Kelia Anne for TIME Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrido can give credit where credit is due — but that doesn’t mean it’s always been easy for the pop star watching others criticize her songwriting process.
Rodrigo, 18, has enjoyed a breakout year in 2021, starting with the January release of her debut single “Drivers License” and ending with seven Grammy nominations, a world tour announcement, and most recently, being named Time‘s 2021 Entertainer of the Year.
But success hasn’t come without backlash, including two instances in which Rodrigo added additional songwriting credits to tracks featured on her debut album Sour after fans noticed the similarities they posed to other popular songs.
Paramore rockers Hayley Williams and Joshua Farro were given songwriting credit on “Good 4 U” due to its similarities to their 2007 hit “Misery Business” in August. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff were given writing credit on Rodrigo’s song “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back,” which interpolated the melody from their song “New Year’s Day,” from the get-go, and the pair were later credited on “Déjà Vu,” too, as its melody was inspired by the bridge of “Cruel Summer.”
“It was really frustrating to see people discredit and deny my creativity,” Rodrigo told Time of having to revise her credits.
Dan Nigro, her co-writer and producer, had a different take: “It seems like people get funny about things when songs become really popular,” he told Time.
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The “Drivers License” singer added that in her mind, she’s in a lane all her own, and any inspiration she draws from others is not an invitation for comparison.
“Young women are constantly compared to each other,” she said. “I’m the ‘new this’ or ‘this woman meets that woman,’ and that can be reductive. I’m just Olivia. I’m doing my own thing. It’s meaningful when people recognize that.”
In spite of any criticism, Rodrigo told the outlet that for her, channeling her feelings into song is only natural.
“Songwriting is the thing I take most seriously in my life. It’s the most personally gratifying, too,” she said. “At the core of it, all my songs are about me and my experiences and my feelings. It’s an important lesson in controlling your own narrative, too.”
RELATED: Olivia Rodrigo Sings ‘Good 4 U,’ ‘Drivers License’ from the DMV at Tiny Desk Concert
Kevin Winter/Getty Olivia Rodrigo
Staying in control is something the “Good 4 U” singer is embracing; she told Time that as part of her partnership with Geffen Records, she’s able to own her masters, which are typically held by labels.
“You definitely have to be a businesswoman to be a musician,” she explained. “There’s a path for me to have a stake in the music and art I create, which is only fair.”
RELATED: Olivia Rodrigo Announces Global Sour Tour That’ll Include Stops in North America and Europe
After capping the year by notching Spotify’s most-streamed album (Sour) and most-streamed song (“Drivers License”) worldwide, next up for Rodrigo is filming season three of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, starting in January, she told Time.
Then in April, she’ll kick off a world tour that will stretch through July.
Time announced Rodrigo’s Entertainer of the Year win on Thursday, alongside the announcement that Simone Biles was their 2021 Athlete of the Year. The magazine’s Person of the Year will be named Dec. 13, as will their selections for Heroes of the Year.