Olivia Rodrigo, Conan Gray reflect on giving each other ‘bad advice’

Olivia Rodrigo and Conan Gray may have a close friendship and undeniable chemistry, but when it comes to giving each other music advice, they admit they don’t always get it right.

In a new conversation for Interview magazine, Rodrigo, 22, revealed that the two have a history of steering one another away from songs that later became major hits. 

“We notoriously give each other bad advice sometimes about samples,” she laughed, recalling when Gray played her Memories from his 2022 album Superache.

“Everyone loved it. And I remember hearing it for the first time being like, ‘I just think you have better songs.’” That track went on to become the album’s biggest hit.

Gray, 26, had his own example. 

When Rodrigo was preparing to release her 2023 album Guts, she played him Vampire and thought it was a strong contender for a single. 

“And he’s like, ‘Not for a first single,’” Rodrigo remembered. “We’re notoriously wrong about each other’s songs. We’re just too close to it and can’t see the forest of the trees.”

Their musical banter is all in good fun, though, and Rodrigo shared that Gray still has fans in her household. 

“My mom’s such a huge Conan fan. My whole family, actually. They travel miles to see you in concert,” she told him, while Gray revealed that her mother had always liked his song Vodka Cranberry.

The interview comes shortly after Gray released his latest album Wishbone on August 15. 

Back in May, he described the project on Instagram as one that reminded him “of who I am, at an experimental time in my twenties.”

Rodrigo and Gray’s friendship began years ago, bonded by their shared love for music and producer Dan Nigro. 

“We’re just pals and I think he’s so brilliant,” Rodrigo said in a 2021 interview with Capital FM. Gray has also been vocal about his admiration for her, telling PEOPLE in 2022 that she’s “a wonderful person and a very, very talented songwriter.”

Their support for each other often plays out publicly. 

When Rodrigo released Vampire last year, Gray celebrated with an Instagram photo dump, including a shot of himself posing in front of the single’s cover art. 

In the comments on her own post about the release, he joked, “edward and bela would be so proud,” nodding to Twilight’s iconic couple.