Olivia Rodrigo Addresses ‘Good 4 U’ and Paramore’s ‘Misery Business’ Similarities
Aside from starring in a Disney+ original series, Olivia Rodrigo is one of the music industryās āup-and-comingā artists. The āDrivers Licenseā singer released her album Sour in 2021, which included the upbeat, angsty track āGood 4 U.āĀ
Hereās what this artist said regarding plagiarism allegations for this (and other) songs.Ā
Fans noticed similarities between āGood 4 Uā and the chart-topping Paramore song, āMisery Businessā
Hot off the heels of her single āDrivers License,ā Rodrigo premiered her debut album, Sour. She earned millions of Spotify plays for songs like āTraitorā and āHappier.āĀ
However, this release hasnāt been without its share of criticism. Primarily, some listeners noticed similarities between Rodrigoās music and already-released songs.
One release off of Sour was āGood 4 Uā an angsty anthem complete with a fire-filled music video. Although the themes were somewhat different, fans noticed similarities between this song and Paramoreās 2007 hit, āMisery Business.ā
Olivia Rodrigo shared her thoughts on the similarities between these songs
During August 2021, representatives from Warner Chappell Music revealed Paramoreās Hayley Williams and former guitarist Joshua Farro were added as co-writers for āGood 4 U.ā This came months after the initial release of the song and plagiarism allegations from listeners. Rodrigo also commented on the similarities between the songs.Ā
āWhatās so beautiful about music is that it can be so inspired by music thatās come out in the past,ā she said in a statement to Teen Vogueās print issue. āEvery single artist is inspired by artists who have come before them. Itās sort of a fun, beautiful sharing process.āĀ
āNothing in music is ever new,ā she continued. āThereās four chords in every song. Thatās the fun part: trying to make that your ownā¦ I think itās disappointing to see people take things out of context and discredit any young womanās work. But at the end of the day, Iām just really proud and happy to say that my job is being a songwriter.ā
Olivia Rodrigo debuted her album āSourā during 2021
Some songs intentionally plucked musical elements from already released songs. Taylor Swift and producer Jack Antonoff have writing credits on Rodrigoās ā1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back,ā with Rodrigo citing interpolation of the song āNew Yearās Day.ā
According to ABC News, in July, āSwift, Antonoff and St Vincent were added as co-writers after the fact on āDĆ©jĆ Vu,āā after some noticed similarities between the Sour track and Swiftās āCruel Summer.ā
Outside of her music, Rodrigo starred in the Disney+ original mockumentary, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series as the budding songwriter and actor named Nini. This year also brought several titles and awards for the Sour artist, including the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist.
Music by Rodrigo, including songs like āGood 4 U,ā āTraitor,ā and āDrivers License,ā is available on most major streaming platforms.Ā