Olivia Rodrigo surprised fans on Oct. 20 when she unexpectedly dropped her music video for her hit song “traitor.” Rodrigo takes her fans on a nostalgic journey back through high school relationships with her creative video. She tops the charts once again, hitting number 9 on the top trending videos on YouTube.
Rodrigo surprised fans with the Instagram announcement of the video.
She said: “surprise! traitor mv out now! 💗💔💗”
The teen pop star is not a stranger to the surprise drop. Rodrigo did the same in August with another music video from her album “sour,” for her hit song “brutal.”
Rodrigo takes the viewer on a creative journey in the “traitor” video. The video features Rodrigo and a group of kids her age as they ride around in a neon purple, glowing pickup truck, go to an arcade, and break into the school swimming pool. She tells the story of high school heartbreak through the video as the group embraces their youth in these activities.
Unlike Rodrigo’s previous music videos that were directed by Petra Collins, Olivia Bee directed the “traitor” video. Bee uses a vintage style of film which is a common creative choice for Rodrigo as an artist. A similar style of filming is used in her other music videos, “brutal” and “good 4 u,” as Rodrigo makes this a common feature in her work. This retro style of recording videos plays heavily on nostalgia and allows her to connect with the wide variety of ages in her fanbase.
During the heartfelt bridge of the song, Rodrigo is plunged into the school pool, after breaking in. The pool jump was a freeing moment and Rodrigo had an emotional release. This was a pivotal point in the video as she jumps in the pool with great urgency.
From the pool jump, the rest of the video shows Rodrigo’s emotion pouring through the screen. She makes grand gestures and is shown running through various scenes from here on out. The heartbreak she sings out in “traitor” is given a great visual representation as she displays her pain through her exaggeration in the video.
Fans took to Twitter to share their love for the video.
A tweet from @oliviatrivago said: “due to unforeseen circumstances, aka olivia rodrigo’s traitor music video, i will be emotionally unavailable for the next 3-5 business days #traitorMV”
Rodrigo continues to find creative ways to connect with her audience and to let her fans experience her art. Whether that is through her numerous music videos, heavy Instagram presence, or different TikTok trends, Rodrigo has had a variety of different content come out of her 34-minute album “sour.” Rodrigo has topped charts once again as her music video immediately flew to the top of the trending videos on YouTube and had sat at number nine. At only 18 years old she has made her mark on the music industry with her hit album “sour,” and now her music video, “traitor.”
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