Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” was much different from Olivia Rodrigo’s as the two artists take an entirely different spin on the fantasy of the teenage dream. For Olivia, her teenage dream has manifested tenfold than she had imagined. Maybe, a little too much even.
Olivia Rodrigo released her second studio album ‘GUTS’ on September 8, 2023. The release of the album was followed by two singles “vampire” and “bad idea right?” Talking to Apple Music, Olivia Rodrigo admitted that her debut album ‘SOUR’ was a lot more spontaneous than anything else. However, her follow-up project ‘GUTS’ was inspired by “lots of confusion, mistakes, awkwardness & good old fashioned teen angst.”
Olivia Rodrigo has been in showbiz since age 12. Now, at age 20, Olivia is one of the biggest stars in the world. She already has a Grammy award for her debut single “drivers license.” It almost feels like there’s no more space for her to capture in the industry. But at what cost? She probably never had a day of a normal teen’s life.
Listen to “teenage dream” by Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo “teenage dream” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
Throughout the song, we find Olivia Rodrigo questioning if right now is the highlight of her life. Is this the best it’s going to get? She has set streaming records, and sales records, and won countless awards including a Grammy Award. She can only accumulate more of the same now–and try her hardest to keep topping her previous work.
Of course, she must have set out to achieve all of these accolades when she first got into showbiz and music as a career. But what she might not have envisioned is sacrificing all of her teenage years to achieve this.
They all say that it gets better
It gets better the more you grow
‘She is so young. She has so much more potential,’ is something we have heard every time we read about Olivia Rodrigo. But can she really keep topping herself every few years? Olivia has her reservations because she knows the demands of the industry.
Olivia also addresses how she always had to strive for some sort of perfection and maturity beyond her age to be the ‘good girl’ of the industry. These things matter on the road to a Grammy, her management team knows. Money, fame, and success have an image to maintain and artists have to follow suit.
In the chorus of the song, Olivia Rodrigo apologizes to herself, rather pre-emptively. She says sorry about her teenage dream or rather her teenage years. But she is not sure yet if she had spent her teenage dream fulfilling her wishes or the wishes of the world.
What happens when all the ‘good little girl’ and ‘you’ve got so much more in you’ compliments are going to not make her feel good anymore? What happens when she hits 30? Is she still going to eat up the same compliments? Or will she look back at the two decades she spent for ‘others’?
A lot is up in the air for Olivia Rodrigo still. She does have a long career ahead of her. But is she going to keep pushing through? Will she still enjoy music as her passion? Or will it become a chore? Only time will tell.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Read the complete lyrics to the song on Genius.
