“Went to the doctor and she said I was fine, but every movie that I see makes me cry.”
On June 12, 2026, singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo released her 3rd studio album, “you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love.” The 13-track album details the entirety of a heartwrenching relationship. From falling head over heels in love on the opening song “drop dead” to post-breakup grief and clarity on the closer “cigarette smoke,” the album encapsulates all the dramatic highs and lows of being in love.
The back “you seem pretty sad” half of the album is home to Rodrigo’s first-ever artist collaboration in her solo career. “What’s wrong with me,” featuring the incomparable Robert Smith, first debuted on June 6 during Rodrigo’s surprise performance at Primavera Sound Barcelona, where Smith joined her on stage to sing the song live.
“What’s wrong with me,” is a devastating ballad about coming to terms with the fact that maybe your relationship is the source of your unhappiness. Rodrigo describes how she has lost herself in an all-consuming relationship with her partner. Throughout the course of the song, she realizes that it’s not normal to be so depressed while simultaneously being in love, and although she desperately wants to erase those feelings, she can’t.
“And I’m just searching up my symptoms /
Desperate to fix ‘em /
I’ll do anything /
Cause lately I’ve been spiraling, oh /
I’m not feeling like myself and /
Nothing ever seems to help.”
Smith sings the second verse, and his soft, melancholic voice is layered with Rodrigo’s in the chorus. Their voices blend together in the most unexpectedly perfect way, and his contribution to the song makes it such a fantastic listen.
“My head is spinning and my stomach is sick /
Say I’m in love, so it’s hard to admit /
I can’t eat, I can’t sleep /
I think you’re what’s wrong with me.”
The deeply personal lyrics are sung over a simple, synth-heavy production that feels similar to the new wave, 80s alternative-rock sound Smith pioneered. So, the feature makes perfect sense.
For those unfamiliar with Rodrigo, this collaboration probably makes no sense at all. Why would a 23-year-old pop star be singing with the 67-year-old co-founder of The Cure? However, this team-up is completely on brand for her. Rodrigo is a longtime fan of Smith and his music; she even brought him out as a special guest during her headline set at Glastonbury Festival in 2025, where they sang The Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love” and “Just Like Heaven.” Smith is similarly a fan of hers, and the two are good friends.
“I bought ‘Sour,’ and then ‘Guts.’ Although most of the songs on those two albums are not really aimed at my demographic, they are all so good that it is hard not to fall in love with them,” Smith said in a comment to British Vogue.
What I think is so great about Rodrigo is that she is a music fan first and a pop star second. She is constantly incorporating different genres into her music, which makes it all so much more interesting and exciting to listen to. From Avril Lavigne to Talking Heads, Rodrigo and her work are a complete hodgepodge of musical knowledge and references. Although the duet is not my absolute favorite on her new album (I’m more partial to Rodrigo’s upbeat tracks like “expectations” and “my way”) “what’s wrong with me” is one of the best and will, without a doubt, go down as one of her most memorable songs.
“You seem pretty sad for a girl so in love,” is Olivia Rodrigo’s best album thus far. Each release is better than the last with her, and even though it just came out last week, I am already looking forward to what comes next.
