The Top 25 Albums Of 2021 (So Far): Olivia Rodrigo - 'Sour'

1 July 2021 | 2:48 pm | Joe Dolan

'The Music' team on the releases you need to hear from 2021.

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It’s hard to believe that we’re at an age now where pop punk is a vintage genre now, and yet here we are with Gen Z artists doing Paramore and Avril Lavigne style throwbacks. Call it nostalgia-baiting if you must, but it’s hard to deny the sound is perfect for a breakup album.

Along with this genre shake-up, Olivia Rodrigo casts off the shackles of a saccharine Disney persona with Sour

Following in the footsteps of Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera before her, Rodrigo has abandoned the mouse ears to let her heart out in her music. 

She went absolutely gangbusters at the start of the year with the single Drivers License (which is creeping its way to one billion plays on Spotify as we speak), and continues to discover herself musically and lyrically throughout the rest of the album. 

Sour's success is showing no sign of slowing down yet either, firming holding onto its spot at #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart for five straight weeks. Her track Good 4 U is heading towards Drivers License territory too, topping both charts and social media videos around the globe.