Olivia Rodrigo - SOUR (May 21, 2021) • Page 38

The only instance of “plagiarism” in recent times that sorta bothered me was Katy Perry’s Roar sounding a hell of a lot like Sara Bareilles’ Brave. Mainly because the better song (Brave) didn’t do as well as the other.

 

Fine ice ice baby vs queen acknowledging the Chic influence on Another One Bites The Dust haha

 

That felt like having a stroke.

 

I do feel like brave ended up having a lil more longevity? I still hear it on the radio and in commercials and stuff but never hear roar anymore. That's my anecdote

 

Dr. Luke was a serial copier, but he usually changed things just enough to get away with it. But “Brave” and “Roar” came out so close to one another that it was probably mostly coincidental in that case.

 

This article from a few months ago stands out. Lots of writers in the industry are being unfairly asked to share writing credits with artists who are providing next to nothing during the writing process. Sorry for not believing Olivia had much to do with these tracks outside of lyric outlines.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/01/son...-taking-credit-for-hits-they-didnt-write.html

 

That article has nothing to do with SOUR. This album does not have co-writers that she is taking writing credit from unjustly. It's just... not even remotely the same

 

Yes that article is true and real and this is a thing that happens but there are also plenty of artists giving credit where credit is due. And I think we all need to be aware that there’s a bit of a line to straddle here with knowing that that’s a possibility with artist but also that women in pop music, and especially young women in pop music, and especially especially teenage girls in pop music are often discredited and undervalued as a result of sexism. In this particular case, Olivia’s been incredibly open about Dan Nigro’s role in her music and from all the videos I’ve seen and articles I’ve read, both are being pretty clear in talking about each others’ contributions. So if you’re gonna pop in and accuse a young woman in pop music of this, do your fucking homework first

 

I feel like if she was nefariously trying to hoard credit for the work, she probably wouldn't have had Dan standing behind her on stage and leap to hug him the minute the SNL performance was over. Just really sloppy spycraft there.

 

Or you know, giving Taylor a writing credit 3 tracks later on the album

 

I don’t like the assumption that she doesn’t write her songs either….it definitely feels sexist/misogynistic. Were those saying this making the same assumptions about say, Justin Bieber, when he started out around Olivia’s age? I don’t remember hearing claims he wasn’t writing his songs.

 

Shawn Mendes... Charlie Puth... Harry Styles... never heard of anyone questioning their writing legitimacy

 

This user’s argument for Olivia not having written her songs is literally “Hey, it happens sometimes.” Smfh

 

Just realized that this album shot back up to the number 1 spot last week with another 100k sold. Pretty crazy considering we haven't even reached the week of vinyl shipments yet.

I take back my skepticism about this being the year's highest selling release. So long as Adele waits until November/December to drop 30, I can see Olivia taking the year end top spot.

 

No doubt a lot of people try to rob women of their artistic credits as a result of blatant sexism, but when I hear someone making that argument about Olivia I assume it has more specifically to do with her being a Disney star than anything else. Obviously this record is not aligned with Disney, but I can see how someone might view her transition to music as less than authentic. But yeah as others have said, she and Nigro have been nothing but open and transparent, there’s no reason to believe she didn’t pull her own weight for this record if you’ve actually kept your eyes peeled

Also re: that Bieber comparison, I’d say he didn’t receive the same heat because his whole thing at first was being a “random YouTube discovery” who’s talent was known before his stardom. Plus he dealt with a lot of other uhhhh aggressive criticism from adults that probably felt more justified in their feelings if they believed the songs were written by him lol

 

Were people saying the same thing re: the transition being less authentic to past Disney stars like Selena, Demi, Hilary Duff, Raven-Symone, Zendaya, Miley etc.? (Or even Nickelodeon stars like Ariana, Miranda Cosgrove, Victoria Justice, etc.) I’m genuinely curious because I don’t recall past kids TV stars being questioned on their authenticity, I feel like they just released songs without any question on if they actually wrote it, but I may have just…missed that whole discussion if it ever happened. It’s just weird to use the ”kids TV” actress angle when making criticism.

 

Not to mention Harry Styles literally went away to Jamaica with a band and super producer to write songs, but somehow no one questions whether he writes his songs. It’s misogyny, that’s it. Internalized or not.

 

Olivia has writing credits on every song on Sour.

Hilary Duff has writing credits on only one song on Metamorphosis.

Zendaya has writing credits on 5 out of 11 songs on her album.

I think back in the early 2000s, Disney/Nickelodeon child stars were more or less manufactured to be actors and singers.

Olivia is actually in the writers seat though, and I think that’s been more normal the last few years, whereas most others in the early 2000s were given songs to choose to sing. Kind of like the early days of the 90s/00s boy bands.

Olivia’s name is in the actual album credits so I don’t understand why people are saying she wasn’t part of the songwriting. Or am I missing something?

 

Tbh I really have no idea, the only one of those artists I’ve ever really paid close attention was in her prime as a musician before the internet became a megaphone for any person with a cell phone bill, haha. I’ve got no doubt that they’ve all had to work harder than most men to be taken seriously though

Anyway I do think it’s reasonable to assume that a lot of the skepticism around Olivia is rooted in the privileges that might come with being directly attached to a multi billion dollar corp that is historically known to introduce one massive female pop star after another. When something is that mechanical it’s bound raise questions. I guess it’s not really a point worth defending though lol not really trying to make excuses for misogynists, who are without debate a monster hurdle for women on their own

 

My worry would still be Morgan Wallen, who continues to hit 50,000 copies a week on an album that came out in January. I have to assume he's still the top selling album of the year, though I haven't been able to find a mid-year rundown of that information. (Side note: Why is this not something anyone keeps a running record of throughout the year?)

 

Also, the more famous you are, the more dinguses come out of the woodwork to criticize you and question your legitimacy. They most likely don’t actually know anything about her, her music, or songwriting chops in general.

In my opinion, they’re not even criticizing Olivia Rodrigo. They’re not even listening to her music most likely. You could put any young female in her exact position and this conversation would be happening. It’s all ageist, misogynistic assholes just trying to legitimize their dumbass views.

EDIT: “good4u” came on the radio right when I finished writing that. Ha.

 

Wallen is far ahead of Olivia so far, but has had much more time

HITS Daily Double

 

Why Billboard or whoever can’t have accessible and comprehensive charts similar to box office charts is beyond me. We need a Box Office Mojo for music sales.

And the idea of Morgan Wallen ending up as #1 for 2021 is a depressing thought. Definitely has an advantage with a January debut, a double album, and a fan base who can stomach seemingly anything.

 

Crazy that with 2.1 million YTD activity for him, only 240k is from physical sales. Even Olivia, physical sales only makes up for 10% of her activity.

Also crazy at how successful that Morgan album has been. Even if you ignore the fact that he's a racist and an all around asshole, his music still sucks pretty bad.