Olivia Rodrigo talks her new album and rates your Unpopular Opinions

It was a great interview, big dog. Just the highest pitched voice ever. So we've had sour, we've had guts. And now we haven't gone for the single word this time. No. We've gone for, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. Yes. Sometimes I shorten and just call it love. So that's a four letter word. So loophole or love for short. Yeah. Or love. It's the nickname. I wondered whether that was a thing that you had in terms of you, that was reflective of yourself or someone had said that to you? Yeah, no, it's something that Dan, actually, my producer said to me, we were having a conversation in the studio and he said that and I was like, that's perfect. That's exactly what the album should be called. And I think lots of the love songs on the album are like injected with a lot of kind of melancholy vibes or fear or anxiety. I think that that's a big part of being in a relationship that that like nuance of it, that's not often talked about. And so it was just a perfect way to describe what I was going for. You have one of those jobs and it's obviously very different to my job, but you have one of those jobs where your friends will say something to you and it might have been like a sincere like that was a check in. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And you're like, that's brilliant. I know. That's brilliant. That's it. Write it down, write it down. And he's like, no, no, no, no. I'm just checking that you're OK. I know, I know. I've had many instances like that in my life. I'm just having dinner with a friend and they like say something really profound and I'm like, wait, wait, let's pen and paper. Quick notes app. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. I'll go, I'm going to use that on the radio tomorrow. Exactly. I want to talk to you about writing love songs. What are you like when you hear a love song like that? Are you are you urgent to find out who it was about or do you transpose it into your life? I think I love transposing it into my own life. I think that's what's so beautiful about songwriting. And obviously, I mean, if someone if the song is more meaningful to someone, if they project my life into it, then like I'll be it. That's totally fine. But yeah, I don't know. It's really fun. I actually had dinner with my friends last night. And one of the questions that I asked is, what's your what do you think the most romantic song ever written is? And it was so interesting to hear everyone's answers and just the way that love songs play in everyone's lives and, you know, how it soundtracks and like beautiful moments for us. So I love songs really great. Hopefully, hopefully it'll live forever. What's that answer for you? I always say love song by The Cure is one of my favourite love songs. But that's but that's about Mary, his wife, isn't it? Yes, yes, yes. But you're not thinking about Mary when you hear it? No, I'm not thinking about Mary. I'm thinking about like various people in my life. Yeah, it's part of the beautiful. It's one of the most beautiful parts of songwriting for sure. A fleeting thought for Mary. Yeah, yeah, shout out to Mary. Yeah, I love Mary so much, but also this is about my life. Yes, it's about me, not about Mary. What's been really lovely about introducing your fans to different artists? And does that help them make sense of your music, do you think? I mean, I just am such a music lover. I find it hard to, like, contain my excitement about songs that I love. And so I think it just comes naturally or I don't know, I think it's so fun to discover new artists, too. And like the other day I covered the C-MAT song. Do you know C-MAT? It's incredible. We know and love C-MAT. OK, great. And yeah, it was so fun. Like just to I just like even showed my band the song and they're like, wow, this song is great. And then they all discovered C-MAT because of, you know, us doing that cover. And so experiences like that are always super fun. And inversely, I love it when people do that to me and they introduce me to new artists. So did you manage to stick around at Glastonbury and see C-MAT? No, I performed on Sunday night at Glastonbury, so I didn't get to see any. I saw a few bands, I saw Pulp, which is amazing, but I was so nervous. Oh, I was next to you at Pulp. No, you weren't. Yes, I just remembered. Are you serious? I was next to you at Pulp. Oh, my God, that's amazing. We shared a really beautiful experience because that was one of the best things I've ever seen in my life. I was with a good pal of mine, Hugh Stevens, who does a show on Six Music. And I was like, oh, that's like Olivia Rodrigo. Heck yeah. And it was. And then the Red Arrows flew over during Common People. Oh, my God. That is the best time ever. Common People is like literally the best song ever made. And so just singing that live with like 100,000 people at Glastonbury pinched me. It was one of the all time great Glastonburys. And I hope you felt that from both sides. Obviously, you were headlining, but you felt it from in the crowd as well. Yeah, for sure. It was pure magic. If I could relive that weekend over and over again, I would. Is it slightly annoying that you've now written The Cure and Drop Dead and this new record and they will sound amazing at a festival? Oh, I really hope so. Yeah, I'm kind of like putting the tour together right now. And it's really exciting to think about how all the songs will live in a crowd. I'm afraid you're going to have to do another Glastonbury. I'm sorry, Emily Evis, you have to get this sorted. I would not say no at all. These songs deserve a festival crowd, don't they really? Thank you. The album is ready to go out this Friday. I know, I can hardly believe it. It's so crazy. What else are you excited to see people's reaction to? One of my favourite songs that's coming out with the record is called Stupid Song. And it sounds really dumb. Like, obviously, the code word for that. Whenever you do a music video, you use a code word because you don't want the song title to leak. And I called it Dumb Tune for the music video. But I'm really excited about that one. There's a song that I wrote called Honey Bee that is like a just a plain and simple love song that I'm really, really proud of. And there's a song called Maggots for Brains that I really love. Yeah, Maggots for Brains. Really, it's a very visceral, visceral song by the way, Maggots for Brains. It definitely conjures up some gross imagery, for sure. So Unpopular Opinion has a theme tune. Do you know what? I started with confidence with this theme tune eight years ago. And I guess around the four or five year mark, I had a bit of a confidence dip with it. It happens. Yeah, it happens. I remember when I finished my record, I listened to it and I was like, Oh my God, like, what have I done? And then like, you just need a few weeks and then you're like, I love it again. I get it. It's part of the journey. And do you look back at your back catalogue and you go, Oh, yeah, I recognise that person. But I would do it differently now. It's a time capsule. Yeah. You're just capturing where you are at the moment. Now going through A Big Heartbreak, do you think Driver's Licence would be a different song now? Oh my gosh. No, I listened to that album and I'm like, only a 17 year old could have written that album. Because I think when you get your heart broken when you're that young, you don't have any context. And so you're like, I'm never going to love anyone ever again. This is the worst thing that has ever happened ever. And obviously, as you get older, you're like, Oh, it's all fine. You're going to find someone else. And like, life is great. But yeah, you don't have that when you're young. Part of the process, though. Yeah, I think you always, whenever there's a breakup, I've always felt like, well, I'll never love again. I know. And nor do I want to. I think now you have to go through that, don't you? I know. And then looking back at it in hindsight, you're like, what a beautiful thing to like, feel so much emotion for one person. It's a gorgeous, gorgeous concept. It's the problem with love, because you get, you're right up there. You're the highest high. And of course, that means the counter is the lowest low. Goes up, gotta come down. Wait, let me hear this theme song now. You might just absolutely hate it. Here we go. Come and give us your unpopular opinions. Something up till now that you've been scared to say. Now, I love it. You have a great voice. Thank you. It's very musical theatre. Like, you could do Broadway. And it gets the O-Rod sign off? Yes, O-Rod signs off. Fine. That feels like a, is it a British thing? Or do you, it's not like your mates call you that, is it? No, some people do call me that, though. I like it. It's more of like a guy thing. I think guys will call me O-Rod. Gives me a little pep in my step when people call me G-Dog. Oh, that's good. Yeah, Big Dog always... Big Dog. That's a dude thing. It always makes a guy feel good. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You feel like a big dog. That's great. If we were to finish this interview and you go, Thanks, Big Dog. All right, I'll keep that in mind. And I'll go, Oh my God, that was the best interview ever. Anyway, unpopular opinion. We're going to call on that phone there, Olivia. So, mystery caller. If you just press call and they'll be on the radio with us. Here we go. Mystery caller for unpopular opinion. But who's it going to be? I'm scared. It's going to be like my mom or something. I really hope they pick up. This has been a lot of fun. Oh, how are you? Oh, my God. I'm good, how are you? I'm great. It's so nice to meet you via FaceTime. And there's so many people watching. Yeah, I saw your green thing. Thank you. Sima, I love you so much. And I'm so pleased to get you on with Olivia. And we were chatting and she said that, Oh, you've never chatted properly before. I know, can you believe it? No, we didn't. Because I didn't. I didn't want to slide into your DMs after the whole cover thing, because I was like, if she wants to chat, she'll message me. But I'm not going to be rude. Oh, my God. No, we need to. We need to slide better than the slide. I'll get your WhatsApp. Do you live in London? I do live in London. OK, where about? I live in Hackney. Oh, my gosh. I know Hackney well. That's amazing. You know, it's where all the gay and Irish people live. So I have to be there. Love, love. I'd fit in good then maybe. See, Matt, I really loved when you were when you were listening to Olivia's Liveland, you got so excited when she shouted out Dunboyne. It just didn't. It didn't occur to me. I only found out like, I think I've like two days beforehand. My manager kind of went, something might happen. He was like, there is a chance that Olivia Rodrigo is going to do a cover of When a Good Man Cries. And I was like, yeah, sure thing. Like sure, John, sounds real. Then basically I woke up at like noon because I'm a pop star and I don't wake up before 1 p.m. generally. And it was happening in like 10 to 15 minutes. And him and my sister were like, you have to listen to the radio now. And I was like, I was so like, my eyes were glued together with like sleep and stuff. And I was like, Grant, and I look terrible. And I listened to the radio and it was all just happening. Like my my cognitive abilities were happening so slowly. And I was like listening to the song. And it didn't occur to me until that moment that you were gone. The word Dumboyne was coming out of your mouth. I literally lost it. I literally lost it. It's so funny. I'm happy I pronounced it right. I had a moment where I was like, wait, what if I mispronounce it? The first time I did listen to it, I thought it was Des Moines. There's a place in America called Des Moines, Iowa, Iowa. Yeah, Iowa. And I so but since then I have done my research on Des Moines. And I have we now you have to take me. I don't know if you know, but there's a giant mural of me on the side of the wall going into the village. Oh, my God, that's awesome. And I think that if I brought you, they would put a mural of you on the other side. Hand me up. They'd probably just do a mural of you as well. Dumboyne, Dumboyne, we're going to pull up. We'll play a show. Well, look, what we thought we'd do is because of the Dumboyne shout outs and CMAT is the Dumboyne Diana. We thought we'd get you your very own CMAT. Oh, my God. Wait, that's amazing. Oh, you have to. Have you seen this? Dumboyne Diana. Wow. Yeah. Oh, you guys are so profesh here at BBC. Wow. There you go. That's that's that's yours. Pink, too. I love it. It's really nice. Incredible. Incredible. There is one more thing. Oh, we thought to do the full Irish welcome. Oh, my gosh. I get it. Wow. It's probably 11 a.m. on a Guinness on an empty stomach. I love it. But start of a good day. It's a zero. Oh, it's a zero. I know that sacrilege to drink it out of a can. I know I've got the I've got I've got a Guinness glass. This is this is sacrilege. I'm sorry. They should have put all the keg in the BBC for that reason. Sorry. I've asked for I have asked for a tap, but it's not happened yet. Yes. If you hold it there. Yeah. So here's your Olivia. Wow. I wish you had one. We could digitally cheers. All right. I'm fuming. All I have is a coffee. Cheers. Cheers, y'all. Don't point Diana. I'm in Denmark, so I don't even have access to a pint anytime soon for a couple of hours, at least. You know what they say, though? Everywhere you go, you can always find an Irish pub. Hey, you know what? You know what happens? You know, the tradition of the live lounge is that the person who gets covered then covers the person that they were covered. So next time you're in, see, Matt, it has to be an Olivia Rodriguez song. I want to get back. I really just want that. I would love that straight away. I would love that. I mean, that was the best song released that year. That song's incredible. Oh, that's so nice. Thank you. Um, Kira, thanks so much. Been on The Breakfast Show. We'll see you very soon. And thanks for being on with Olivia. I will see you soon. Thank you so much. Bye. See you later. Surprise! Surprise! That was great. Wow. I get such an Irish surprise. I get this, I get Guinness. It's like, wow. And look, it is early. Don't feel pressured. I'm actually kind of loving this. Well, then. I kind of wish it wasn't a zero. But let me say this. Get it down, yeah. And let's continue with unpopular opinion. OK, more silly singing. Nice surprise. Good surprise. Great surprise. Come and give us your unpopular opinion. Something up to now that you've been scared to say. We should have Sophie and Molly. Hi. Beans with an English breakfast taste disgusting. But when they're on their own, they taste delicious. Wow. I kind of have to agree with that. British people are putting beans on too many things. I've had before a jacket potato with beans and tuna. I've been forced to eat that. It's too many. Too much going on. Yeah. I kind of agree with her. You can gild the lily. What does that mean? Well, the lily is as it is. You don't need to gild it. It's already perfect. Perfect. Yeah, that's exactly how I describe it. Where do you stand on jacket potato, cheese and beans? I just don't like beans. I like how decisive you are. I really respect it. You know what you like. Yeah. That's awesome. At age nine, maybe that's the most you you ever are. I agree. You're just like, I know what I like and I don't like all that stuff. I agree. Thanks very much. Honest girl. OK, Sophie and Molly, thank you so much. Have a great rest of the day. So cute. Happy beaning. Let's have one from you. How would I sing? OK, can I do it? Please. Will you sing it with me? Yeah, of course. Ready? OK, I'll count you in. I feel like Dan Nigro. OK, here we go. One, two, three, four. Come and give us your unpopular opinion, something up to now that you've been scared to say. Did I get it? Yeah, you got it. Yeah, absolutely. The question is, did I get it? And next, well, it's actually yours. What's your unpopular opinion? My unpopular opinion is that I think that airplane turbulence is really relaxing and I quite enjoy when there's turbulence on an airplane. That might be like a hark back to when you were in the womb. Exactly. No, it really is. When I was a child, my parents, if I couldn't sleep, they'd put me on top of the washing machine. So it shook me, and it shook me to sleep, and I just fell asleep. And so when I'm on the airplane, I think it harkens back to my days as a baby. My days as a baby. The good old days when I was a baby. When everything was good, you know? I thought you were going to say that when I was crying as a baby, my parents would just put me on a long haul flight and then see me in 14 hours. So they put you on top of the washing machine. Yeah, or like when you're a baby on the stroller, or the prams, you guys say, like the divots in the sidewalk, like it lulls the baby to sleep. When I'm on an airplane and there's turbulence, I feel lulled to sleep. That's interesting. Have you seen the things that you get on prams slash strollers, which are like, they're called rocket something or others? And they oscillate in a really weird way, and it shakes the buggy. I always get fed these TikTok shop things of a pillow that is automated so it pats the baby on its back. Do you guys see that? I don't know why TikTok thinks that I'm going to buy one of those, but yeah. I really love the idea of you on TikTok shop. I've never actually bought anything. Have you been tempted? Oh, for sure, because they tailored exactly to like your niche interest. You know what I mean? I guess my niche interest is a pillow that pats you on the back. I don't know. Get it. There's a reason. Maybe it's fantastic. Yeah. Well, you know, now we've said that and your phone's probably in the room. I know. But it's listening to you. It's always listening. So it will only be pillows that pat you on the back. From here on out. And you still love turbulence to this day. Yes. I'm going to get on a flight tonight. I hope that there's a little bit of trouble. Obviously not too much, but like a little bumpy of a flight. I'm fast asleep. You're done. You're gone. Yeah. But do you fall asleep in the car a lot? All the time. Me too. I can't stay awake in the car. It's an issue. And you fall asleep quickly? I fall asleep very quickly. That is the greatest superpower. It really, really is. Especially with my job where I'm traveling all over the place. I'm in a bus. I'm in a plane, wherever. I'm traveling to the next show. It is a godsend. Lucky us. And I'm also pleased that you didn't fall asleep during the interview. Here we go. Come and give us your unpopular opinion. Something up till now that you've been scared to say. Sarah, what's your unpopular opinion for Olivia? That biscuits are too loud. Wait, remind me what a biscuit is. Like a hobnob. Oh, like a digestive? A digestive. Oh, they are too loud. You know, they're pretty crumbly. They're too crumbly. I can't eat one without getting it all over my shirt and my pants. You know what I mean? Well, for me, it's not the mess. It's the issue. It's the, if I bite into a biscuit that hasn't been dunked. Like, you know, when there's a loud noise and you feel like you have to cover your ears. It's the same. But with a biscuit, the inside of my head is so loud that I just, I cannot go on. I have to put the biscuit down or it has to be put down, but into a cup of tea on the way. I see what you're saying. So it's internal. Like it's like an internal too loud. Yeah, it's not about anyone else. It's just the biscuit. I know what you mean. When you have, if you have noise cancelling headphones in sometimes. And you're eating crisps. It is. It sounds like an earthquake. Yep. It's like a wind tunnel. Well, you've got a friend in me and Olivia. For sure. Thanks, Greg. Thanks, Olivia. Zara, thank you so much for being on The Breakfast Show. Thank you guys. Have a good one. Nice to meet you. Yeah, I'm kind of the same sometimes with my own heartbeat. Have you ever done one of those sensory deprivation chambers? Is that like the most LA thing ever? Nobody here. Everyone's too busy to do stuff like that here. I would like to, but I'm scared of it a bit. What was it like? I've never actually done it. I'm lying, but I've always been curious to see what it's like. Well, hit the lights. Hit the lights, everyone. Power down. It's time for a sensory deprivation moment. Everyone be quiet. And there we go. Oh, wow. Lights down. All right. Okay, so how are we going to do? Wait, serious? Okay, all right. No smiling. Okay, okay. I can hear you smiling. I'm frowning, I'm frowning. Ah, the lights are back up. Oh, horrible. Hey, you've got to do a slow wake up. Olivia, what a treat. Oh, thanks for having me. Do I get a big dog? It was a great interview. Big dog. Did I sound bad coming around? I tried my hardest. I do mean it with sincerity. It was a great interview. I had a lot of fun. But the big dog, I don't know. Those words have never come out of my mouth. You could tell that I was just figuring out how to say them. I didn't feel it. Sorry.