It was already clear Olivia Rodrigo is in full feminist mode these days, with her all-female music festival, Daisy Chain Fields, set to take place in California’s Orange County next Saturday. But it’s perhaps even clearer now that Rodrigo is releasing a non-album track, “Serena Joy,” named after a prominent character in “The Handmaid’s Tale” who comes to regret her complicity with a repressive patriarchy.
“Serena Joy” was released Friday as a very limited-edition CD single, with only 500 units pressed, all of them available exclusively at a single record store, Analog Music Shop in Tustin, Calif. (The store reported Friday night that all 500 copies had sold through.)
Of course, the song won’t be heard exclusively in Orange County CD players for long. Analog Music Shop — which so far seems to be the only source of official information about the track — reported that Rodrigo’s plan is to send it out wide to the world on Monday.
The existence of a song titled “Serena Joy” had already been confirmed by Rodrigo in June, after fans spotted the title in a studio photograph listing 18 songs that were under consideration for her “You Look Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love” album.
Asked about it in a video interview with Etalk two months ago, Rodrigo smiled and said, “I actually really love [“Serena Joy”]. It didn’t fit on the album. The record was very much a chronicle of a relationship — beginning, middle and end. But I hope that it’ll be a part of something else down the line.”
