Seeing double
I had a light bulb moment the other day. It was directly related to Madison Beer’s third album, locket, and Olivia Rodrigo’s third album, you seem so sad for a girl so in love.
I was revisiting “bad enough” by Madison Beer and heard the following lyrics:
“He says that I seem so sad (mm, sad)
And what am I supposed to say to that?”
I soon realised these two artists share a common thread: the unravelling of a lover and the bygones of a love whose hand they held onto tightly.
Across locket and you seem so sad for a girl so in love, Madison Beer and Olivia Rodrigo explore remarkably similar questions about what happens when love becomes tangled with sadness, attachment and the difficult process of letting go.
I kept wondering why Madison’s album wasn’t in the 2026 music conversation with its streamlined, game-like sonic identity. At the beginning of the year, when it was one of the few major albums released, it was part of that conversation. But since then, I haven’t really heard much in-depth discussion of its themes and musical approach. To me, it felt sharp, innovative, and consistently bittersweet in its storytelling, completely hooking the listener.
Like Rodrigo’s album, locket appears experimental and different on the surface while still staying very much in line with Beer’s previous work. In fact, it felt like a culmination of her previous two albums. Beer’s overall sound is maturing thanks to consistent collaborators like Leroy Clampitt and Matt Maltese. Madison is also listed as a producer for all of the tracks on the non-deluxe edition.
I am not comparing the two albums, each artist’s styles, how they marketed their albums, or their branding. I am detailing my listening experience, which led me to connect the dots (and locks) between the two albums and how they feel like two sides of the same tarot card.
As a fan of both artists’ music, I have followed Madison more closely since her EP. As such, my analysis will largely centre Madison’s lyrics from a fan standpoint, placing her album in conversation with Olivia’s. For an in-depth look at Olivia’s poetic tapestry, I would recommend checking out Danae Younge’s video essay here.
Track-by-track
Madison opens her album with an introspective track about love and pain, as encapsulated in her locket. By ascribing these sensations to a physical object, Madison signposts that this album is going to organise this emotional rollercoaster. The lyric, “If you don’t hear from me, it don’t mean I love you less,” of course reminded me of Olivia’s song, “less” which is partially about loving less instead of feeling that all-consuming. However, “locket theme” doubles as a love letter to fans who have followed her musical journey in all its productivity and breaks. In this way, it recognises the power in letting go, even while wishing that what came before had not been so consuming. It’s about the honesty of wishing you had loved a little less, while recognising that sometimes stepping away is ultimately for the best. What matters is the return afterward.
Yes. Baby. Yes. Madison does repeat this, and yet it sounds electric every time.
This song is about the beginning of a crush and reminds me of “purple,” since it’s very easy to see your crush through purple-coloured glasses. Here, Madison dares her crush to “put the work in, cut your teeth,” and this upbeat anthem delivers what it says: a bombastic transition from “locket theme” and a club banger destined to be heard on the treadmill (courtesy of the music video visuals). Sonically, the two could not be more different, but they traverse similar territory: the early stages of love and infatuation that you want to stay stuck in, even when hindsight tells you that’s where everything went wrong.
In a spiritual sequel to “Dead” off Madison’s debut EP, Madison buries this love inside her and dresses in black to mourn her partner being dead to her. Yes, the colour black is also present in Olivia’s outro to “purple,” where she sings:
“Melt with you ’til it all turns black, when you get so close and you can’t go back.”
“drop dead,” however, approaches the concept of angelhood by having the narrator identify her potential lover as an angel. The mention of death is in relation to romanticising the sheer attraction, treating love as something powerful enough to completely consume you.
Also, a moment of appreciation for the production of the outro/part II in “angel wings” that transforms into the next track.
Now, for one of my favourite songs—if not my favourite—on the album. It’s Madison’s bossa nova-inspired track. “for the night” is almost a self-aware prequel to Olivia’s track “the cure.” Madison, like Olivia, acknowledges that love is not what everyone made it out to be (a fix-all), and that even though she knows that deep down, the short-term antidote is appealing. The true antidote comes after experiencing your grief to the fullest, even if it takes a whole night and morning. They both know that unraveling is necessary because love won’t put you back together. It only scrambles the pieces of yourself that you were trying to figure out.
This song made me think of Olivia’s “cigarette smoke.” There is a sense of succumbing to sadness. Olivia’s tendency to quote from songs like “begged” and “honeybee” indicates an exhaustion when it comes to being self-aware about one’s choices and habits. It ends the album on a sour note, but one where it feels necessary. She is able to move on from the pain that came with the love.
The thesis statement of sadness is made explicit in Madison’s final single, “bad enough.” She knows she should let her partner go but has convinced herself the situation isn’t as bad as it could be. While this line is evocative of Olivia’s album as a whole, it was difficult finding a corresponding song. I picked “my way” because it presents a different perspective: that of an ex or individual lingering in her partner’s life. It is an antithesis in terms of the roles but the sentiment is similar in that the end is becoming more apparent. The message is finally beginning to sink in: this relationship was never sustainable.
“healthy habit” is an interlude-type track and acts as a break from the emotional turmoil. It highlights the narrator’s fears about moving on and getting involved with another person. It details temporary coping mechanisms, but underneath them lies a sense of foresight about the future. This becomes the statement in Olivia’s “expectations.” The narrator knows that what is coming will be better and does not feel shame in having expectations for what her next relationship will be like. The mistakes are not something to dwell upon, but rather context and guidance for what comes next.
“you’re still everything” and “honeybee” are unparalleled studies in sadness. They are the peak. I almost find them indescribable beyond the lyrics that capture what it means to attach your existence to someone else. There is something so raw and dominating about that, but also deeply vulnerable. The specificity of someone “going” and not “coming” has been heavily theorised. It connects to Madison’s lyrics depicting a depressive state, where she seeks sleep if her waking days cannot be spent with her lover. While “honeybee” illustrates some of the purest and most heartwarming elements of love, there is a subtle knowing and “hoping” that this will last a lifetime. But instead, this song will.
Both songs speak in first person before directly addressing their partner, asking them to know or feel how they do. Madison’s “bittersweet” summarises this, and the bridge is one of her best—please argue with the wall. “stupid song” to me similarly feels like a bittersweet feeling. It’s not about vocalising all-consuming desire. It’s almost denouncing it or questioning the intensity. She is saying the love is more than what any “stupid” love song can depict.
Sonically, “complexity” is the most video game-esque of all this album. Madison also recreates a jangle from the television series Severance. However, in terms of the storytelling, it reframes personal baggage and what one might perceive as flaws into just one of the many parts that make our narrator who they are. “maggots for brains” takes on a weirder, more eerie visual of what it’s like inside of the narrator’s head when they are mourning a lover. Even while both fixate on the people who leave, at the end of the day they are left with themselves, and that is the best place to start again.
“make you mine” was essentially born via C-section, months before it was scheduled. In other words, it was a song written and produced ahead of Beer’s The Spinnin Tour as a gift to fans. It earned Beer a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Pop Recording, ultimately losing to the “Von Dutch” remix. The track was a reset and led us all to think Madison is going down the electronic/dance-pop route. While she didn’t, it gave us a crowd-pleaser that I had the pleasure of seeing live in 2024. It captured the psychosis of having a crush and putting them up on a pedestal.
As for “u + me = <3,” there is a restrained nature to that feeling, and there is a melancholy attached to the concept of “forever” being a delusion or wish that was not fulfilled. It represents a desire to remain stagnant even though you know forever is not something you can ask for or try to maintain. Rather, it happens organically and creeps up on you.
“nothing at all” bookends Madison’s album and leaves the listener questioning the security of good things: whether they endure or simply happen in the spaces between painful experiences. It also continues the tradition of Madison’s albums ending with tracks that have the word “everything” or “nothing.” In other words, love is all or nothing.
As for Olivia’s tracks, “begged” feels underrated as it reframes the entire relationship as being something you had to work hard for. It was never a matter of giving and receiving unconditionally. And that’s not something you can keep turning a blind eye to. “what’s wrong with me” understands that the narrator is feeding into this recurring questioning and holding onto something that is fleeting or something that was and is no longer. It isn’t about ascribing self-blame but acknowledging that only you can know when a situation doesn’t feel right, and that your spiraling may signal a deeper issue at hand. I was especially delighted to see Sasha Alex Sloan’s songwriting credit for “what’s wrong with me” because I am a fan of her discography and hope that the general public eventually gets to appreciate her deep introspection and beautiful melodies.
locket (deluxe) – sadness = lovergirl
Featuring the new tracks “lovergirl,” “free,” “somehow i got lucky,” and “locket theme (extended),” locket (deluxe) reopens the locket for a healthier, loving relationship and consolidates the dark pop sound infused with other musical influences.
“It’s a big world, darlin’, I need intimacy”
This line from “free” captures that grand idea of love and intimacy as being a natural desire in a world where we need connection. It is not afraid of showing what it looks like coming out on the other side.It also made me want Madison to fully embrace dark pop, even when the lyrics are more celebratory of restored and unconditional love.
Olivia, where to?
Olivia is continuing to promote and embark on the Unravelled Tour. She is breaking records left, right and centre. She has begun the Daisy Chain Fields Festival, an all-women and non-binary music festival, and released a single titled “serena joy,” with all proceeds going towards women’s rights organisations and charities. We all know her third album will have longevity and continue to resonate with listeners. Whether a deluxe or something else comes next, who knows? But for both casual and day-one Olivia listeners, it is safe to say that this album felt more resonant and grounded. It captures the trials and tribulations of love for anyone who has experienced any form of love in their lifetime, not just romantic love.
I also want to have it on record that Olivia’s best song is “Can’t Catch Me Now” from the Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes soundtrack. “I’m higher than the hopes that you brought down” is an all-timer lyric.
Love, actually
Girl falls in love. Girl gets her heart broken. It’s a tale as old as time.
But in both explorations lies a maturity in deconstructing how the girl in love behaves. Neither exploration focuses solely on the partner’s love, mistakes or departure. It is what they begin to piece together. It is what leads up to the breakup and what happens after the breakup. The girl mourns the love she once fought for, and does not let go of her desire to love and be loved. Both albums unlock the past one last time, turning the key back before finally closing the door behind them.
If I had to pick my top three songs off each album, I would pick “for the night,” “make you mine,” and “free” from Madison and “honeybee,” “purple,” and “less” from Olivia. It is ultimately about the melancholy of love and how to unlearn the comfort of sitting in that. But then again, as Madison sings, “it’s hard to explain like colors and pain.”
That’s why love songs live on—all their complexities demand to be unpacked. There will never be clear-cut answers, only eternal questions about how to navigate love’s rocky road.
That’s the name and game of love.