[0:00] - I first realized songwriting was, like,
[0:01] sort of, a viable option for my life
[0:04] when I got to write a
song called "All I Want"
[0:06] for 'High School Musical:
The Musical: The Series.'
[0:08] Before that, I, sort of,
just kept my songs to myself
[0:11] and, like, played them
for my mom and my friends.
[0:13] But, that was, sort of,
the first experience where
[0:16] I wrote something that people,
like, really believed in,
[0:18] that I believed in, and it, kind
of, got heard by a lot of people,
[0:21] so it gave me a lot of confidence.
[0:22] “drivers license” coming out has, sort of,
[0:23] immensely affected my songwriting process
[0:26] and my music, you know, making
brain, I guess.
[0:30] But I thought, actually, when it came out,
[0:31] and when it, you know, started
getting to be really successful,
[0:35] I thought that I was gonna get
[0:36] in my head about my writing and be like,
[0:37] "Oh, I'm never gonna write anything
[0:39] as good as 'driver's license,' ah,"
[0:40] and, like, fret about everything.
[0:42] But, I actually really think
it gave me a lot of confidence
[0:44] in my voice and in what
makes my songwriting special,
[0:48] which I feel like is my
vulnerability and honesty.
[0:51] And so, kind of, learning that
[0:52] that's what people resonated
with, kind of, helps me
[0:54] with writing all of my other music.
[0:56] Hey, I'm Olivia Rodrigo
[0:57] and these are my top
five songwriting tips.
[1:03] My first tip, which I think
is the most important one,
[1:06] is listen to music like a songwriter.
[1:09] I have grown exponentially
from doing this.
[1:12] I think it is the best way to
grow as an artist, in any way,
[1:15] is to draw on inspiration from
people that you look up to.
[1:19] I literally will, like, listen
to music that my idol made,
[1:22] watch all of their interviews,
and then go back and be like,
[1:25] "OK, I'm gonna, like, try
to write a song, like,
[1:26] as if they were writing this song,"
[1:28] and it just, like, completely,
like, broadens your horizons
[1:31] and helps make your music
just, like, that much better.
[1:34] I'm obsessed with the way
that Taylor [Swift] paints pictures
[1:37] and her imagery is fantastic
[1:39] and her storytelling
is just, like, insane.
[1:42] So, I don't think I'm as good
of a storyteller as she is yet,
[1:45] but I always try to, like, put
aspects of that, sort of, narrative,
[1:49] singer-songwriter-y type
lyricism in my songs.
[1:53] I think Lorde really teaches me
a lot about, like, production,
[1:55] and actual music music.
[1:57] I think she always makes
such interesting choices
[1:58] and so I try to do that.
[2:00] And also, she's a brilliant
lyricist, as well,
[2:02] and she's super poetic
[2:03] and you can tell that,
like, lots of her songs
[2:05] started out as poetry,
[2:06] and so some of my songs
start out that way, too,
[2:08] when I try to emulate her.
[2:10] Also, a big lyrical inspiration
for me is Phoebe Bridgers.
[2:13] She's just, like, so brutally honest
[2:15] and says stuff that you wouldn't
think of being in a song,
[2:19] and I think that's impactful and beautiful
[2:21] and so, I, sort of,
try to do that as well.
[2:23] Another songwriting tip that I have is
[2:26] finished is sometimes better than perfect.
[2:28] I can't tell you how many times
I've, like, sat at a piano
[2:31] and, like, been writing
a song and been like,
[2:33] "This is terrible. I should just quit.
[2:35] "Like, this is so bad."
But, I, like, force myself to finish it
[2:38] or at least, like, finish
the idea or whatever
[2:41] or, like, finish the verse and chorus.
[2:43] And, lots of the time, I
come back and I'm like,
[2:45] "Oh, wait. That was actually great.
[2:47] "I was getting really
in my head about it."
[2:48] And so, you're never
gonna learn from something
[2:50] if you just, like, throw it away
[2:51] the second you think it's not good,
[2:53] and you're never gonna learn how
to, like, craft something good
[2:55] if you just, like, are
waiting for just, like, luck
[2:57] and a bolt of inspiration to strike you.
[2:59] Number three, I think
this sort of goes along
[3:01] with number two a little bit.
[3:03] Really, like, showing
up for your creativity,
[3:06] and not just waiting for,
like, a lightning bolt idea
[3:09] or something to inspire you.
[3:11] I think, sometimes, you
just have to work and write
[3:14] and create, even when you don't
feel particularly inspired,
[3:16] because I think when you
continuously show up,
[3:19] you, like, show the Universe
that you are capable
[3:21] of bringing this idea to life
and, you know, manifesting it
[3:25] in the way that it's
supposed to be manifested.
[3:26] And like, I'm spiritual in that way,
[3:28] where I think that, like, the
Universe pays attention to that
[3:31] and then will give you better ideas.
[3:32] So, that was sort of the exercise
that I did over quarantine is
[3:36] I, like, forced myself to write a song.
[3:37] Not forced myself. That sounds like -
[Laughs]
[3:39] That sounds sad and scary,
[3:40] but I sat down at the piano and was like,
"OK,
[3:42] "I'm gonna write a song
every day of quarantine,"
[3:43] and I feel like that made
me a much better songwriter.
[3:46] And, you know, I think some of the ideas
[3:49] I wouldn't have, you
know, gotten to jot down
[3:51] if I didn't, you know, make
myself do that every day.
[3:53] So, I think showing up
is really important.
[3:55] It's more important than being
talented or good at anything.
[3:58] You can be super talented,
but if you don't show up,
[4:00] what's the point?
[4:01] Alright, fourth tip is to
write songs for yourself
[4:04] and because you love it
and you like to do it.
[4:07] The second that you, sort
of, start writing a song
[4:10] with the intention of it
being liked by other people,
[4:12] it loses its magic.
[4:14] At least for me, if I ever,
like, go on, like, Twitter or whatever,
[4:17] and look at people,
like, consuming my song
[4:19] or, you know, criticizing it or whatever,
[4:21] and then I take that with me in my writing
[4:23] and I'm like,
"Oh, wait,
[4:24] "but, people won't like
this if I do this,"
[4:25] or, like, "Oh, I have to do
this, so people like it."
[4:27] It just absolutely, like, ruins it
[4:29] and I think you just
have to be true to you
[4:31] when you're, like,
writing all of that stuff
[4:32] and try to stay out of your head,
[4:34] and do it 'cause you love it.
[4:35] Don't do it for, you know, other people.
[4:37] Those are the best types of songs.
[4:39] It's actually super, super cool to see
[4:41] people relate to my songs.
[4:43] For a while, I felt like I
was, like, kinda weirded out
[4:45] 'cause I was like, "Oh, I kinda
have this, like, really weird life."
[4:48] Like, I've been homeschooled
since I was in seventh grade.
[4:50] I, like, am on a set all day with, like,
a bunch of, like, 45-year-old dudes.
[4:54] Like, is what I say going to
resonate with other people my age?
[4:57] And so, putting out “drivers license”
[4:59] and seeing people of, actually, all ages,
[5:02] male, female, everyone,
sort of being like,
[5:04] "Whoa, that took me back to a time
[5:06] "where I was feeling like that,"
[5:07] or, "Oh, I'm feeling like that right now.
[5:08] "This helps me so much."
[5:09] Like, that was so cool to me to realize
[5:11] that, you know, honesty
is always relatable
[5:13] and you don't have to, like, try
to relate to large audiences.
[5:16] You just have to tell your story
[5:17] because, you know, humans are                                                                    all so much more alike
[5:20] than we are different,
and we're all feeling
[5:21] so much of the same things
that we just don't talk about.
[5:23] The last songwriting tip
I have is to read poetry,
[5:26] as much poetry as you can.
[5:27] I feel like that really
informs my lyricism.
[5:30] I think I have to start a song
[5:32] with a lyrical concept or idea.
[5:34] I'm a very lyric, narrative,
story-based songwriter
[5:37] and everything else, kind
of, is secondary to that.
[5:39] So, in order to write a song that I like,
[5:41] it has to be either a poem that I like,
[5:43] or, like, a concept, or, like, a play
on words that I can, sort of, go from.
[5:47] The hook of “deja vu” is,
[5:48] "When she's with you, do you get deja vu?"
[5:50] And it's this, sort of, concept
[5:51] that I am really obsessed with
[5:53] and, I think, something
that my friends and I
[5:54] were going through, where it's like,
[5:56] sometimes, when you break up with someone
[5:58] and they get with somebody else,
[5:59] it sort of feels like
[6:00] everything that they're doing is recycled,
[6:02] which happens in every
relationship, I think.
[6:04] And for the music video,
[6:06] we kinda didn't want it to
be super on the nose, like,
[6:08] relationship-y,
[6:09] so I thought it would be
really fun to do, like,
[6:11] a, like, female-stalker type music video
[6:15] 'cause I'm obsessed with 'Killing Eve.'
[6:17] That's my favorite show of all time
[6:19] and I was like, "I wanna do a
music video like 'Killing Eve.'"
[6:21] And also, I think it really
ties into that, like,
[6:23] "Do you get deja vu?" thing
[6:25] because it's, like, these two girls,
like, living really similar lives
[6:27] because they, like, want
to be like each other.
[6:29] So, yeah. I had a lot of
fun making that music video.
[6:33] I think it’s like a really,                                                            kind of, convoluted, weird,
[6:36] awesome music video.
[6:38] I think it's, like, perfectly
creepy in the best way.
[6:40] [Laughs]