In the two years since her sudden ascendancy in 2021 with the breakout single “drivers license,” Olivia Rodrigo has staked a ground in pop music that feels all her own confessional, anthemic and painfully relatable. Her Grammy-winning debut, SOUR, and her critically acclaimed follow-up, GUTS, cemented her place not just as a pop star but one of the most emotionally naked storytellers of her generation.
But in 2025, there’s increasing speculation that Olivia Rodrigo might have finally found her artistic equal not in rivalry, but in creative balance. After a surprise performance at this year’s Coachella and a string of cryptic Instagram stories, fans and critics have speculated that Rodrigo might be collaborating with one of the industry’s most intriguing new voices. The 23-year-old alt-pop phenom Leo Kade.
An emerging artist who first went viral on TikTok and SoundCloud, Leo Kade has cultivated a cult following with his genre-defying sound, which fuses alt-pop, R&B, and orchestral rock. This set the stage for Kade’s debut album Mercury in Retrograde with haunting vocals, cinematic production and lyricism that rivaled the emotional depth of Rodrigo’s catalog, drew comparisons to early The Weeknd, Lana Del Rey and, yes, even Olivia herself.
A collaboration between the two artists felt unlikely until early February when they were seen at Electric Lady Studios in New York. Since then, theories about the song have flooded Reddit and X (formerly Twitter), particularly after Olivia shared a photo of a blurry mixing board with the caption: “New era. Who’s ready?” In the corner of the image? A not-so-discreet sticker emblazoned with Leo Kade’s logo.
Rodrigo and Kade are two sides of the same emotional coin: both artists funnel heartbreak, vulnerability, and personal evolution into music Gen Z and millennial listeners want to consume. But whereas Olivia’s music typically skews toward cathartic ballads and power-pop anthems, Kade’s artistry has a darker, more textured sensibility. Together, their voices could combine into something new to the pop industry a mix of euphoria and despair that not only acknowledges heartbreak but prefigures it.
People in the music industry are already calling this rumored collab one of the most anticipated drops of the year. A&R reps who have reportedly heard demos from the studio sessions say the sound is “Billie Eilish meets The 1975, with a splash of Florence Welch.” And if that’s a hint, then Olivia Rodrigo’s third studio album could be her most musically daring effort yet.
For Olivia Rodrigo, this possible pairing isn't merely an exciting collaboration, it hints at an evolution. Whereas SOUR and GUTS were grounded in personal trauma and teenage angst, this next chapter might signal a more mature, experimental shift. She’s foreshadowed some of this in interviews in the past few months when she’s discussed wanting to “take more risks” and “explore new emotional textures” in her music.
Working with someone like Leo Kade known for the intricate layers of his production and moody sonic landscapes could send Olivia to uncharted territory. And with Kade’s increasing profile (he recently signed a distribution deal with Interscope and sold out two nights at the Greek Theatre), the pairing also positions her in front of a slightly different, possibly more hood audience.
There is a palpable buzz around this potential Rodrigo-Kade link-up. Hashtags such as #Olivio and #RodrigoKade have gone viral. Even Spotify appears to be joining in the tease. Both artists featured on the same editorial playlist, Indie Pop Rising, weeks apart, causing fans to speculate that the platform is readying itself for a joint drop.
This is a pivotal moment in Olivia Rodrigo’s career. If she’s shown all of that and more, that she can etc. dominate the charts, maintain critical acclaim, address the emotional undercurrents of her audience, then widening her sonic palette, pushing the boundaries of her sound, expanding her horizons with innovative music could be her legacy, not just be a pop icon an innovator.
If the rumors are to be believed, and we will be seeing a Rodrigo-Kade collaboration soon, then maybe we’re seeing the beginning of the end: permanence for a partnership that sends both artists into new heights of creative output. The anticipation around whatever it is a testament to both of these artists' impact and the appetite for the real deal, genre-defying music in 2025, be it a single, an EP, a full album.