Olivia Rodrigo says an honest conversation with a friend encouraged her to stop forcing a love album and write about how she was genuinely feeling.
Olivia Rodrigo has revealed that a deeply personal conversation with a friend inspired her to write ‘The Cure’, after the discussion prompted her to confront emotions she had been trying to suppress.
The 23-year-old pop star initially set out to create a love album when she began working on the song, which ultimately became ‘You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love’.
Speaking about the inspiration behind her second single on Song Exploder, Rodrigo recalled sitting in a friend’s Jeep and opening up about her relationship.
Olivia Rodrigo Opens Up About Feeling Unhappy
Rodrigo said she vividly remembered sitting in the passenger seat of her friend’s Jeep while discussing the album and her relationship.
She explained that although she was in love, she was struggling with feelings of unhappiness and could not understand why she was experiencing such conflicting emotions.
“I actually remember vividly being in my friend’s Jeep,” Rodrigo recalled. “And I was sitting in the passenger seat and I was talking to him and I was just like, you know, I’m making this record and I’m in love and I love this person. And I’m just like so miserable so much of the time. I’m like very unhappy.”
The ‘drivers license’ singer said she was frustrated because she wanted to write straightforward love songs but could not reconcile that ambition with how she was actually feeling.
“And I was like, I don’t know why I can’t, like, I just want to write love songs,” she said.
Friend Encouraged Rodrigo to Write Honestly
According to Rodrigo, her friend encouraged her to stop trying to dictate the direction of the album and instead focus on her genuine emotions.
“I remember him expressly telling me, he’s like, you have to write about how you’re actually feeling,” she recalled.
The advice became an important turning point in Rodrigo’s creative process, allowing her to explore the contradictions she was experiencing rather than trying to create an idealised portrait of her relationship.
Instead of forcing the project into the love-album concept she had initially envisioned, Rodrigo began drawing from the more complicated emotions she was experiencing at the time.
Fans React to Rodrigo’s Revelation
Rodrigo’s comments quickly prompted reactions from fans on social media, with some saying they had wondered how she could continue writing emotionally heavy material while being in a relationship that appeared happy from the outside.
One fan reflected on what it must have been like for Rodrigo to write sad songs while still in the relationship that many people perceived as perfect.
Another fan simply celebrated the unnamed friend’s influence, writing: “All hail Olivia’s friend.”
Others began speculating about the identity of the person who encouraged Rodrigo to embrace her feelings.
Some fans suggested that the mystery friend could be fellow singer-songwriter Conan Gray, with one commenter asking simply, “Conan?”
There is no confirmation that Gray was the friend Rodrigo was referring to.
‘The Cure’ Offers a Glimpse Into Rodrigo’s Songwriting
Rodrigo’s account provides an insight into the emotional process behind her songwriting and the circumstances that shaped ‘The Cure’.
Her recollection shows how a candid conversation helped her move beyond the expectations she had initially placed on the project and embrace a more honest approach to writing about love, unhappiness and emotional uncertainty.