Olivia Rodrigo and Conan Gray Open Up About the ‘Bad’ Music Advice They’ve Given Each Other

The two superstars sat down for an intimate chat with ‘Interview’ magazine.

Olivia Rodrigo and Conan Gray / JC Olivera/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images

Olivia Rodrigo and Conan Gray recently sat down with Interview magazine, where they chatted about Gray’s latest album, Wishbone, which was just released on Friday, Aug. 15.

During the one-on-one, the famous friends shared some surprising insights into their music-making processes—as well as some of the “notoriously bad advice” they’ve given each other over the years regarding their music.

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Per PEOPLE, the pair became close in 2021 while bonding over their shared love of Taylor Swift’s music. However—as they noted in their Interview piece—it wasn’t smooth sailing from the start, since Gray ignored Rodrigo’s initial text message request to hang out, mistaking her for a different “Olivia” from back in his hometown.

“I was like, ‘God, he f***ing hates me. I don’t even warrant a response,’” Rodrigo joked as Gray detailed the story. But once the confusion was cleared up, the pair’s sweet friendship took off at full speed, and they continue to support and celebrate each other to this day.

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For their Interview magazine chat, Rodrigo steered the conversation, covering everything from touring to songwriting to life in the spotlight.

Still, perhaps the most surprising moment to come out of the piece was the artists’ mutual admission that, in the past, they’ve given each other some seriously “bad advice” when it came to picking out which songs from their respective albums should be singles. After Gray asked Rodrigo, “What was the most surprising part of this album to you?” Rodrigo delved deeper into this phenomenon.

“Maybe this is too much information to be giving, but we notoriously give each other bad advice sometimes about samples,” Rodrigo candidly shared after praising Gray’s latest album. "On Superache, you played me ‘Memories,’ which turned out to be the biggest hit on the album. Everyone loved it. And I remember hearing it for the first time being like, ‘I just think you have better songs.’”

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And according to the friends, that “bad advice” habit goes both ways, as Gray had a similar reaction when he first heard the wildly popular lead single off Rodrigo’s third album for the first time.

“When I played you Guts, I played you ‘Vampire’ and I was like, ‘Isn’t this good?’ And he’s like, ‘Not for a first single,’” the singer said. Gray then confirmed this reaction, adding, “I was like, ‘It’s okay.’”

Still, this difference in taste never gets in the way of the pair’s friendship, with the two going on to reveal that even Rodrigo’s mother is a fan of Gray’s music. “My mom’s such a huge Conan fan,” Rodrigo added. “My whole family, actually. They travel miles to see you in concert.”

Be sure to check out Conan Gray’s latest album, Wishbone!

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