The Story Behind Their “Expectations” Remix

Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan have finally joined forces—and it’s everything fans hoped for. On October 15, 2026, the two pop stars released a remix of “expectations,” a track from Rodrigo’s chart-topping third album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love. The collaboration marks Roan’s first-ever guest feature and Rodrigo’s second-ever official duet, making it a rare and significant moment for both artists.

The remix arrived with a star-studded music video featuring Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, and it’s already being called one of the year’s most exciting pop collaborations.

From Tour Mates to Chart-Topping Collaborators

The partnership between Rodrigo and Roan is years in the making. The two first connected when Roan served as an opening act on Rodrigo’s Sour Tour and Guts World Tour. As Roan’s star skyrocketed—thanks to hits like “Good Luck, Babe!” and “The Subway”—she returned to the Guts stage to perform “Hot to Go!” with Rodrigo. In August 2026, the duo reunited again at Daisy Chain Fields, the women-led festival Rodrigo founded to raise funds for charities supporting women and girls. The event raised $20 million for nonprofit organizations including Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Their friendship, built on mutual respect and shared experiences navigating pop stardom, made the collaboration feel inevitable. As Rodrigo put it, “Chappell is the most incredible person and the most inspiring artist and I am so lucky to be able to learn from her and call her a friend”.

The Song That Was Always Meant for Roan

“expectations” was released earlier this year as part of Rodrigo’s third studio album, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 485,000 equivalent album units—the biggest opening week for a solo artist in 2026. The original track, a synth-driven new wave anthem about dating underwhelming men and deciding to raise your standards, debuted at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 2026.

But here’s the twist: Roan was in the song’s DNA from the very beginning. Rodrigo revealed that she was inspired by Roan’s “attitude and swagger” while writing the original track. “When I made the song, I was really inspired by Chappell and the attitude and swagger that she had,” Rodrigo said. The collaboration brought that inspiration full circle.

“I Love Making Things a Little Gay”: Roan’s New Verse

Roan’s contribution to the remix isn’t just a verse—it’s a complete perspective shift. While Rodrigo’s original lyrics address a series of unimpressive male suitors, Roan’s new verse flips the script entirely, singing about being ghosted by a woman she took on a date.

“She said she’d call me later, that was three weeks ago. Classic LA behaviour, (she could’ve just said no),” Roan sings.

In an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Roan explained her approach: “I love making things a little gay. It was fun to just be like, they’re all wives”. She called the collaboration “the perfect fit” for her first-ever feature, praising Rodrigo’s songwriting for tackling a “pretty difficult concept within a pop song”.

The inspiration for the verse came from a real conversation in the studio. Rodrigo recalled telling Roan about the “crazy stuff that boys have done to me,” to which Roan responded, “Oh my god, you need to start dating girls. This is crazy”. Roan later admitted that the specific story in her verse was made up—but the experience of being ghosted was real: “When I was dating boys is when I got ghosted”.

Roan also reflected on what it meant for Rodrigo to embrace a fully queer verse. “I don’t know if everyone would be down to have a fully queer verse on their song,” she said. “I think that says a lot about your support for queerness… It feels very feminist to me, but that is so you”.

The Music Video: A Retro Game Show Spectacle

Directed by Bardia Zeinali, the music video is a campy, nostalgia-soaked tribute to classic TV game shows. It pits Rodrigo and Roan against each other on “The Big Expectations Show,” a fictional 1970s-style competition inspired by shows like The Price Is Right and Family Feud.

The video features multiple retro game show segments, including “Sister Squabble,” a spoof of Family Feud that sees the two stars going head-to-head with their “families”. David Byrne steals the show as the fictional host Johnny Johnson, bringing his signature deadpan charm to the role.

Rodrigo revealed that Byrne’s cameo was her idea. “I asked him to do a cameo and I was a little bit sheepish obviously because I always feel shy asking people for favors, but he was so down,” she said. Byrne arrived with a fully developed character and spent the day improvising. “There’s so many outtakes we have of him just improvising and riffing and he was so into it,” Rodrigo added. “I was like, ‘Gosh, David, maybe he should be an actor too one of these days. He’s very multi-talented'”.

The video also includes a cameo from producer Daniel Nigro, who has worked extensively with both artists. The remix itself was produced by Nigro, continuing his prolific partnership with both Rodrigo and Roan.

A Full-Circle Friendship

For both artists, the collaboration represents more than just a career milestone—it’s a celebration of a friendship that has grown through the highs and lows of pop stardom. Roan described having Rodrigo as a friend as “so grounding,” adding that working together feels “full circle and wholesome and real”. Rodrigo called Roan a “resource and a support system and confidant” in an industry that can be difficult to navigate while growing up in public. “So yeah, now we have a song together that’s like the cherry on top”.

Roan also spoke about what the collaboration represents for a generation of songwriters. “I feel like it represents a generation of songwriters that are just really thinking about their lyrics,” she said. “I felt like with this song, I was like, ‘Wow, it’s so cool that she is putting a pretty difficult concept within the pop song,’ which is my favorite pop songs ever”.

Where to Find the Remix

The “expectations” remix featuring Chappell Roan is available now on all major streaming platforms. For collectors, limited-edition physical formats are also available, including a “LA Behavior” blue 7-inch vinyl, CDs, and cassettes.

The release comes as Rodrigo continues her sold-out Unraveled Tour, which has already sold more than 1 million tickets worldwide. Roan, meanwhile, is preparing for her two-day fundraiser in Los Angeles, The Super Graphic Spectacular and The Super Graphic Block Party, with proceeds benefiting her Midwest Princess Project supporting trans youth and LGBTQ+ communities.

The “expectations” remix

 is more than just a collaboration between two of pop’s biggest stars—it’s a testament to a friendship built on mutual respect, creative chemistry, and a shared commitment to pushing pop music forward. Roan’s queer reimagining of the song’s second verse adds a new dimension to an already sharp-witted track, and the game-show music video is a joyful, campy celebration of everything both artists bring to the table.

As Rodrigo put it, “Getting to make art with people you love is the best feeling ever”. With this remix, that feeling is unmistakable—and fans are the ones who get to enjoy the results.