Olivia Rodrigo Wrote a Really Smart ‘Stupid Song’

If there’s one person in the world that knows the power of a song, it’s Olivia Rodrigo, whose debut single “Drivers License” made her one of the most famous people in the world and soundtracked millions of people’s heartbreak. So it means something when she dismisses her own songwriting, which is what she does on her single “Stupid Song,” off her new album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love. The album follows Rodrigo’s journey with a guy, from meeting him to falling in love to breaking up, and “Stupid Song” is the record’s second track, finding her in the throes of obsession. “I’m a car speeding down the boulevard without a brake,” she sings. “And I want you more than any stupid song could ever say.”

The song itself starts as a light ballad, then gives way to a rising current of feelings. Musically, it draws a direct line to Rodrigo’s British rock inspirations, like the Cure and New Order, with a beat that propels the track forward and a thumping bass line worth nodding along to. The emotional high point comes at the bridge, when the song transforms into a stomp-clap rhythm and Rodrigo shouts the lyrics with abandon. “Every night like the one before / Dream of you from like one to four / Positively and truly sure / Nobody’s wanted somebody more.” That’s the moment the song title clicks: It’s about the moment when your crush gets so unsurmountable that you become sure that “this is the most anybody has ever liked another person.” It’s not that Rodrigo is “stupid” or that all music is “stupid,” it’s that the early days of love make everybody act like an idiot, and this is an anthem for being ridiculous.

The accompanying music video follows Rodrigo as she solemnly walks through New York City while ballerinas dance around her. She walks down the street looking straight ahead as they pirouette. She runs through the park and the ballerinas run with her, dirtying up their pointe shoes and getting grass on their knees when they fall. Eventually, they all give into their feelings and dance together while a sprinkler sends water over their heads.