“Strange” by Olivia Rodrigo 

“Strange” is fundamentally the same as the other Olivia Rodrigo song, “The Ones I Love“, that leaked on the same day – being two sides of the same coin, if you will. So in this case, instead of the vocalist portraying the initiator of a dumping, she is rather taking on the role of the victim. 

And as is common in such songs, her emotional response to being cut off is exacerbated by the fact that initially, the addressee put her under the impression that he was faithfully in love. Instead, we now find him moving with another lady, out in public, right in front of Olivia’s face. And to make matters worse, the vocalist can tell that he’s actually happier with this lady than he was with her.

But ultimately, this isn’t a sob story. That is to say that the thesis sentiment does not revolve around the singer being in her feelings per se, with Olivia even going as far as to pretty much state forthrightly that she does not want the addressee back. Rather, what she is most notably commenting on is how “strange” it is that now he would behave in such a manner compared to how he acted in the past. Or put more simply, the addressee dumping and cheating on the vocalist caught her off guard.

“Strange” leaked in early April, 2022. As reported, this is one of the tracks that was being considered as a feature on “Sour”, Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album. And at the same time another of such songs, “The Ones I Love”, also leaked.

“Strange” was produced and co-written by Dan Nigro, Rodrigo’s behind-the-scenes’ collaborator in creating “Sour”, which proved to be one of the biggest albums of 2021. And the other co-writer is the songstress herself.