A lot of us make mistakes without realizing it is a mistake. It is a whole other thing to know that you are making a mistake and still proceeding to do it. Olivia Rodrigo knows it is a “bad idea right?” to see her ex-boyfriend out of the blue. But, what if she did?
Olivia Rodrigo released the second single of her second studio album on August 11, 2023. The song, titled “bad idea right?” follows the lead single “vampire” from her sophomore album ‘GUTS’ expected to release in September 2023.
In a press release for the song, Olivia Rodrigo unraveled the real-life incidents that inspired this song; “‘bad idea right?’ started with us making a joke song about me hooking up with an ex-boyfriend, but then we realized we were actually onto something.” We don’t know who this ex might be. Olivia Rodrigo infamously based her first album ‘SOUR’ on the breakup with her then-ex-boyfriend Joshua Bassett.
Listen to “bad idea right?” by Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo “bad idea right?” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
Olivia Rodrigo finds herself at a party surrounded by her friends and the booze is kicking in right now. It has been a few months since she called it off with her ‘LOSER NOT WORTH MENTIONING’ boyfriend. So, the wounds are relatively fresh still. It also does not help that he is blowing up her phone calling and texting. The booze plays games on her mind. And we have the perfect recipe for disaster.
Although Olivia has saved the ex-boyfriend’s contact as ‘LOSER NOT WORTH MENTIONING,’ a couple of takeaways–for one, she has not blocked him or deleted his contact. Second, and this might be the booze pulling strings, she thinks it might not be the worst idea if she gets to see him one more time.
Olivia is very well aware that nothing good will come out of this little wicked plan of hers. The best outcome is that she sleeps with him tonight and everything following this would be a downhill ride. He is a pretty boy so her brain does not let her rest easy tonight. This is a bad idea, right? Who is she talking to? Herself. Why doesn’t she talk to a friend at the party? Well, if she did, they would obviously stop her.
A lot of big decisions in life are made after saying “f**k it…” and so does Olivia Rodrigo tonight.
In the second verse of the song, we find Olivia Rodrigo actually following through with her wicked plan. She is in a car driving to an address that she received by text a while ago. She told her friends that she is going home to sleep. But, she did not specify in whose bed she will be doing this. When she reached her ex’s apartment room and sees him standing at the door, her brain shuts down. Her thoughts turn into a silent movie.
Guess it’s one of those mistakes that you actually have to see through and face the consequences later. For tonight, booze and poor judgment win. Tomorrow she will wake up a little wiser (?).
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Read the complete lyrics to the song on Genius.