Olivia Rodrigo's Third Album Draws Heavily on The Cure, Featuring Robert Smith Duet
Olivia Rodrigo released her third album, 'You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love,' on June 13, 2026, featuring a duet with The Cure's Robert Smith. The album marks a notable stylistic shift, drawing heavily on 1980s post-punk and goth sounds alongside Rodrigo's established pop-confessional style. The collaboration reflects a broader trend of young female artists invoking The Cure's legacy as a counterweight to mainstream pop conventions.
Olivia Rodrigo's third studio album, 'You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love,' was released Friday and runs 13 tracks at 51 minutes, making it her longest record to date. The album features Robert Smith of The Cure as its first-ever guest collaborator, duetting on the track 'What's Wrong With Me,' which the pair also premiered live at the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona. References to The Cure are woven throughout the album, from a direct lyrical mention in the opener 'Drop Dead' to a track simply titled 'The Cure,' and the album's website uses a vintage Cure typeface. Rodrigo has cited her father's deep fandom of the band as a personal connection, and Smith has publicly praised her songwriting since first hearing 'Drivers License.' The album navigates a tension between Rodrigo's Taylor Swift-influenced pop-confessional mode and a darker, more post-punk aesthetic, with critics noting the goth influence helps preserve her artistic edge across the record's emotional arc from new love through heartbreak.
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The review does not address chart performance or commercial reception data for the album following its release.
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She Might Be Our Biggest Twentysomething Pop Star. Her New Album Is Most Indebted to … a Goth Gen X Icon?
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