Olivia Rodrigo admits she was “definitely guilty” of looking for clues in other artists’ lyrics

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One of the reasons Olivia Rodrigo‘s “drivers license” first blew up is because fans were scouring the lyrics, looking for clues regarding what was going on in her love life. But Olivia says she can’t be angry about that, because she used to do the same thing.

Speaking to the U.K. publication Music Week, Olivia admits it’s “very strange” that fans comb through her lyrics to figure out what’s going in her personal life.  However, she adds, “I completely understand the curiosity and I was definitely guilty of doing the same thing to other songwriters when I was younger.”

“But in my head, I just think that who the song is about specifically doesn’t really have anything to do with the integrity of the song,” she continues. “I think the coolest thing about songwriting…is you’re given this kind of framework of emotions, and you can fill in the blanks with pieces of your own life…So I would hate to tell people, ‘This is what it’s specifically about,’ because I think that just completely defeats the purpose of art and emotion.”

Olivia also predicts that even if she weren’t “Olivia Rodrigo,” she’d still probably be a fan of her music.

“I sometimes think, ‘If I were an outsider looking in on my career, what would I think about it?’ I’ve always admired women that are really vulnerable and honest in their music, it’s a hard thing to do,” she muses. “And, you know, all of my idols do that. So I’d appreciate that about my music, hopefully.”

As for her SOUR success, the Grammy nominee says, “I’m very proud of it. And I’m just excited to bring the honesty and vulnerability that was in those songs into my future albums, too.”

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