May 21, 20214 yr Maybe I had my hopes set too high but I hoped this would be a pop album along the lines of Taylor’s 1989, one full of variety and memorable tunes.
May 21, 20214 yr Maybe I had my hopes set too high but I hoped this would be a pop album along the lines of Taylor’s 1989, one full of variety and memorable tunes. Not you expecting another 1989 for a debut album by a 17 yo
May 22, 20214 yr I've listened 5 times now and it just gets worse with each play :( You can hear it was an EP and that the label asked for songs similar to 'drivers license' because it's mostly the same structure, same singing style, same lyrical theme over and over and over again. She's 18 but that doesn't mean we cannot critique the music for what it is or that she gets a free pass because of her age? Many artists her age and younger have released great albums. This is just predictable and boring. She needs to work on her songwriting (clunky, feels aimed at a teen audience only), and her singing (flat, either 0 or 100, shaky and unpleasant belting). Olivia does have talent and charisma as shown on SNL, and potential to grow so will be interesting to see what she brings in coming years. However, she was definitely privileged to have the Disney show as a big platform to start a career, because imo her music is totally overhyped and I feel like people are forcing themselves to like her because she's what's popular now.
May 22, 20214 yr Interesting take I guess but I think people are self aware enough to know if they actually like what they’re listening to. The album overall is not perfect I agree some proper clunky lyrics and the pacing is not great. The single are definitely the standout tracks and as I’ve said Brutal, Traitor and Happier are also really strong imo. I think there is a lot of promise there so I really look forward to seeing what she does next!
May 22, 20214 yr It's a disappointing listen for me as well — it flies a little too close to an album of basic ballads. I do also understand that this album wasn't made for me though, so I am not too disappointed. I had a quick listen to this earlier and loved Brutal, really unexpected... then as a result was immediately disappointed that most of the other tracks didn't have anywhere near as much impact. Most of the ballads are perfectly nice on their own but I was wanting more variety and everything kinda just blurred outside of the singles. Agreed. My expectations were fairly high due to the variety of the singles, and Dan Nigro producing the entire album. I was excited to see what Olivia could do with production a little more akin to his work with Sky Ferreira and Caroline Polachek — 'deja vu' hinted at that. You can tell the potential is there and she's only going to continue growing as an artist. I mean, look at one of her biggest influences — a rushed debut album in her teens followed by one of the best pop albums of the decade.
May 22, 20214 yr Not you expecting another 1989 for a debut album by a 17 yo Why not? Lots of acts make great albums in the teens/early 20s. The first three singles were all quite varied and of a pretty high standard so it raised my hopes... and then we got this which as others have said is largely nowhere near the same standard. I'm not going to pan her for it as loads of acts have a few killer songs and the rest is just filler but I was hoping this wasn't going to be one of them.
May 22, 20214 yr I've listened 5 times now and it just gets worse with each play :( You can hear it was an EP and that the label asked for songs similar to 'drivers license' because it's mostly the same structure, same singing style, same lyrical theme over and over and over again. She's 18 but that doesn't mean we cannot critique the music for what it is or that she gets a free pass because of her age? Many artists her age and younger have released great albums. This is just predictable and boring. She needs to work on her songwriting (clunky, feels aimed at a teen audience only), and her singing (flat, either 0 or 100, shaky and unpleasant belting). Olivia does have talent and charisma as shown on SNL, and potential to grow so will be interesting to see what she brings in coming years. However, she was definitely privileged to have the Disney show as a big platform to start a career, because imo her music is totally overhyped and I feel like people are forcing themselves to like her because she's what's popular now. Lol wut
May 22, 20214 yr I've listened 5 times now and it just gets worse with each play :( You can hear it was an EP and that the label asked for songs similar to 'drivers license' because it's mostly the same structure, same singing style, same lyrical theme over and over and over again. She's 18 but that doesn't mean we cannot critique the music for what it is or that she gets a free pass because of her age? Many artists her age and younger have released great albums. This is just predictable and boring. She needs to work on her songwriting (clunky, feels aimed at a teen audience only), and her singing (flat, either 0 or 100, shaky and unpleasant belting). Olivia does have talent and charisma as shown on SNL, and potential to grow so will be interesting to see what she brings in coming years. However, she was definitely privileged to have the Disney show as a big platform to start a career, because imo her music is totally overhyped and I feel like people are forcing themselves to like her because she's what's popular now. jr47YisIsz8 sorry I had to hehe~ Edited May 22, 20214 yr by blacksquare
May 22, 20214 yr It's true though. If another lesser known artist not high up on the charts released music like this. Many people wouldn't give them the chance, but with Olivia they are because she's new main pop gal!!
May 22, 20214 yr Huh? I'm baffled so because she has good exposure that's the only reason people are listening to her music and saying she has potential? Also I was going to use the example of We're Good too haha
May 22, 20214 yr You're speaking like Olivia is 5 years into her career and seeling off of her name when she literally debuted with her own material this year? :lol: It's nothing to do with her/her name right now. Hardly anyone knew about the Disney shows she's on. Her songs are just connecting with the right audience and it's even more impressive because she hasn't been as reliant on instant streaming support as people think. I see her as the start of the next Young Adult/Teen TV star phase. Brirney, Christina & Justin all did it. Miley, Ariana, Selena, Demi & Jonas Brothers did it. She is ushering in the next era now that the 2nd batch have all hit/are hitting their peaks. She is exactly how you launch a popstar in the streaming era.
May 22, 20214 yr You're speaking like Olivia is 5 years into her career and seeling off of her name when she literally debuted with her own material this year? :lol: It's nothing to do with her/her name right now. Hardly anyone knew about the Disney shows she's on. Her songs are just connecting with the right audience and it's even more impressive because she hasn't been as reliant on instant streaming support as people think. I see her as the start of the next Young Adult/Teen TV star phase. Brirney, Christina & Justin all did it. Miley, Ariana, Selena, Demi & Jonas Brothers did it. She is ushering in the next era now that the 2nd batch have all hit/are hitting their peaks. She is exactly how you launch a popstar in the streaming era. The Disney show and relationship with Joshua definitely played a part in her taking off with "Drivers License". It didn't just happen out of nowhere and her team know what they're doing. She is connecting with the target audience but the music itself is nothing special or unique. A lot of female artists work many years to get the success she's having right now. She's very privileged to have taken off as quickly as she has and have such a highly invested record label. Performing on SNL and BRITS before the debut album release doesn't happen often.
May 22, 20214 yr But Joshua released Lie Lie Lie a week later and it done absolutely nothing I mean just because she’s appeared on high school musical, doesn’t mean that she’s privileged. I’m sure she’s worked incredibly hard to get there and she writes her own material rather than being dependent on others writing material for her.
May 22, 20214 yr So I have finally got round to listening to the album properly and for my first reactions, I have split the songs into three categories of: don’t like, think okay and like! I think it is a really decent debut album. Don’t like: Brutal Think it’s okay: Traitor Good 4u - top end of okay Favourite crime Hope ur ok Like: Drivers license 1 step forward, 3 steps forward Deja vu - still my favourite Enough for you Happier Jealousy jealousy Edit: move Good 4u to the like category - really growing on me quickly... Also just read all the comments - I get the themes of the album are repeated, but how much life experience can a 17/18 year old have? I really think she’s shown huge song writing potential and for a debut album, this ticks a lot of the boxes. If she’s led in the right way, as she matures, we’ll be having more sophisticated and varied themes and sounds from her. Edited May 22, 20214 yr by London
May 22, 20214 yr After a few listens i'm really enjoying this! Surprised to see so much negativity, I think it's great for a debut :wub: ranking: 1. good 4 u > probably my soty so far :cheer: 2. traitor 3. drivers license 4. hope ur ok 5. enough for you 6. deja vu 7. 1 step forward, 3 steps back 8. favorite crime 9. brutal 10. jealousy, jealousy 11. happier
May 22, 20214 yr But Joshua released Lie Lie Lie a week later and it done absolutely nothing I mean just because she’s appeared on high school musical, doesn’t mean that she’s privileged. I’m sure she’s worked incredibly hard to get there and she writes her own material rather than being dependent on others writing material for her. Olivia built up a massive following of teens from that show who were invested in her relationship with Joshua and the breakup and drama with Sabrina. This was before Drivers License was released. It means she already had a fanbase to start with instead of having to build one from scratch like most artists have to. Hence why people started calling her an industry plant when she had the massive success instantly. And then on top of that having a hugely invested label like Geffen who literally have no successful artists right now, and having support from Taylor and the swifties from the get-go. Shes obviously a talent, but you cannot deny she's been privileged.
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