Olivia Rodrigo has revealed the dating advice Chappell Roan gave her while they were working together in the studio. During an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe on October 15, Rodrigo said she had been telling Roan stories about difficult experiences with men when Roan responded that she should “start dating girls.” The conversation came as the pair discussed their new “expectations” remix and its accompanying video.
Olivia Rodrigo has revealed the dating advice Chappell Roan gave her while they were working together in the studio. During an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe on October 15, Rodrigo said she had been telling Roan stories about difficult experiences with men when Roan responded that she should “start dating girls.” The conversation came as the pair discussed their new “expectations” remix and its accompanying video.
The exchange happened while Rodrigo and Roan were trying to write the second verse of “expectations.” Olivia Rodrigo remembered telling her collaborator about several “crazy” things boys had done to her, which prompted Roan’s blunt reaction. Rodrigo repeated the comment with amusement, making clear that it came during a candid studio conversation rather than as a serious public declaration about her dating life.
The moment offers another glimpse into the creative relationship between the two singers, who had already become close enough to work openly and trade personal stories while writing. That familiarity matters because the remix depends on both artists bringing their own personality to the song rather than simply placing an extra vocal on top of an existing track.
“expectations” originally appeared on Rodrigo’s latest studio album, “you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love,” before being reworked with Roan. The new version was released on October 15 along with a music video that places the pair in a retro game-show setting.
The collaboration also marks Chappell Roan’s first-ever feature. For an artist who has been highly selective about how she participates in other people’s releases, that detail gives the remix extra weight and helps explain why Rodrigo described Roan’s involvement as a “dream come true.”
Olivia Rodrigo said the song itself began from a desire to write something she could repeat to herself like a mantra. She contrasted that idea with songs built mainly around describing emotions or recounting a specific situation. This time, she wanted a phrase with enough force to stay in her head and work onstage night after night.
She pointed to Kendrick Lamar’s “Sit down, be humble” as an example of the kind of direct phrase that can become impossible to forget. Olivia Rodrigo was interested in that same sense of repetition and attitude, not in copying the sound or subject of Lamar’s work.
Roan’s influence entered at that stage. Rodrigo said she was inspired by her confidence, attitude and swagger while writing “expectations.” The song therefore grew partly from the way she saw Roan carry herself as a performer, even before the two decided to release a shared version.
That makes the collaboration feel unusually connected to the song’s origin. Roan was not simply invited onto a finished idea that had nothing to do with her. Rodrigo has now explained that elements of the track were already shaped by Roan’s energy, which made her eventual appearance on the remix especially fitting.
For Roan, the second verse also had another importance. She said she appreciated being able to bring a fully queer perspective into a major pop collaboration and noted that not every artist would necessarily be comfortable giving that space to a guest verse.
Roan told Rodrigo that the decision said something about her support for queerness as well as her broader approach to female pop collaboration. She described the result as feminist and connected that quality directly to Rodrigo’s personality.
The comment adds context to the dating joke from the studio. What began as a funny reaction to Rodrigo’s stories about men eventually sits alongside a remix in which Roan is able to contribute a verse from her own perspective without softening or disguising that point of view.
Nothing in the interview suggests that Olivia Rodrigo was making an announcement about her own sexuality or changing how she publicly identifies. The anecdote was presented as a humorous piece of dating advice from a friend and collaborator, and the significance of the exchange lies more in their chemistry than in any attempt to define Rodrigo’s private life.
That distinction is worth keeping clear because the quote is easy to pull away from its original context. Rodrigo was recounting a studio memory while explaining how the song came together, not using the interview to announce a new relationship or make a personal identity statement.
The broader conversation also shows how much of “expectations” was built through personality. Olivia Rodrigo wanted something more assertive than a straightforward emotional diary entry, while Roan’s confidence became part of the creative reference point.
Olivia Rodrigo has often written in a highly personal style, with songs that focus on romantic disappointment, jealousy, insecurity and the details of relationships. “expectations” appears to push those instincts toward a more declarative form, giving her a line and attitude she can inhabit rather than simply narrate.
That shift also explains why the remix benefits from Roan. Her stage persona is strongly associated with confidence, theatricality and directness, so her presence reinforces the qualities Rodrigo said she wanted the song to have from the beginning.
The music video extends that dynamic. Instead of presenting the pair in a serious or intimate setting, it puts them into a stylized retro game-show concept, allowing their personalities to bounce off each other visually as well as vocally.
The collaboration arrives during an important period for both artists. Rodrigo’s album “you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in June, extending the commercial run of a career that has moved quickly from breakout success to arena-level pop status.
Roan, meanwhile, has remained selective with releases following “The Subway” in 2025. Her appearance on “expectations” is therefore notable not only because of the friendship behind it but because she had not previously appeared as a featured artist on someone else’s track.
That first-feature status changes the shape of the remix. Rather than feeling like a routine deluxe-edition addition, it becomes a specific meeting between two artists whose public images overlap in some areas but remain distinct.
Olivia Rodrigo’s explanation also makes clear that she was not looking for Roan simply because of her popularity. She had already taken inspiration from Roan’s attitude during the writing process, and their studio conversations had become part of the song’s development.
The dating story is the funniest example of that closeness. Rodrigo remembered opening up about the behavior of men she had encountered, only for Roan to respond with a solution that was immediate, blunt and completely in character.
That humor helps explain why the anecdote has attracted attention, but the more revealing part is how comfortable the two appear to be with each other. Their collaboration was built in a room where personal stories, jokes and songwriting were all happening at the same time.
For Olivia Rodrigo, “expectations” ultimately became the kind of song she originally wanted: something with a repeated attitude strong enough to function almost like self-instruction. Roan’s contribution gives that idea another voice and another perspective without changing the song’s core purpose.
The remix therefore connects several parts of the same story. Rodrigo wanted a mantra, drew inspiration from Roan’s confidence, shared personal dating stories with her in the studio and eventually invited her onto the finished release.
The result is a collaboration that feels rooted in an actual creative friendship rather than a marketing pairing. Roan’s “start dating girls” advice may be the line people remember from the interview, but behind it is a clearer picture of how two pop artists pushed each other toward a more confident version of the song.