How Olivia Rodrigo BROKE Pop Music

We love a good piano ballad rock opera anthem.
KEYWORDS: songwriter, songwriting, music, musician, lyric, lyrics, writing, lyricism, music education, olivia rodrigo, livies, vampire, sour, guts, dan nigro, reaction, best song
FOLLOW ME ON:
Instagram: @‌konnerscottmusic
Streaming Platforms: Konner Scott
TikTok: @‌songwritersanctuary
VIDEO CONTENTS:
00:00 - Intro
00:52 - Background Info
01:43 - Story & Lyrics
04:47 - Instrumentation & Production
06:57 - Chord Progression
09:56 - Outro
MUSIC: iBroccoli - Ambient Pop

[@SongwriterSanctuary]

What other Olivia Rodrigo songs should I analyze?

[@DifficultNerd]

Bad Idea Right - Guts is a truly underrated album.

[@Justinjale]

The Grudge because we also don't know who the song is about

[@vgolf10]

@@Justinjalefor the grudge, the very very last chord of the song. i’m curious to muscian’s thoughts on the way she ended the chord it sounds like it is resolved, like she came to terms with “the grudge”. because many of olivia’s songs she ends with the unresolved chord. the way the lyrics is open ended but the chord progression resolved - it’s brilliant, to me (or i am over thinking lol)

[@maartendj2724]

Can't catch me now, maybe 1 step forward and 3 steps back (time signature change)

[@crapweasel17]

Teenage Dream

[@TheMister123]

Between this song and "Willow", it seems you really like parallel fifths. 🙂 III-IV in this one, the whole vi-V-IV thing in "Willow"...

[@SongwriterSanctuary]

LOL great observation! I think that's probably coincidence 😂

[@sparkle1336]

taylor swift?

[@TheMister123]

@@sparkle1336 Yes, his previous video was about that song.

[@maartendj2724]

Obligatory mention that the chord progression in the verse has been done before by the Hollies, Radiohead and Lana Del Rey. I love Olivia Rodrigo but credit where credit is due

[@SongwriterSanctuary]

Yes, absolutely! That’s going to be the case with pretty much any chord progression, save for obscure jazz progressions. There’s really no such thing as a “new” chord progression. What I appreciate about this song is that it’s the most “modern pop” version of it- Radiohead and Lana Del Ray are known for being “weird” with their music in a way Olivia Rodrigo is not, so it’s cool to see her use that progression!

[@t2dev]

There is no due credit to Hollies, Lana or Radiohead. Well... He did mention that it was an unusual progression (in pop). He didn't say unique or that she owned it, as chord progressions are such - just progressions. In fact, if you go further you can see this relative multipolar tonality in even earlier songs from Bowie and Beatles; then even further in classical music. So maybe all of them owe whatever something to the Beatles, Bowie and classical. Also, ii-V-I progression is standard in jazz.

[@LilGigi222]

Wowwwww you are a whole professional musician and KZbinr now! So glad you’re doing what you love. This video is so well done and thoughtful.

[@SongwriterSanctuary]

Ahhhh thank you so much! Means so much coming from you!!

[@vgolf10]

i love vampire, i really admire her and Dan for being able to keep building up the song with the arrangement as it goes. i think it’s actually something that’s difficult to pull off well. also it kinda serves as a good transition from her debut album to this one since Sour was mostly ballads. so as a first single to Guts, it sort of paints the picture for what’s to come. I think Olivia’s songwriting is brilliant and love that she is so raw with her music. I am curious to your thoughts though about how some people say this song’s chord progressions is too similar to Radiohead’s Creep. would love to hear your feedback.

[@SongwriterSanctuary]

Good point- I didn't actually know about the "Creep" thing! The chord progression is for SURE the same as the verse of "Vampire". I guess I have two thoughts: First, Radiohead were notorious for trying to do "weird" things with their songs- including their chord progressions- and even their more popular songs like "Creep" fit that bill. It's fascinating to see Olivia Rodrigo take the same chord progression and use it in a much more "radio friendly" way (she's a much more straightforward pop artist than Radiohead). My other thought is that "Creep" uses that chord progression for the ENTIRE song, and "Vampire" ONLY uses it for the verse, and has a lot more diversity in the chorus and bridge. I also disagree with the point that the progressions are "too similar"... because that's like saying "Don't Stop Believin", "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", "She Will Be Loved", "Land Down Under", "Hey Soul Sister", all had progressions that were too similar... (and I can go on, and on, and on.) There are only so many chord progressions that actually sound GOOD without venturing too far into the territory of more advanced (jazz) music theory. It's not about the similarity of the progression; it's all about what you do with it!

[@vgolf10]

@@SongwriterSanctuarythank you for your insights! yeah, i totally agree! also thanks for your detailed explanations here and the video on the chord progressions, i learned a lot!

[@SongwriterSanctuary]

@@vgolf10Of course!! Thank you for watching- I'm glad you're getting something out of it!

[@thegoatriderfromthesands2646]

Their aren't many names that break pop, like Olivia Rodrigo when it comes to young girls dealing with relationships. Dua Lipa making dance bops and Billie Eilish speaks to our really demented up souls.

[@LilGigi222]

Genius editing here.

[@michaelvogel3443]

I love it when smart people give Olivia her props. She's so talented! I look forward to what she and Dan have planned for the future!

[@abrahamtiro6498]

what a beautiful video (:

[@SongwriterSanctuary]

Thank you so much!! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@xblth-iv8se]

Have a feeling this is gonna go big

[@SongwriterSanctuary]

Thank you!! I hope so!

[@TheMister123]

Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator wrote a song called "Energy Vampires" about toxic fans, back in 1978. And he wasn't even that famous. Look up the lyrics, it has a similar vibe. 🙂

[@SongwriterSanctuary]

I'll check it out!

[@DifficultNerd]

Konnor, you can play something fierce, boy :)

[@SongwriterSanctuary]

Ahhh thank you! 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@LilGigi222]

You love a rock operatic element.

[@SongwriterSanctuary]

LOLOL Truth 😂😂

[@TheMister123]

Also, the movement from IV to iv is interesting >because< we just came from the III. Every note had just shifted a half-step, but then the third drops back down to where it just was in the III. And the whole thing together offers a bit of a compact line cliché in that 5-b6-6-b6-5 oscillation. (Of course, this also occurs when the III goes to vi instead of IV.)

[@TheMister123]

Oh, it occured to me that that 5-b6-6-b6-5 bit also is a bit like the old Batman theme, or James Bond. 🙂

[@SongwriterSanctuary]

@@TheMister123LOL yes it's like the inverse of the Batman theme 😂

[@SongwriterSanctuary]

Yeah for sure, I didn't have time in the video to talk about the chromatic movement in the melody (and it might be a little advanced for a video like this) but it's part of the brilliance of it! I love how at the end of the chorus, she hits the 6 on "blood" and then the b6 on "fame". It's a really nice touch that pays homage to that cadence.

[@Andy-gp4zv]

Good points, BUT that chord progression is quite common in pop music, most notably Radiohead's creep. I actually think some of the other songs on this album are way more inventive and unusual, and frankly more interesting, than Vampire.

[@SongwriterSanctuary]

@@Andy-gp4zvYeah, I addressed the similarities to Creep in another comment! Let me copy & paste it here: I guess I have two thoughts: First, Radiohead were notorious for trying to do "weird" things with their songs- including their chord progressions- and even their more popular songs like "Creep" fit that bill. It's fascinating to see Olivia Rodrigo take the same chord progression and use it in a much more "radio friendly" way (she's a much more straightforward pop artist than Radiohead). My other thought is that "Creep" uses that chord progression for the ENTIRE song, and "Vampire" ONLY uses it for the verse, and has a lot more diversity in the chorus and bridge. I also disagree with the point that the progressions are "too similar"... because that's like saying "Don't Stop Believin", "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", "She Will Be Loved", "Land Down Under", "Hey Soul Sister", all had progressions that were too similar... (and I can go on, and on, and on.) There are only so many chord progressions that actually sound GOOD without venturing too far into the territory of more advanced (jazz) music theory. It's not about the similarity of the progression; it's all about what you do with it!

[@ParamotorSteve]

Thanks for pointing out how bland and unoriginal much of today's music has become. For much of popular music today, the writers are writing songs that sound familiar to capitalize on people's love of familiarity. The problem with that is everything sounds the same. Thankfully there are still some musicians who choose to write songs with different and uncommon chord progressions.

[@jerryfoust3860]

A lot like Taylor Swift