Olivia Rodrigo is due to arrive any moment, but the plan for the interview has already been thrown off course.
The shoot was meant to take place outdoors in Hampstead Heath, one of her favorite spots in London. Then the rain arrived in full force. With the weather turning the park into a washout, the crew quickly packed up the cameras and lights and moved everything inside the Victorian kitchen at nearby Kenwood House.
By the time Rodrigo walks in, the setup has just come together. Despite the wind and rain, she looks completely composed after the short walk from her car.
Even though it is still early, Rodrigo has already been working. On the ride over, she was making final adjustments to a new track called “Maggots For Brains,” only 10 days before its release. She says the song has a lot happening musically, especially with the harmonies, and she found herself asking for one backing vocal to be raised by just a single decibel. She admits no one else would probably hear the difference, but it mattered to her.
Hampstead Heath was chosen because Rodrigo loves spending time there when she is in London. She says it is one of the few places where she can walk around without feeling overwhelmed by attention, perhaps because the space is so open. One of her favorite memories there was seeing a proposal unfold from a nearby bench, with the couple’s friends gathered around to celebrate.
Rodrigo has her own dream proposal in mind. She jokes that she would love someone to put a message on a bench in Central Park asking her to marry them, so she could sit down and suddenly realize what was happening. She laughs that her future husband should take note.
She has also already chosen the song for her wedding: “I Melt with You” by Modern English, which she starts humming as she says it.
That optimism about romance feels notable, given how much heartbreak shaped her first two albums, Sour and Guts. Those records turned painful breakups into songs full of sadness, anger and confusion.
Her first real love song did not arrive until 2024 with “So American,” a bright new-wave-inspired track about falling for English actor Louis Partridge. Soon after, her social media began showing scenes from her life in the U.K., including Wimbledon and London buses.
When Rodrigo headlined Glastonbury last summer, Partridge was watching from the side of the stage. During the performance, she changed the lyric from “I think I’m in love” to “’Cause I’m in love,” making the feeling unmistakably clear.
