Olivia Rodrigo and Robert Smith Debut Collab, Exchange Praise

4:28 PM EDT on June 8, 2026

Over the weekend, Olivia Rodrigo performed a surprise set at Primavera and was joined by Robert Smith to debut their you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love collab " what's wrong with me ." The pop star and the Cure frontman have been exchanging praise since.

In an interview with BBC Radio 6 Music , Smith said, "She's so good. I mean, she is genuinely fantastic as a songwriter and as a singer, as a performer. And the band, everything about it, I genuinely love what she does. I'm slightly in awe of how easy she finds it all. It's not really comparable to how I do things [...] It just comes across as very effortless, very natural. And I'm not really a natural performer."

He continued, "When I write songs, I'm writing them for a very specific reason. When I'm writing them, I agonize over them, to be honest, a lot of the time in later life. And she's kind of like just banging it out and saying, 'What do you think of this?' And I'm like 'It's great!' And then, 'You know, I'm not really sure about this one.' It took me 16 years to get to that sound!"

Meanwhile Rodrigo posted a picture of a handwritten note via her newsletter, which read:

I've been insanely excited to tell you guys about this song & its been so hard to keep it a secret! Last night at Primavera I got to sing "Whats Wrong With Me" for the first time. Its the first feature Ive ever done on an album and I actually cannot believe I got to do it with Robert Smith! Somebody pinch me!!! Robert has been soundtracking my life for as long as I can remember. He has written some of my favorite songs of all time. His music moves me & inspires me to a degree that is hard to put into words. Ive also been lucky enough to spend time with him over the last year & experience first hand his generosity & graciousness. I am in disbelief that this song exists and I cannot wait for it to come out officially! The album comes out on Friday what the hell!!!!

She also discussed him on Popcast , reminiscing on their performance at Glastonbury last year:

Robert is an extraordinary, extraordinary person. And I obviously wrote to him a bunch before Glastonbury. I was so shocked that he said yes. He's everything to me. I was just so nervous to even make the ask. But I was so delighted when he said that he wanted to and that night at Glastonbury was like the best night of my life. It was so special. There was just something in the air.

She explained that the collab came about after Smith invited her to the studio, where they hung out and drank Guinness. Living the dream. See related media below.

Olivia via her newsletter announcing her collaboration with Robert Smith! pic.twitter.com/0N8hO9UPm0

Olivia talks about her collaboration with Robert Smith on Popcast! pic.twitter.com/WhX2320D3z

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_Originally reported by [Stereogum](https://stereogum.com/2501766/olivia-rodrigo-robert-smith-exchange-praise-following-surprise-collab/news/)._