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Olivia Rodrigo Delivers Another Captivating Album

Olivia Rodrigo proves her consistent artistry once again with her latest release. She seems constitutionally incapable of not delivering one of the year's most compelling albums.

Variety Music·Jun 12, 2026·via Variety Music

Olivia Rodrigo Delivers Another Captivating Album

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Jun 11, 2026 9:02pm PT

Olivia Rodrigo Trades Pop-Punk for New Wave — and Angst for True Love (for Half an Album) — in the Excellent ‘You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love’: Review

By Chris Willman

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Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

ChrisWillman

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The third time’s the third charm for Olivia Rodrigo , who is beginning to look like she might be constitutionally incapable of not turning in one of the year’s most diverting albums, in any given try. Not many artists have started off with as smashing a three-peat as Rodrigo and her producer/co-writer partner Dan Nigro , who’ve pulled it off again with “ You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love .” But just what the “again” entails here involves some wrinkles, since the departures taken go far beyond just dispensing with one-word titles. After two terrific but roughly similar albums, “Sour” and “Guts,” their inevitable task was to stray a bit from signature sounds and firmly establish they intend to not be a one-trick pony. Even if the initial trick was pretty great.