Behind: Expectations by Olivia Rodrigo & Chappell Roan
Written By Orlaith Redmond
On October 15th of this year, Rodrigo released the remix of her own song ‘Expectations’ that features her friend and singer Chappell Roan. Chappell sings a brand new verse, which talks about her experience of a date that took place at a concert and getting ghosted soon after, which she describes as “classic LA behaviour”. She also sings the following pre-chorus, chorus and harmonies. In the final chorus, she gives the song a very lively feel as she sings a very catchy countermelody which is quite satisfying to listen to. The song is produced by Dan Nigro and Mike Wise, and is written by Olivia Rodrigo, Dan Nigro, Amy Allen, and Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, who is also known as Chappell Roan.
The single has done significantly well on the charts, debuting at #4 on the Spotify Global Chart and surpassing 4.595 million streams in its first day. Since the single's initial release on October 15th, the single has accumulated 34.5 million streams with approximately 3.5 million streams each day.
The song is Rodrigo's first official collaboration, as she has none on her previous albums ‘Sour’ and ‘Guts’, however, Chappell Roan has previously sung backing vocals for Rodrigo’s Hunger Games single ‘You Can’t Catch Me Now’.
While this song is widely loved by fans everywhere, there are a few people disappointed with how it was executed. One fan said they were disappointed with the fact that a lyric was missing or changed, this lyric being “Don’t think my future husband’s at this bar in Silver Lake”. One fan stated that Chappell should have sung the lyric but replace “husband” with “wife” and that that would improve the song for them. While these fans were not overjoyed with how the song turned out, the vast majority of fans, myself included, prefer the collaboration to the original.
Critics say the single was beautifully executed and that Olivia and Chappell's voices blend seamlessly, and the American online music magazine, Pitchfork, awarded the remix ‘Best New Track’.
To conclude, ‘Expectations feat. Chappell Roan’ is a hit loved by fans and critics globally. It is also beautifully produced and sounds nice to listen to.