For everyone that’s been searching for a new album full of real-life, relatable songs, you’ve come to the right place. 

Olivia Rodrigo poses with her tongue sticking out in front of a purple background

Album cover for Olivia Rodrigo’s “SOUR.”

Olivia Rodrigo, 18-year-old Disney star, brings a whole new level to pop culture with her recent album debut. “Sour” has been anticipated by Rodrigo fans for quite some time now; the real question lingering is whether or not it lived up to the hype.

Rodrigo released songs in the past, mostly from her roles on Disney TV shows as well as the popular Disney+ show inspired by the “High School Musical” franchise, “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”.

Rodrigo plays Nini Salazar-Roberts on the Disney+ series, the love-interest of Ricky Bowen, played by co-star Joshua Bassett. 

There has been fan-based speculation that the two stars had a love story of their own, occurring off-camera. Rodrigo wrote the hit song “All I Want” for her character to sing on the show, which clued in more rumors of this supposed relationship. 

The heat between the co-stars seemed to die down when their first season ended, having little contact with one another a few months after the show. 

Not long after the show’s Christmas special, Rodrigo released her first album teaser song, “Driver’s License” on Jan. 8.

Rodrigo’s single broke the “record for most streams for a song in a week on Spotify,” according to a tweet from Spotify. 

The gossip about Rodrigo and her co-star swam in fast, just as it often did with Rodrigo’s role-model, Taylor Swift, after her break-up albums. The gossip brought Rodrigo plenty of publicity for this melodramatic pop piece.

Not only did Rodrigo become a sensational idol for many teens and young adults out there, but “Driver’s License” inspired a stir on the platform TikTok.

But would “Sour” meet the same expectations as her single had set? The pressure for Rodrigo was definitely on after the piano-based heartbreaker.

Rodrigo’s album “Sour” was released on May 21, and only a couple weeks later it was on the Billboard charts.

The album “landed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and on Spotify” by June 5, giving Rodrigo “the most successful streaming week of any debut album by a female artist” according to The Los Angeles Times. 

To say her debut teen-angst album was successful is an understatement. 

Not only did she pour her heart and soul into touching acoustic ballads like “Happier” and “Favorite Crime”, but she also represented the frustrations of teenage turmoil into powerful pop-rock songs like “Brutal” and “Good 4 u”. 

On top of all that, Rodrigo attracted an audience who felt and understood the emotional pain of heartbreak, as well as the hidden frustrations of ignored teenagers and their struggles.

Even though the few F-bombs in her songs shook up the sweet Disney reputation she held, the raw emotions just made the songs even more appealing.

Rodrgio’s album “has taken over the pop world” and is essentially “making history,” according to Billboard. Fans are simply over the moon about this unexpected artist’s break-out.

Rodrigo exceeded all standards and expectations for her extremely relatable and awe-inspiring album. She has become Gen-Z’s new Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift combined.

To all you broken-hearted teens out there, be sure to set aside 34 minutes and 26 seconds so you can enjoy Rodrigo’s hot new album and truly partake in an adventure full of a whirlwind of emotions. 

Jaedyn Young can be reached at jaedynyoung@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @xox_jaedyn.