Another music video from Olivia Rodrigo, and this one seems to have some major connections in the SOUR universe. On Thursday, October 21, the former Disney Channel star took to Instagram and announced, “Surprise! ‘Traitor’ mv out now!”
Featuring the teen angst theme that goes along with the rest of her songs, this visual features the songstress with pink hair as she sings the emotional track into the camera. During an August interview with Variety, Olivia, 18, spoke about how “Traitor” quickly became one of her most popular songs amid her debut album’s release in May of this year.
“I wrote it on my bed while I was crying,” the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star said of the song. “I never really thought that it was going to be a song that resonated with so many people. I thought that it was a very specific situation that I was going through, and it’s so funny that that’s the non-single song that’s the most successful. So many people have been like, ‘How did you know? This is exactly what happened to me!'”
Fans have speculated that the song goes along with the rumored Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter narrative that was created after Olivia released her first-ever single, “Drivers License,” in January. At the time, listeners were quick to speculate about a past rumored relationship and eventual breakup between Olivia and her HSMTMTS costar Joshua, 20. Upon hearing a line of lyrics that said, “You’re probably with that blonde girl,” fans were further convinced the Bizaardvark alum was singing about him moving on with Sabrina, 22, who Joshua was rumored to be dating at the time. While none of the stars have spoken out about the rumored romances, they have all talked publicly about the drama in one way or another.
“Oh, my gosh, that was the craziest time of my life,” Olivia also told Variety, recalling when “Drivers License” hit the No. 1 spot on Apple Music. “That was the moment that I knew that it was going to be something bigger than I expected.”
When discussing the drama that followed, the singer made it clear that she had no idea fans would run with theories about the song’s meaning.
“I put it out not knowing that it would get that reaction, so it was really strange [when] it did,” Olivia explained. “I just remember [everyone being] so weird and speculative about stuff they had no idea about.”
She added, “I don’t really subscribe to hating other women because of boys. I think that’s so stupid, and I really resent that narrative that was being tossed around.”
Scroll through our gallery to see how the “Traitor” music video appears to fit into Olivia’s SOUR universe.
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