South Korean singer Choi Ye-Na, known by her stage name YENA, clarified the meaning of her upcoming song “Hate Rodrigo” which is inspired by American singer and songwriter Olivia Rodrigo.
YENA’s name has been circulating on social media after announcing the title track of her upcoming single album Hate XX, “Hate Rodrigo,” featuring (G)I-DLE’s Yuqi out on June 27th.
Fans are quick to point out that the song is a direct reference to the “driver’s license” singer Olivia Rodrigo, whose debut album SOUR aesthetic-core heavily influenced the music video teaser of YENA’s song.
The fans are wondering if the song is meant to be a ‘diss track’ towards the American singer, because of the heavy usage of the word “hate” on the title alongside the name of Rodrigo.
However, in an interview with Jonathan Thona at his The K Star Next Door show, YENA clarified that the song is not about literally “hating” Rodrigo – she mentioned that she actually loves the singer and admitted how she was “jealous” of how she “shines.”
YENA pointed out that she intently says that she “hates” Rodrigo, but only to express her jealousy toward the singer and not to say that she actually hated her.
Yuehua Entertainment, YENA’s agency, also released a statement regarding the issue saying that “Hate Rodrigo” is a song “that expresses the cute jealousy of “I hate all the kids who are better than me!” – which is a similar concept to Rodrigo’s song “jealousy, jealousy,” making the song more of a homage to the singer rather than a ‘diss track.’
This is not the first time YENA has been linked to Rodrigo – YENA’s “Lxxk 2 U” from her debut EP SMILEY was often compared to Rodrigo’s “good 4 u” for its similarity in lyricism and title.
Hate XX will mark her comeback after the release of her single album “Love War” in January 2023 – as such, this will be her fourth music endeavor as a solo artist after the promotion of the project group IZ*ONE ended on April 2021.
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