Fire's Chill Pck - April 2026

 Hi guys!! It’s Fire, back with the monthly Chill Pick article!! Last month we covered the lead single to one of my most anticipated albums of 2026, so let’s continue that pattern!



Olivia Rodrigo - drop dead

Release: April 17, 2026

Genres: Pop Rock, Synthpop, New Wave, Big Music, Indie Pop, Power Pop

Olivia Rodrigo has been one of my favorite artists since she broke through in 2021 as a very honest songwriter who can sound vulnerable and hurt on songs like “drivers license” and then make an angry rock banger like “good 4 u” or “brutal”. Since her breakthrough, her two modes have essentially been ballads or rock. Rodrigo’s rock side tends to get more critical acclaim (and honestly fair, “bad idea, right?” is still my favorite song from her) but at the same time, it feels like it’s been a while since she dropped a ballad. GUTS was very heavily rock with the closest to a ballad being “vampire” or maybe “lacy”. But Rodrigo is set to drop her 3rd album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love in June and I’m hyped. I was curious to see which of her two modes she was gonna go down for this album cycle. So with the lead single...it feels almost like a blend of the two in a weird way. It’s got the huge Big Music and rock-leaning guitars but the anger is toned down in exchange for something softer. Sonically it’s borderline Britpop! Lyrically, the song is about Rodrigo seeing a guy, stalking him on the internet (I appreciate her blunt honesty in saying so lol) and then running into said guy and feeling an electric rush of being face to face with someone you crushed on from afar. But despite the intense serotonin she’s feeling in that moment, she says if the guy kisses her she might just drop dead. And I mean, I can kinda see myself doing the same thing? If I met my celebrity crush and she kissed me (idk, maybe a genie grants my wish) I’d collapse faster than the speed of light. I love Rodrigo’s talking cadence on the 2nd verse that nails the conversational borderline valley girl tone. She also has a stunning voice and her high notes sound amazing. I also love how Rodrigo still has an ear for shoving countless hooks into a song—from “feminine intuition” to “lookin’ like an angel on the walls of Versailles”, the chorus is really catchy and sticks with you. And even the bridge, the buildup of “Pisces and a Gemini” effectively captures Rodrigo’s heart beating faster and faster every moment she’s with this guy. In terms of Olivia’s lead singles, it’s better than “vampire”, but it remains to be seen if I wind up liking this more than “drivers license” because I feel like Rodrigo is straying farther and farther away from the vulnerable songwriting that broke her through initially (which I honestly don’t mind that much as long as the music still kicks ass).

In other words, between strong vocals, countless hooks, amazing production, and relatable lyrics, this is a very high 9/10. It only gets better for me with every listen. Highly recommended, and I can’t wait for the new album!!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Albums Around The Fireplace 2024

Image
  Albums Around The Fireplace 2024 So I did this last year and I had a ton of fun with it, so we’re back for round 2 (this time with a much better title lol)!! In this article, I’ll be briefly reviewing every single 2024 album I listened to (some of the albums will have longer reviews than others), with a few minor caveats; any deluxe version of an album from a previous year will not be covered here (I know I didn’t follow this rule last year when I covered emails i can’t send fwd: by Sabrina Carpenter but in my defense I had no clue that was a deluxe version of a 2022 album lmao). Any deluxe versions of albums released this year will be covered in the same review. And no albums from prior years here, even if I only listened to them for the first time in 2024. Overall, 2024 was a year where I think I really broadened my musical horizons and really stepped out of my comfort zone. I think this year might be the most albums I’ve listened to in one year. With that, get your marshmallo...
Read more

The Top 10 Worst Hit Songs of 1996

Image
  The Top 10 Worst Hit Songs of 1996 You know, going into this year-end list, I didn’t really know what to expect. But it sure as hell wasn’t a year-end list this absurdly stacked . Seriously, 1996 is a year that’s easily up there with 1966 as one of the best years for pop music I’ve ever looked at. So what’s even happening this year? Well, we had a huge europop craze where artists from different parts of the world found success (look no further than the biggest song of this year that took over the entire world in force that year), a pretty strong year for rock, and singer-songwriter cuts that leaned a bit on the alternative side. And all of that leads to a year where I can’t even fill out a full dishonorable mentions list and one where I have songs in my bottom 22 of the year that I find decent!! Many of the biggest hits of the 90s were not allowed to chart on the Hot 100 since they did not have a physical release. As such, my criteria for this list is the same as it was for my 19...
Read more

The Top 10 Worst Hit Songs of 1958

Image
  The Top 10 Worst Hit Songs of 1958 Hey guys, it’s Fire from Fire’s Flaming Hot Takes here back with another retro year-end list!! Today we’ll be counting down the top 10 worst hit songs of...1958? Y’all are probably thinking “okay Fire, I get that you like making retro year-end lists, but why pick such a random year like 1958?”. And uh...I’ve been thinking of making lists for this year ever since I started blogging way back in 2021. It’s still a personal goal of mine to have looked at every year-end list in the history of the Hot 100 to acquire a deep knowledge of the history of popular music. I just never really got time to plunge through the depths of history until now. So, why not start with the very first year in the history of the Hot 100? The Billboard Hot 100 chart was created in August of 1958 and was a chart that measured all metrics of a song’s consumption and compiled it into an all-encompassing chart. Billboard did track songs’ popularity on smaller charts before 1958...
Read more