"Expectations" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo from her third studio album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love. Rodrigo and Amy Allen wrote it alongside Dan Nigro, who produced it with Mike Wise. The song became available as the album's twelfth track on June 12, 2026, when it was released by Geffen Records.
Contents
Background
In March 2026, Olivia Rodrigo described the thematic direction of her third studio album in an interview with British Vogue. She stated that the album predominantly features "sad love songs", explaining that many of her favorite romantic tracks derive their appeal from an undercurrent of fear or longing. The album takes inspiration from Rodrigo's time in London. Multiple tracks on the album are said to reference the relationship of Sex and the City characters Miranda Hobbes and Steve Brady. On April 2, 2026, the album title was unveiled after being painted on a pink wall in Los Angeles and hinted with the final word in the album title in many cities. Rodrigo continued her collaboration with Dan Nigro, who returned to be the album's producer. Rodrigo released "Drop Dead" as the lead single on April 17, 2026. A second song from the album, called "Begged", was performed on Saturday Night Live on May 2, 2026.
Speaking of the album's conception and the influence of Sex and the City on the tracks, Rodrigo stated: "Like, when Miranda and Steve are getting back together, she's crying. 'Steve, anytime something funny happens, I just want to tell you.' And I remember watching that and being like, 'Oh, my God, I have to write a song about this.'" You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love features thirteen tracks, of which "Expectations" appears as the twelfth.
Composition
"Expectations" is 3 minutes and 41 seconds long, and largely takes the G mixolydian mode as its tonality. It has been described as a new wave, synth-pop, baroque pop, dance-punk, and electropop song. Nigro and Mike Wise produced, engineered, and programmed the song. Nigro provided drum programming and played bass and guitar; Wise played guitar; and Sterling Laws played drums. Mitch McCarthy mixed the song, and Randy Merrill mastered it. Bustle's Jake Viswanath stated that Rodrigo "gets dancier than ever before" on the song "over groovy synths and '80s guitars".
The second-last track on You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, which follows the sentimental breakup song "Less", "Expectations" details Rodrigo's return to dating in Los Angeles after the relationship's end and the new expectations she sets up for potential suitors. In the first verse, she recounts an encounter with a privileged and wealthy man before revealing that she has blocked his number: "He wasn't smart or funny / I convinced myself he was". Subsequently, Rodrigo outlines her romantic non-negotiables, rejecting "passive" men and a "guy with a fake job". She also derides an ex as indecisive, which some critics believe alludes to the regrets expressed on the album's closing track, "Cigarette Smoke".
Critical reception
Ranking it as the 11th-best song on You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl in Love, Billboard's Hannah Dailey thought that it is "a fun release that comes toward the end of the album following a long run of emotional heaviness, with Rodrigo trying out blooming, grated '80s synths and flexing the speak-sing technique she perfected on Guts' "Bad Idea, Right?" in the second verse". Julyssa Lopez of Rolling Stone noted that the song has an "electro-funhouse twitchiness" which "feels like it sprouted from a seed planted by the B-52s, adds another layer, keeping the listener on their toes". Alex Rigotti of NME wrote: "Thank god we have 'Expectations' to lift our spirits, which find the singer in a fit of dance-punk mania and post-breakup delusion". Tom Breihan of Stereogum described the song as a "pulsing new wave rager" that's incandescent in its bitterness, with an electropop bassline that evokes Devo and The Human League. Heven Haile of Pitchfork called the song a contender for 2026 song of the summer.
Commercial performance
"Expectations" debuted at number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 issued for June 27, 2026. In Canada, the song entered at number 21 on the Canadian Hot 100 on the chart for the same date. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number 56 on the UK Singles Chart. In Australia, "Expectations" debuted at number 14. The song entered at number 16 in New Zealand. It debuted at number 19 on the Billboard Global 200. "Expectations" also charted at number 11 on Sweden Heatseeker, number 22 in Singapore, and number 24 in Portugal.
Credits and personnel
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love.
Dan Nigro – producer, songwriter, engineer, bass, drum programming, guitar, programming, background vocals
Mike Wise – producer, engineer, guitar, programming
Olivia Rodrigo – vocals, background vocals, songwriter
Amy Allen – songwriter
Sterling Laws – drums
Randy Merrill – mastering
Mitch McCarthy – mixing