Island Records 17-year old singer and songwriter Olivia O’Brien, whose self-composed RIAA triple-platinum smash collaboration with gnash, “i hate u i love u” is approaching 1 billion worldwide streams, releases the music video for her new single “RIP.”
“I wrote RIP about when someone you love or someone who is important to you suddenly switches up and it feels like you don’t even know them anymore,” says Olivia. “Whether they get caught up in the scene or just make all new friends and forget about you, it sucks and (if you’re dramatic, like me) it can feel like the version of them that you know and love is actually dead. I think that’s something a lot of people have been through and I can’t wait to hear about how people relate situations in their own lives to the one that I went through when Drew and I wrote this song.”
“RIP” was co-written by Olivia and Drew MacDonald and produced by Nic Nac and DaviDior (producers of DJ Khaled’s “I’m The One”). The single builds on the momentum of previously released tracks “Trust Issues”(over 9 million streams); “Find What You’re Looking For” (10 million streams); “Root Beer Float” (featuring blackbear); the original “hate u love u”; and “Empty.”
Olivia is the mastermind behind the smash hit “i hate u i love u.” She wrote the lyrics for the track in her bedroom when she was 15. First titled “hate u love u,” her original version preceded and inspired the gnash collabo. That original version by Olivia was finally released on Island in December 2016, and has netted more than 12.5 million streams.
Raised in Napa Valley, Olivia O’Brien has been singing and writing songs since she was seven years old, and taught herself to play both the guitar and piano. She began posting her originals on SoundCloud for fun, not thinking anything would come of it, until gnash reached out on Twitter last year after she posted a cover of one of his songs. When he asked her if she had any original material, Olivia sent him a voice-note of the beginnings of “i hate u i love u” and he invited her down to L.A. to record. “i hate u, i love u” is a global phenom since 2015. It became a Top 5 hit in the U.S. where it is certified RIAA triple-platinum, #1 in Australia (double-platinum), Top 10 UK (platinum), and Top 5 on iTunes in more than 50 markets.
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