Greg Kurstin

Lore & Background

In the orbit of Olivia Rodrigo's early career, Greg Kurstin functioned less as a traditional 'hired gun' and more as a creative partner who understood how to build a cathedral around a single, aching vocal take. His production philosophy—rooted in dynamic contrast, layered instrumentation, and a jazz-influenced harmonic vocabulary—gave songs like those on *SOUR* a sense of architectural grandeur that elevated what could have been straightforward pop into something more textured and emotionally resonant.

Kurstin's background spans decades of high-profile work: producing for Adele's *25*, co-writing hits for Taylor Swift's *1989* and *reputation*, and scoring the critically beloved series *The Good Place* and *Veep*. This breadth meant he could approach Rodrigo's material with both pop sensibility and a composer's ear for narrative arc. In the studio, he was known for suggesting unexpected chord changes, adding counter-melodies on piano or strings, and pushing arrangements to shift gear at the precise emotional turning point of a lyric.

For Rodrigo, working with Kurstin represented a bridge between the DIY, bedroom-producer energy of her early TikTok demos and the full-scale, radio-ready productions of a major-label debut. He validated her instincts while expanding her palette, helping her realize that a breakup song could carry the weight of a film score without losing its immediacy.

In Their Own Story

The studio was dim, lit only by the amber glow of the console and the soft blue of a laptop screen. Olivia sat at the piano bench, still in her oversized hoodie, running her fingers over the keys in a half-finished progression. Greg leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, listening to the negative space between the notes.

"What if the pre-chorus doesn't resolve?" he said, not as a question. He tapped the desk twice. "Let it hang. Let the listener feel the pull before you give them the answer."

She looked up, skeptical, then played it again—this time holding the suspended chord, letting the tension bleed into the next bar. The room seemed to lean forward. He uncrossed his arms, nodded slowly, and reached for the fader.

"Yeah," he murmured. "That's the song."

Outside, the Los Angeles evening hummed with distant traffic. Inside, a record was being born—one chord at a time.

Reader's Guide

Greg Kurstin's collaboration with Olivia Rodrigo centered on the production and co-writing of her debut album *SOUR*, released in 2021. Rodrigo served as the primary songwriter and performer, bringing fully formed melodies and lyrics to the sessions, while Kurstin contributed to arrangement, harmonic development, and final production polish.

His role was that of a creative co-pilot rather than a top-down director. He would suggest structural shifts, add instrumental layers (piano, strings, synths), and help sculpt the dynamic arc of each track. This collaborative model allowed Rodrigo to retain authorial control while benefiting from a producer with decades of experience across pop, R&B, and film scoring.

The influence on her sound was significant: *SOUR* carries a sophistication in its chord progressions, dynamic build-ups, and textural layering that goes beyond typical pop production. Tracks benefit from a composer's sense of narrative pacing—builds that feel earned, drops that land with emotional precision. For Rodrigo's career, this collaboration established a template: she is the writer and voice, and the production team amplifies and frames her vision without overwriting it. It set the stage for her subsequent work and signaled to the industry that a teenage songwriter could command a production of this caliber.

Did You Know?

• Kurstin's production credits span artists across genres—from Adele and Kelly Clarkson to Taylor Swift—giving him a remarkably broad harmonic vocabulary to draw from when working on pop records.
• He is also a television composer, having written the original scores for both *Veep* and *The Good Place*, which explains his instinct for narrative pacing in song arrangements.
• On *SOUR*, his work complemented that of fellow producer Dan Nigro, creating a dual-producer dynamic that allowed for varied textures across the album's tracklist.
• Kurstin is a multi-instrumentalist who often plays piano, guitar, and synthesizer parts himself in the studio, adding a hands-on, tactile quality to the production.