s License,” “Good 4 U,” “Deja Vu,” and “Brutal”—were eclectic. The listening public, as it turned out, could handle a star who careened from piano balladry to emo to experimental pop and even hard rock. So over the past two years, as she worked on her second album, curiosity mounted: Where would she go next?