Olivia Rodrigo struggles to write songs when she’s happy.
The pop star is poised to release her currently untitled third album – which follows 2021’s Sour and its 2023 follow-up Guts – but she’s admitted it’s challenging to write melancholy music when she’s in a “joyful place” in life.
She told Vogue magazine: “It was a creative challenge to write from a joyful place. When you’re experiencing that you’re connected to someone, or feeling really good, you’re not in your head thinking about bittersweet poems!”
Olivia was in a relationship with actor Louis Partridge and she took inspiration for the album from spending time with him in his native UK – revealing a lot of the songs have “London vibes” because she was hanging out in the city while making the record.
The singer admitted she still has several tracks left to write before the album is finished but she explained to the publication the track list is mostly made up of “sad love songs”. She added: “I realised all my favourite romantic love songs were beautiful because they had a tinge of fear or yearning in them.”
Olivia explained one of her new songs is about “what I think being in love feels like”.
She said of the unnamed track: “You’re getting to the core of all of your issues: how you feel about yourself, your insecurities, what makes you joyful.
“It feels like the most raw form of you, which is so scary and terrifying and uncomfortable, sometimes, but beautiful at times.”
Olivia doesn’t open up about her relationship status in the interview, which follows reports she split from Louis in late 2025 after two years together.
A source previously told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “They made such a lovely couple, so people who know them were shocked when they heard. “It’s not been the easiest few weeks for them, and they decided it’s better to be apart for now.”
The insider also claimed that Olivia broke down in tears when talking about the reported break-up at fellow singer Lily Allen’s star-studded sexy Santa Christmas party at the iconic Stringfellows strip club, Covent Garden, London, on December 20.
The source continued: “Olivia was at Lily’s party and emotional when she was talking about it. Her friends have rallied around her, but it’s just been pretty rough. It’s really sad right now.”