Song · Olivia Rodrigo
“brutal” by Olivia Rodrigo
From the album SOUR (2021)
“brutal” by Olivia Rodrigo appears on 6 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 2021 and 2025. It was first released in 2021 on the album SOUR. Its best result is #3 on The Current Top 89 Songs of 2021. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #150 alternative song of 2021.
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Video from YouTube (OliviaRodrigoVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"brutal" tears through Olivia Rodrigo's 2021 debut album SOUR, a blast of brash electric guitars and pounding drums that swaps the heartbreak ballad for pop-punk snarl. Rodrigo wrote it with Dan Nigro, who produced, recorded and plays guitars and synth, with Erick Serna on bass and guitar, Ryan Linvill on Wurlitzer and Paul Cartwright on violin and viola. The words vent a teenager's fears and frustrations about being shoved toward adulthood, and she spits them out with real bite.
It became the album's fifth and final single, sent to Italian radio in September 2021, and its video leans hard on retro video-game visuals to act out that teenage angst. It reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and went all the way to the top of the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 75 | WRNR 103.1 Annapolis, MD | WRNR Top 103.1 Songs of 2021 | 104 |
| 2021 | 3 | The Current Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | The Current Top 89 Songs of 2021 | 89 |
| 2021 | 64 | 90.9 The Bridge Kansas City, MO | 90.9 The Bridge Top 90 Songs of 2021 | 90 |
| 2021 | 59 | Impact 89FM Lansing, MI | Impact 89FM Top 89 Songs of 2021 | 89 |
| 2021 | 60 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2021 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 220 | The Current | 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now | 893 |
Also listed as: Brutal.
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