Olivia O'Brien

Biography

Olivia Gail O'Brien (born November 26, 1999) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her guest appearance on Gnash's 2016 single "I Hate U, I Love U", which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its success led her to sign with Island Records; the label released two extended plays, three mixtapes, and her debut studio album Was It Even Real?×Was It Even Real?26 April 2019 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1purpleworld3:082I Don’t Exist3:233Inhibition (omw)3:254Just Friends2:135We Lied to Each Other3:356UDK3:087Care Less More2:568Just a Boy3:389Call Me!!!3:3510Love Myself3:33 (2019). In 2024, she formed the independent label Girlhood Records and released the EPs Love & Limerence and Everywhere I Go, There I Am. O'Brien signed with Gamma for the release of her second studio album Pixie×PIXIE17 July 2026 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Dream Girl3:242Icarus4:253I Always Say I'm Leaving3:554Guest3:345The Masochist3:406Take What You Need3:337Written by a Man2:538Goodman3:519Quarter Century Blues4:1310Girl, Just Be Alone!2:5311I Would Call but I Don’t Hate Myself Anymore3:3212I'm Perfect2:3713I Can Do Whatever I Want2:5214Imaginary3:4315Heaven3:04 (2026).

Early life

Olivia Gail O'Brien was born on November 26, 1999, in Thousand Oaks, California. She has been singing since she was seven years old, and taught herself to play guitar and piano. She attended Justin-Siena High School in Napa, California. She also skipped third grade and attended Montessori and Catholic schools in her youth. O'Brien also was bullied as a teenager, some of it stemming from her social class and the fact she was creating music.

2013–2019: Breakthrough and Was It Even Real?

O'Brien initially gained the attention of Gnash after posting a cover of one of his songs on SoundCloud. Gnash contacted O'Brien and asked her to send him original material. She subsequently sent him a voice note of her original song, "I Hate U, I Love U", and he invited her to record the song with him in Los Angeles. Released in March 2016, the song appeared on Gnash's third EP, Us. The single peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one in Australia. Thereafter, O'Brien signed with Island Records and released her debut solo single, "Trust Issues×Trust Issues12 August 2016 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Trust Issues3:09", in August 2016. O'Brien made her television debut in July 2016 with Gnash performing "I Hate U, I Love U" on Late Night with Seth Meyers.
In March 2017, O'Brien was nominated for an iHeartRadio Music Award for Best Solo Breakout. Her debut extended play, It's Not That Deep, was released in November 2017. In 2018, O'Brien collaborated with Jack & Jack on the acoustic version of "Beg" and with G-Eazy and Drew Love on a remix of "RIP". Her debut studio album, Was It Even Real?×Was It Even Real?26 April 2019 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1purpleworld3:082I Don’t Exist3:233Inhibition (omw)3:254Just Friends2:135We Lied to Each Other3:356UDK3:087Care Less More2:568Just a Boy3:389Call Me!!!3:3510Love Myself3:33, was released on April 26, 2019. In May 2019, O'Brien collaborated with the Norwegian group Seeb on "Fade Out".

2019–2023: Micromixtapes and Episodes

On November 15, 2019, O'Brien released It Was a Sad Fucking Summer, the first in a planned series of "micro-mixtapes" leading to her next album. She announced the It Was a Sad F**king Tour, which was scheduled to begin in February 2020. On February 6, 2020, she released her second micro-mixtape, The Results Of My Poor Judgement×The Results of My Poor Judgement7 February 2020 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Was It All in My Head?3:222Josslyn3:103Sad Together2:50. O'Brien was scheduled to perform at Coachella Festival in April 2020, but the festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A track from The Results Of My Poor Judgement, "Josslyn×Josslyn27 March 2020 · Single · RemixSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Josslyn3:092Josslyn (Bloom Line remix)3:143Josslyn (radio edit)3:084Josslyn (demo)2:49", gained popularity on TikTok, subsequently receiving radio airplay. O'Brien released a music video for the song on May 8, 2020, followed by a remix featuring 24kGoldn.
On September 18, 2020, O'Brien released a single titled "Now". She released "Better Than Feeling Lonely×Better Than Feeling Lonely1 January 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Better Than Feeling Lonely3:14" on January 1, 2021. On April 9, 2021, O'Brien released "Sociopath" as the lead single from a planned second studio album. The first part of the project, Episodes: Season 1, was released on June 11, 2021, and featured Oli Sykes on the track "No More Friends". O'Brien supported the project with the Olivia O'Brien Show tour later that year. She later canceled plans to release the second part of the project, stating that she did not want to focus on making a project and instead wanted to release individual songs.

2023–present: Independent releases and Pixie

In 2023, O'Brien parted ways with Island Records and began releasing music independently. In 2024, she launched her independent record label, Girlhood Records, and released the extended plays Love & Limerence and Everywhere I Go, There I Am. In March 2026, O'Brien announced that she had signed with Gamma for her second studio album, Pixie×PIXIE17 July 2026 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Dream Girl3:242Icarus4:253I Always Say I'm Leaving3:554Guest3:345The Masochist3:406Take What You Need3:337Written by a Man2:538Goodman3:519Quarter Century Blues4:1310Girl, Just Be Alone!2:5311I Would Call but I Don’t Hate Myself Anymore3:3212I'm Perfect2:3713I Can Do Whatever I Want2:5214Imaginary3:4315Heaven3:04. She was later announced as the opening act for Benson Boone's 2026 Wanted Man Tour. Pixie, was released on July 17, 2026, preceded by the singles, "Icarus×Icarus26 March 2026 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Icarus4:25", "I'm Perfect×I'm Perfect1 May 2026 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1I'm Perfect2:372Icarus4:25", "The Masochist×The Masochist22 May 2026 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1The Masochist3:402I'm Perfect2:373Icarus4:25", and "I Always Say I'm Leaving×I Always Say I'm Leaving26 June 2026 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1I Always Say I'm Leaving3:552The Masochist3:403I'm Perfect2:374Icarus4:25".

Personal life

O'Brien came out as bisexual via Twitter in July 2022.