GROW WITH SARAH GRACE

Amidst their budding romance on screen, actors/singers Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett were dating in real life. Their onscreen romance ended just as fast as the real one. I can confidently say their break-up on-screen crushed me but I was quite fond of the real break-up, only because I wanted Bassett for myself (I mean I can date a celebrity, right?). 

Not too long after their break-up, Rodrigo dealt with the heartbreak publicly in the only way she knew best, savage lyrics. Releasing a grammy-nominated single, “Driver’s License” and album, “Sour” that screamed, “I hate you Joshua Bassett and I hope this album makes your life hell”. Bassett was silent about the matter and in fact, reposted a few posts about her album to his Instagram in support. 

For everyone watching, Bassett looked like he was dealing with the break-up a little too well. I was patiently waiting for a clap back single or two and after waiting an entire year, we finally have some more Rodrigo and Bassett drama. Bassett released a three-part storyline of songs on December 3 and they have more savage lyrics than Rodrigo’s grammy-nominated songs. Finally, after a month, here are my thoughts on the new music from Bassett.

The first song on the list, “Crisis”, perfectly accuses Rodrigo of telling one side of the story and using their break-up as a way to gain more fans. Bassett wants to tell his side and tells his ex-girlfriend that messing with his life is a career move and that she shouldn’t act like he never loved and cared for her. The song is the perfect introduction to the three-part story as Bassett just wants to state his side of the break-up since Rodrigo chose to make it public.

“Secret”, the second song of the three-part story, is the most curveball song of them all. Bassett starts the song with a story of finding out Rodrigo had a crush on someone else while dating him and that he decided to keep it a secret to help her career unlike what she did with her songs. This upbeat song is a nice way to tell his side while still throwing shade at his ex.

Finally, the third and final song of the story, “Set Me Free”, is my personal favorite of the whole release. It has a sadder tone and the tempo isn’t very upbeat but the message is strong. Bassett uses this song to defend himself and state that after all the drama Rodrigo started by releasing an album, he was hurting and wasn’t able to express that because everyone took her side after such hit songs like “Driver’s License” and “Good 4 U” was released.

I found comfort in his three-part story and wish he would have released it in 2019 when I was going through my own personal situation. His words are my thoughts and I think he is a lyrical genius and displayed his side of things well. Hearing both sides of an argument is important especially in the industry these two ex-lovers are in because as Bassett says, “rumors can kill”. 

After anticipating this release for a year, I think it’s fair to say that I was not disappointed. I found Rodrigo’s album release to be very entertaining and can’t lie, I’ve jammed to the songs more times than I should have but I relate to Bassett’s side more and was excited to hear what he was going to say lyrically. After being silent about the matter for so long, these songs are for lack of a better term, his “reputation era” if you are a Taylor Swift fan. 

I am beyond proud that Bassett has finally stated his side to the break-up (I wish it happened sooner, however) and although we may never know truly what happened in their relationship, I think it’s fair to say they won’t be getting back together anytime soon after such savage songs throwing shade both ways.