Traitor

Album

SOUR

Label

Geffen Records

Genre

Indie pop

Composer(s)

Daniel Nigro,;Olivia Rodrigo

Entered Chart

Jun 5, 2021

Peak Date

Jun 5, 2021

Released

August 10, 2021

Recorded

2020 Studio Amusement (Los Angeles)

Catalog #

Geffen Records

B-Side

n/a

This piano-driven ballad finds Olivia Rodrigo expressing her feelings of betrayal as she watches her ex move on with another girl. You talked to her when we were together Loved you at your worst but that didn't matter It took you two weeks to go off and date her Guess you didn't cheat, but you're still a traitor Rodrigo had her suspicions about his new girlfriend. Though her ex went a fortnight after their breakup before asking her out, she still feels emotionally cheated on. Rodrigo recorded the song for her debut album, Sour. It is one of several tracks that linger on her feelings when an ex steps into a new relationship. Others include the singles "Drivers License" and "Deja Vu ." When Olivia Rodrigo released Sour, "Traitor" started trending, with many fans speculating she is addressing her rumored ex-boyfriend, Joshua Bassett. Rodrigo is believed to have dated her High School Musical: The Musical: The Series co-star during the filming of the show in 2019 before splitting in early 2020. Things allegedly didn't work out and Bassett was then linked to Girl Meets World star Sabrina Carpenter. Rodrigo wrote this song with her regular producer, Dan Nigro, who also played guitar, piano, synth and contributed background vocals. The only other credited musician is Ryan Linvill (synth and bass guitar). Despite not being released as a single, the song debuted in the Top 10 of both the UK and US singles charts because so many fans streamed it. In a Variety cover story, Rodrigo said she'd originally written off the guitar-rock ballad as not relatable, so it surprised her how many people responded to it. "I wrote it on my bed while I was crying," Rodrigo recalled. "I never really thought that it was going to be a song that resonated with so many people. I thought that it was a very specific situation that I was going through, and it's so funny that that's the non-single song that's the most successful. So many people have been like, 'How did you know? This is exactly what happened to me!'" The New York-based photographer Olivia Bee directed the song's music video. Starting with an ethereal opening sequence, it features home video-esque footage of Rodrigo and friends wandering through an arcade, riding in a pickup truck and trespassing in a school swimming pool. Rodrigo penned the song while scrolling and watching videos on social media. "I wrote 'Traitor' in my bedroom when I was very sad one day, and I actually came up with the idea for a song when I was looking at a TikTok," she recalled to Hits Radio. "I saw a girl who was kind of going through a similar situation to what I was going through, and she was kind of feeling these same feelings that I had been going through for a while. For some reason watching her talk about how she felt about it gave me some clarity on how I felt." Olivia Rodrigo wrote "Traitor" on her bedroom floor in Salt Lake City a few days after her debut hit took over the Internet. "When 'Drivers License' came out I called Dan and was like, 'We gotta make an album,'" she recalled during October 9, 2023 concert at The Theater in LA's Ace Hotel. "I was just going to make an EP." With Rodrigo filming on location in Salt Lake City, Nigro packed his studio gear, booked an Airbnb, and joined her. But the icy weather forced them to crank up the heat, a decision he'd later rue. Rodrigo's first vocal take during the recording of "Traitor" was so emotionally charged that it couldn't be surpassed. The only hiccup, as Nigro revealed, was the faint hum of the heater in the background. Rodrigo challenged the crowd: "Go home and listen," claiming she still can't detect it herself.

Ooh-ooh-ooh
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah

Brown guilty eyes and little white lies
Yeah, I played dumb but I always knew
That you'd talk to her, maybe did even worse
I kept quiet so I could keep you

And ain't it funny
How you ran to her
The second that we called it quits?

And ain't it funny
How you said you were friends?
Now it sure as hell don't look like it

You betrayed me
And I know that you'll never feel sorry
For the way I hurt, yeah
You'd talk to her
When we were together
Loved you at your worst
But that didn't matter

It took you two weeks
To go off and date her
Guess you didn't cheat
But you're still a traitor

Now you bring her around
Just to shut me down
Show her off like she's a new trophy

And I know if you were true
There's no damn way that you
Could fall in love with somebody that quickly

Ain't it funny
All the twisted games
All the questions you used to avoid?

Ain't it funny?
Remember I brought her up
And you told me I was paranoid

You betrayed me
And I know that you'll never feel sorry
For the way I hurt, yeah
You'd talk to her
When we were together
Loved you at your worst
But that didn't matter

It took you two weeks
To go off and date her
Guess you didn't cheat
But you're still a traitor

(Ah-ah-ah)
God, I wish that you had thought this through
Before I went and fell in love with you
(Ah-ah-ah)
When she's sleeping in the bed we made
Don't you dare forget about the way

You betrayed me
'Cause I know that you'll never feel sorry
For the way I hurt, yeah
You'd talk to her
When we were together
You gave me your word
But that didn't matter

It took you two weeks
To go off and date her
Guess you didn't cheat
But you're still
You're still a traitor (ah-ah-ah)
Yeah, you're still a traitor

Ooh-ooh-ooh
God, I wish that you had thought this through
Before I went and fell in love with you