Pop
After teaming up with The Cure's Robert Smith, who will Olivia Rodrigo collaborate with next?
Olivia Rodrigo has released her first song featuring another artist, What's Wrong With Me with Robert Smith, but who else does she want to collaborate with?
Olivia Rodrigo has finally stepped into the world of musical collaborations - and she did it with a legend.
Her new track What’s Wrong With Me, featuring The Cure’s Robert Smith, marks the first time the 23‑year‑old star has ever shared a song credit with another artist, opening a brand‑new chapter in her career.
The duet appears on her third album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, and its arrival has sparked a wave of speculation about who might be next on Rodrigo’s wish list.
Until now, she’s built her catalogue entirely on her own voice, her own pen, and her own perspective - making this first collaboration feel like a deliberate turning point.
“I’m open to all types of collaboration”
In a recent conversation with Dazed, Rodrigo was asked whether she’d ever consider teaming up with fellow pop powerhouse Sabrina Carpenter.
Her response was playful but telling: “Oh, gosh… I mean, I’m open. I’m open to all types of collaboration.”
She was equally enthusiastic when the topic of Lorde came up, calling the New Zealand star “amazing” and crediting Pure Heroine as a major influence on her own songwriting.
She said: “I love the new record she put out."
But when Rodrigo named the artists she personally dreams of working with, her answers skewed more alternative than mainstream. She cited PJ Harvey and Fiona Apple - two artists known for their rawness, intensity and uncompromising creative identities.
She said: “I’ve been listening to a lot of PJ Harvey lately. And Fiona Apple.
“I think those two were just doing something so special and raw and unfiltered. I would love to meet and hang with them.”
A dream realised with Robert Smith
Her collaboration with Robert Smith still feels surreal to her - and she hasn’t been shy about saying so.
During her Primavera Sound set, Rodrigo became emotional while introducing the track.
She told the crowd: “I can’t believe this song exists with the person that it exists with.
“I’m just so f****** over the moon… I feel like I’m gonna cry. I can’t believe that’s a thing that happened in the real world and not just a figment of my imagination.”
For an artist who grew up idolising the emotional intensity of ’90s and ’00s alt‑rock, working with Smith is more than a feature - it’s a milestone.
What comes next?
With her first collaboration now out in the world, Rodrigo has cracked open a door she’d kept firmly shut for her first two albums. Whether she leans toward pop contemporaries like Carpenter and Lorde or follows her instincts toward artists like Harvey and Apple, her next move is wide open - and fans are already watching closely.
