Olivia Rodrigo has surprise-released a new song inspired by The Handmaid’s Tale, titled ‘Serena Joy’.
The track has been made available exclusively through a limited run of 500 CDs sold only at the Analog Record Shop in Tustin, California, which is located around eight miles from Irvine’s Great Park, which will be the site of Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields festival next Saturday (August 29).
All 500 copies sold out on Friday (August 21), and it is expected that the track will receive a wider streaming and digital release on Monday (August 24), although Rodrigo has not confirmed this.
Analog Record Shop posted on Friday: “We have a surprise. When we heard that Olivia Rodrigo was bringing an all-women music festival to Orange County, we were honestly just excited to see something this special happening right here in our hometown.”
“As one of the closest record stores in the area, we wanted to find a way to support Daisy Chain Fields. We knew Olivia had a track record of supporting record stores, but we were still taken aback when we heard the news: Olivia is releasing a new song ahead of Daisy Chain Fields called ‘Serena Joy’, and she wants the physical CD copies to be exclusively sold at Analog Record Shop.”
“And the best part,” they continued. “She’s giving it to us 3 DAYS before anyone else can hear it. Three days early.”
The song takes its title from Serena Joy Waterford, the central character in Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale, who helps establish the patriarchal Gilead regime only to find herself deprived of rights and freedoms by the system she promoted.
Rodrigo recorded the song during the sessions for her third album ‘You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love’, which was released in June, but it did not make the final record’s tracklist.
NME gave the new album a four-and-a-half-star review, writing: “More than any other Rodrigo album, you feel emotionally spent by the end of ‘You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love’, but in the best way possible. This must be the most fully realised journey Rodrigo’s taken us on – an impressive feat, considering how quickly she had to rewrite songs here in light of her break-up.”
“Here is a major popstar who is not afraid to get weirder and more wonderful, to give even more of themselves over in their art. ‘You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love’ is undeniable evidence of Rodrigo’s growth: as a songwriter, composer, and as a human being.”
Daisy Chain Fields will feature performances from Chappell Roan, Doechii, Mitski, Bikini Kill, Garbage, The Breeders, KATSEYE, Santigold and more, and Rodrigo will close the event with a set featuring special guests.
The schedule contains no overlapping performances, and proceeds will support organisations advocating for women and girls.
Rodrigo will also begin her ‘Unraveled’ world tour in North America next month, before arriving in the UK and Europe in 2027. Ticketmaster recently cancelled tickets acquired by suspected touts for the shows, making them available to fans again at face value.
The post Olivia Rodrigo surprise releases ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’-inspired new song ‘Serena Joy’ on limited edition CD appeared first on NME.
