“Hope Ur OK” by Olivia Rodrigo
The two songs which Olivia Rodrigo respectively released to launch her musical career, 2021’s “Drivers License” and “Deja Vu“, were a bit misleading. And that’s because they gave us the impression that when she did get around to dropping an entire album, it would consist primarily of tracks related to teenage love triangles and things of the such.
But now, having dove a few tracks deeper into her “Sour” album, it has become obvious that we are dealing with an artist with a grander mission. And part of that cause would be serving as a voice for the disenfranchised of her generation.
Hope Ur OK
And the above brings us to “Hope Ur OK” – a song whose tale is based on people she personally knows or know of.
In the first verse it is a boy who, narratively speaking, she was once associated with. As implied, this boy was the victim of parental abuse. Of which variety(ies) it is not specified, but what is revealed is that his parents were the self-righteous types, as in being more concerned with appearing good than being good.
And unfortunately, this was a “bad deal” that he personally had to contend with. The songstress has “(fallen) out of touch” with him as time progressed. But she is still hoping that he was able to make the best out of a challenging situation.
The second verse is then about a young lady who grew up in a family where “hatred” was the order of the day. Due to that reality in conjunction with being burdened with adult responsibilities as a child, she longed for the days when she would “go to college” – as in get out of the house – and apparently has achieved that goal.
So now Olivia is wondering how she too has developed. That is to say that even though she has more or less lost contact with this person, the vocalist is still ‘hoping that she’s okay’.
Song’s Thesis Aspiration
The bridge of the song then gets metaphorical to the point where it can even make a rock star blush. But the outro does a good job of bringing home what can actually be deemed as the thesis aspiration of this song, even beyond the singer’s sentiment of concern for these people. And that is her attempt to imbue love upon them – raise their self-esteem, so to speak.
In other words, the songstress views the aforementioned individuals as being less-emotionally fortunate than herself. So her response is to buttress them where she perceives this lack, which is in relation to their own self-image. And she does so by expressing love for them on top of general appreciation for their existence.
So conclusively, it’s like you have to admire the effort. Because as implied earlier, most teenage singers tend to harp on romantic themes or issues concerning their own personal emo struggles. But here we have someone who is rather genuinely concerned with how troubled individuals she has crossed paths with earlier in life – who she no longer has meaningful relationships with per se – are doing in the here and now.
Facts about “Hope Ur OK”
Composition-wise this is yet another collaboration between Olivia Rodrigo and Dan Nigro, with the latter serving as the track’s producer.
This is the 11th and final song on the playlist of “Sour”, Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album. Both “Hope Ur OK” and “Sour” came out on 21 May 2021.
As of the writing of this post just a couple of days thereafter, it’s too early to report how this undertaking has fared out amongst the wolves. But judging by the success of Rodrigo’s first single, “Drivers License”, which thus far as being one of the biggest hits of the year, we have to believe that it will prove to be a success. And helping the effort is the fact that it is also backed by a couple of major labels, those being Interscope Records and Geffen Records.
Olivia Rodrigo
Meanwhile Olivia Rodrigo, being just 18 and a few months’ old at the time, sort of popped out of nowhere. Before the virality of “Drivers License”, the only people who would have really been familiar with her were teenish Disney fans. And why? Simply because throughout the last few years, she has appeared on a couple of those types of Disney shows (“Bizaardark” and “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”).
And whereas being down with Disney in such a capacity did of course require her to sing, it’s safe to say that virtually no one, not even as of December 2019, was expecting Rodrigo to blow up as she has.
For instance she has already made the Time 100 Next list for 2021, being officially recognized as a ‘Phenom’ in that regard. Moreover on 15 May 2021 she was granted the opportunity to grace the stage of Saturday Night Live, a venue usually reserved for more-seasoned musicians (even though, as alluded to earlier, she isn’t technically a new jack in the game).
