Olivia Rodrigo calls plagiarism accusations 'disappointing' after she gave 'Good 4 U' songwriting credits to Paramore

• Olivia Rodrigo discussed using older songs in her new music in a Teen Vogue cover story.
• She has been accused of unoriginality after giving songwriting credits to Paramore and Taylor Swift.
• "Every single artist is inspired by artists who have come before them," the teenager said.

Olivia Rodrigo recently addressed critics of her music, who often slam her hit songs as unoriginal.

In a new cover story for Teen Vogue, the 18-year-old "Drivers License" singer said the criticism is "tricky" to discuss, but that taking cues from other artists and using older songs in new music are very common practices.

"What's so beautiful about music is that it can be so inspired by music that's come out in the past," Rodrigo told reporter P. Claire Dodson. "Every single artist is inspired by artists who have come before them. It's sort of a fun, beautiful sharing process."

"Nothing in music is ever new," she continued. "There's four chords in every song. That's the fun part - trying to make that your own."

Rodrigo has been vocal about her songwriting influences, particularly Taylor Swift, who was originally listed as a cowriter on "1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back," the fourth track on Rodrigo's acclaimed debut album "Sour."

The ballad interpolates the piano line from Swift's 2017 album closer "New Year's Day," written by Swift and her frequent collaborator, Jack Antonoff.

As Dodson explains, interpolation is "when you record part of a song created by someone else and use it in a new way," as opposed to the copy-and-paste act known as sampling. Interpolation typically requires permission from whoever wrote the composition, who are also entitled to a share of royalties.

More recently, Swift and Antonoff were retroactively listed as cowriters on Rodrigo's sophomore single "Deja Vu," which was inspired by "Cruel Summer," a fan-favorite track from Swift's 2019 album "Lover."

Shortly after, the credits for Rodrigo's third single "Good 4 U" were updated to include members of Paramore. The No. 1 smash hit had drawn consistent comparisons to Paramore's beloved "Misery Business," the lead single from the band's 2007 album "Riot!"

Rodrigo has remained largely silent about these retroactive additions, which have emboldened critics who claim her music is derivative at best and plagiaristic at worse.

But in a follow-up phone call with Dodson, Rodrigo said that she didn't address the controversy "as truthfully as [she] could have" in their original interview.

"I think it's disappointing to see people take things out of context and discredit any young woman's work," Rodrigo said. "But at the end of the day I'm just really proud and happy to say that my job is being a songwriter."

"All music is inspired by each other," she added. "Obviously, I write all of my lyrics from my heart and my life first. I came up with the lyrics and the melody for 'Good 4 U' one morning in the shower."

She also said it's "frustrating" to see young women in the industry held to a higher standard, particularly when it comes to keeping a squeaky-clean reputation.

"It's really toxic for young girls to open their Snapchat app and see the articles about young women who are just sharing their art and existing in the world, and watching them being torn apart for doing absolutely nothing," she said.