What were you doing at 17? Because Olivia Rodrigo was co-writing a record that changed the pop landscape, one heartbreak anthem at a time. Released on May 21, 2021, SOUR is a technicolour scrapbook of Gen Z emotion—fierce, fragile, and fully chart-dominating.
Here are five facts about SOUR that’ll have you revisiting your teenage feelings in 3…2…1:
1. “Brutal” opens the album like a mic drop in combat boots.
Track one on SOUR, “Brutal” grabs the listener with a jagged riff, sardonic lyrics, and a sense of gleeful chaos. It channels early-2000s angst through a Gen Z lens, making room for teen confusion, boredom, and social anxiety—all without apology. Co-written just before the album’s deadline, the song arrived with a music video drenched in retro visuals and glitchy energy. “Brutal” doesn’t aim to be pretty; it aims to be loud, honest, and cathartic. The kind of opening track that turns insecurities into anthems.
2. Two songs debuted at number one, and they couldn’t be more iconic.
“Drivers License” and “Good 4 U” both entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number one, giving SOUR a record-setting double punch. Rodrigo became the first artist in history to score two number-one debuts from a debut album. With one song channeling soft heartbreak and the other kicking into pop-punk fury, it showed listeners that emotional complexity can hit from multiple angles. The success reflected not just hype but a real sense of cultural connection.
3. SOUR turned a streaming platform into a stage.
In its opening week, SOUR collected over 385 million Spotify streams worldwide—the biggest debut ever for a female artist on the platform. Listeners hit repeat on ballads and bangers alike, turning bedroom speakers into concert halls. The streaming numbers reflected just how wide and deep the album’s impact ran, from friends sending “Traitor” at 2 a.m. to “Brutal” fueling entire playlists. The momentum was instant, and the response felt personal.
4. Every track came from a two-person collaboration in lockdown.
Olivia Rodrigo and producer Dan Nigro created the album together, writing and recording much of it during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without big studio sessions or outside noise, the songs grew from voice notes, text messages, and emotional clarity. That stripped-back intimacy shaped the sound of SOUR, giving the album a sense of focus that feels both unfiltered and fully formed. It’s the kind of collaboration that builds an entire world from a quiet room.
5. The SOUR Tour turned streaming stats into sing-alongs.
In 2022, Rodrigo launched her first headlining tour with sold-out shows across North America and Europe. Fans arrived in merch, sang every word, and even got a live duet with Avril Lavigne in Toronto. Songs like “Jealousy, Jealousy” and “Favorite Crime” found new life on stage, amplified by a crowd that knew every lyric. The tour captured SOUR‘s spirit—vulnerable, loud, and deeply shared—and turned it into a communal celebration.
So what do you get when a 17-year-old pours heartbreak, rage, and existential dread into 11 tracks and hands them to the world? You get SOUR—a debut that shouts, sobs, and sings its way into pop history without ever asking for permission. Whether it’s the messy honesty of “Brutal” or the car-cry catharsis of “Drivers License,” Olivia Rodrigo turned raw emotion into a global chorus.