Good for you, Olivia Rodrigo fans! After a brilliant headlining set at Glastonbury last summer and with her sold out GUTS tour wrapped, the singer-songwriter is already hinting at a new album. The pop-rock princess has had a standout last few years since blowing up in 2021 with the hit single ‘Drivers License’ and her smash hit debut album SOUR.
So, what do we know about her upcoming third album, nicknamed OR3? The truth is, not much. However, Rodrigo has certainly been dropping hints, so I’m going to channel my best inner Swiftie detective skills and try to put together all the easter eggs.
Eagle-eyed fans first found clues in Rodrigo’s cryptic t-shirts throughout the GUTS world tour. One in Manchester even directly asked “did you get the hint?” We’re trying, Olivia! But the most obvious clue came in August, when during her last show on tour, she came out wearing a red shirt with an unmistakable glittery number three on the front.
The red colour seems to be no mistake, as Rodrigo has begun to make a noticeable shift from the purple that trademarked both SOUR and GUTS to red. Her website has changed from purple to red over the last few months, with her signature butterfly logo briefly changing between the two colours.
Rodrigo has noted her love of four letter words and has confirmed that OR3 won’t stray from her signature four-letter titles. She has confirmed that it won’t be called CARD, but fans seem to think that LUCK could be a front-runner. Rodrigo does seem to have been wearing a lot of lucky symbols lately, such as polka dots and a custom Miu Miu dress covered in four-leaf clovers; the ladybug symbol has also shown up a lot on her social media. Leaning into the luck concept, I personally think that JINX would be a pretty killer title.
So, musically, what can we expect or hope to hear from OR3? The singer-songwriter is pretty tight-lipped about her new music, but she has suggested that it relates to themes of new beginnings and reinvention. The 22-year-old has mentioned how different making music for the new album has been, simply because she is older and has more experience. On this note, OR3 will likely venture into more mature tones.
When asked about making new music in an interview with Harpers Bazaar in December 2024, Rodrigo replied with her hopes to “continue to make albums that are fresh and exciting to me creatively”. Does this mean Rodrigo might explore other genres in her new music? Possibly.
However, with the release of GUTS, Rodrigo has leaned into an angstier rock sound over the tender pop ballads that dominated much of SOUR’s track list — it would make sense for her to continue this trajectory. Plus, the red she’s adorned in the recent months gives off a more serious and edgy vibe, so it might make sense for OR3 to lean into her punk-rock sound.
Rodrigo’s reported breakup with actor Louis Partridge in late December, who she had been with since 2023, sent the rumour mill into a spiral of worries that this might lead her to scrap or change the album (Partridge is presumably the inspiration behind her song ‘So American’). However neither celebrity has publicly confirmed or addressed the rumoured breakup and there’s been no official word that Rodrigo has changed any of her release plans.
So when will OR3 come out? It’s difficult to know, but excited fans are on the edge of their seats with anticipation. It is clear that Rodrigo has been working on new music for a while now, and she continues to tease fans. A slide in her Instagram post on January 5 showed what appeared to be a golf cart seat with “The Album” printed on the side. At least to me, that seems like reassurance that her third album might be on its way sooner than we think.
“Olivia Rodrigo @ Theatre at Ace Hotel 10 09 2023 (53423574498)” by Justin Higuchi is licensed under CC BY 2.0.