Olivia Rodrigo talks “outgrowing” old songs and inspiring Billie Eilish’s ‘Goldwing’

Olivia Rodrigo has spoken about “outgrowing” some of her earlier songs as well as being the inspiration behind Billie Eilish‘s ‘Goldwing’.

• READ MORE: Olivia Rodrigo – ‘Guts’ review: pop sensation secures her place as a generational talent

The ‘Get Him Back’ singer spoke about how some of the songs from her Grammy award-winning debut LP ‘Sour’ no longer resonate with her in a new interview with the Los Angeles Times.

“Some of them I don’t really love so much anymore,” she said, speaking about her older tracks. Rodrigo didn’t name which songs, saying: “Oh, I don’t want to tell you that. People get so sad because it’ll be their favourite song. But I just feel like I’ve grown out of some of them.”

The singer, however, did share that she was still a fan of her famous track ‘Driver’s License’. “I remember putting the song out, still super-heartbroken, and people would come up to me and say, ‘Wow, this takes me back to my first heartbreak,’” she told the publication. “Now, I listen to it and I totally get it. It actually does transport me back to when I thought I was never gonna love anyone else. I’m like, Awww – that’s so cute.”

Elsewhere in the chat, she responded to Billie Eilish sharing that her song ‘Goldwing’ was inspired by her.

During an interview with the LA Times, Eilish, spoke about how the ‘Guts’ singer-songwriter, and how she feels “protective” over her.

“I think everybody’s experiences are so individual,” she told the outlet. “Nobody has had anybody else’s life, you know? But I do feel a protectiveness over Olivia.”

Eilish continued: “I have a song called ‘Goldwing’ from my last album [2021’s ‘Happier Than Ever’] that’s kind of about her.”

She added: “It’s not only about her. I was just thinking about her when I was writing it. She was coming up, and she was younger than me, and nobody had ever been younger than me.”

Rodrigo told Los Angeles Times: “I thought that was so sweet. Billie is such a kind, wonderful girl, and I feel very lucky that it’s not about competition – that we’re just looking out for each other. I love that song.”

In other news, Rodrigo recently returned to Saturday Night Live to deliver two stunning performances including a cake-smashing affair.

Rodrigo first performed a stripped-back version of her new hit ‘vampire’, taken off her second LP ‘GUTS‘. She also performed ‘all-american bitch’ where she gradually trashed the SNL stage and danced on the table as she sang the song.

NME praised ‘GUTS’ in a five-star review, saying: “In the orbit of her urgent and riotous second album, the 20-year-old turns her own vulnerabilities into a rallying cry: here, she’s a songwriter of control, diving headfirst into the collective female experience while also pursuing adventure, desire and relief.”

The album also landed in the number two spot of our Best 50 Albums of 2023 – see the full list here.

Elsewhere, the singer was honoured with Variety‘s Storyteller of the Year Award. In her acceptance speech, she spoke about the “pressure” of writing ‘GUTS’.