Olivia Rodrigo has had a lot of success since “drivers license,” her debut single, came out in January. Now, less than three months later, she’s proving that she’s here to stay with the release of her brand new single “deja vu.”
Olivia Moves On in “deja vu”
“deja vu” finds Olivia at a different stage from “drivers license,” as she begins to move on from her heartbreak. In the song, Olivia questions the authenticity of her ex’s new relationship. She also thinks about what emotions he has toward her. She also portrays feelings of pity toward the new girl who is experiencing the same things Olivia did.
Despite sharing similar themes, “deja vu” is different from “drivers license,” because it has a more upbeat melody. It came out with a video that highlights that tempo change, too. The music video shows a girl – her ex’s new girlfriend, played by Talia Ryder – slowly replacing Olivia, literally and figuratively. To her disbelief, this new girl is reliving Olivia’s same experiences with the guy. She keeps copying her until she completely replaces Olivia in his life.
About “deja vu,” Olivia shared, “I wrote this song with my friend Dan Nigro last fall and I’m so stoked to finally share it with you all. It’s a lot different than ‘drivers license’ lyrically, musically, and melodically, which is super exciting to me.”
The Pressure After Enormous Success
During an interview with heat Radio, she talked more about the pressure of releasing new music after the success of her debut single. “I had this single picked out in September [2020]. It sort of took the pressure off for me of following up ‘drivers license’ since we planned this so far in advance. But it’s definitely not like ‘drivers license’ at all, which I’m really happy about. I didn’t want to pigeonhole myself into this category of ‘sad ballad girl’ thing. It’s definitely a little different, and sort of weird. I really hope that people like it, and even if they don’t, that’s cool too though, because I loved making it.”
Although her career is just starting, it’s clear that this rising star has a lot in store for us. At only 18-years-old, she’s shown us her lyrical expertise, as well as her passion for music. You can watch the music video for “deja vu” down below.
