Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album “SOUR” rocked the world and shattered records, becoming the fastest album in history to have all of its songs certified RIAA Platinum or higher. The songs, while written from a teenage perspective, resonated deeply across all ages and had a nostalgic effect on older listeners, like myself, inviting us to revisit our own teenage dreams.
It wasn’t only the album’s pop anthems that effortlessly conveyed the intricacies of a teenage nightmare-- it was the album's cover.
Posed before a purple backdrop, Rodrigo's moody demeanor heavily contrasts with the playfulness of whimsical stickers on her forehead and cheeks. This visual juxtaposition works perfectly for an album that balances heavy heartbreak and teen-aged terrors with playful pop tunes.
The album’s melodies and iconic cover slowly awakened a flood of memories, and transported me back in time. It triggered memories of my youth, back when I first began to curate makeshift photo shoots within the walls of my childhood bedroom. I remembered the excitement I felt on afternoons spent rearranging furniture and adjusting lighting to create the perfect set up for my self-made photoshoots. Armed with nothing more than a simple pink digital camera and the fervor of youth, I unlocked endless creative possibilities.
I felt an urge to pay homage to the album’s spirit and the memory of my creative youth. This project was an opportunity for me to capture my past and fuse them with the present.
I connected with Miami-based writer and model Aliana Michele, an Olivio Rodrigo fan herself, and she was thrilled with the idea. With a shared appreciation for the project, we jumped straight into moodboarding and conceptualizing the shoot. Our shared objective was clear: to capture the album’s overarching themes while adding in personal narratives of our own.
Styled in matching ensembles– our wardrobe served as a subtle nod to themes of imitation, counterfeit, and deceit that lie at the heart of the hit song “Deja Vu” from the album.
Incorporating elements like a corded phone added an extra layer of nostalgia and enriched our visual storytelling. The scene it portrayed is reflective of a moment where one of us engages in conversation with an ex-lover, or receives unsettling news. Meanwhile, the stickers spelling out the “Brutal” tagline, “God, it’s brutal out here,” added an air of familiarity, echoing the album’s sentiment.
Our commitment to detail extended to the use of neon lights, to elevate the shoot’s ambiance while staying true to the album’s visual language. The neon lights not only provided an eye-catching element but also symbolized vibrancy amid a deeper emotional narrative.
In this way, I remained faithful to the album's visual identity while infusing my own creativity and perspective, ultimately creating an homage that stands as a testament to the power of art, inspiration, and collaboration.
Here is SOUR-inspired.
Shot by me
Directed by me
Styled by Aliana Michele and me