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? (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 (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.
Career 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", 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 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. 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", 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" 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. 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", "I'm Perfect", "The Masochist", and "I Always Say I'm Leaving".
Personal life O'Brien came out as bisexual via Twitter in July 2022.
Discography Studio albums Title DetailsWas It Even Real? Released: April 26, 2019 Label: Island Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming Pixie Scheduled: July 17, 2026 Label: Gamma Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming
Extended plays Title Details It's Not That Deep Released: November 17, 2017 Label: Island Format: Digital download, streaming Episodes: Season 1 Released: June 11, 2021 Label: Island Format: Digital download, streaming Love & Limerence Released: June 21, 2024 Label: Girlhood Format: Digital download, streaming Everywhere I Go, There I Am Released: November 15, 2024 Label: Girlhood Format: Digital download, streaming
Mixtapes Title Details It Was A Sad Fucking Summer Released: November 15, 2019 Label: Island Format: CD, digital download, streaming The Results Of My Poor Judgement Released: February 7, 2020 Label: Island Format: Digital download, streamingA Means to An End Released: November 18, 2022 Label: Island Format: Digital download, streaming
Singles As lead artist + List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications AlbumUSNZHotnztop40.co.nz "Better Than Feeling Lonely": "Empty"2017 — —It's Not That Deep"RIP" (solo or featuring G-Eazy and Drew Love) — — "I Don't Exist" 2018 — — Was It Even Real? "Care Less More" — — "Love Myself" (solo or featuring Jesse) 2019 — — "Just a Boy" — — "Fade Out" (with Seeb and Space Primates) — — Sad in Scandinavia "Josslyn" (solo or with 24kGoldn) 2020 — — RIAA: Gold The Results Of My Poor Judgement "Now" — 28 rowspan="2" "Better Than Feeling Lonely" 2021 — 17 "Sociopath" — — Episodes: Season 1 "No More Friends" (with Oliver Sykes of Bring Me the Horizon) — — "Bitches These Days" 2022 — — "Caught Up"(with Gryffin) — — Alive "Bitch Back"(with Fletcher) —— rowspan="3" "I Should've Fucked Your Brother" 2023 — — "Bandaid On a Bullet Hole" — — "Blip" 2024 — — Love & Limerence "Glimpse of Me" — — "Out Of Your League (But I Want You So Bad)" — — "Icarus" 2026 — — Pixie "I'm Perfect" — — "The Masochist" — — "I Always Say I'm Leaving" — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
As featured artist + List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album US AUS AUT BEL CAN DEN ITA NZ SWE UK "I Hate U, I Love U"(Gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien)2016 10 1 9 3 22 29 14 9 15 7 RIAA: 6× Platinum ARIA: 2× Platinum BEA: Platinum BPI: 2× Platinum FIMI: Gold IFPI DEN: Gold MC: Platinum RMNZ: Platinum us"Ringtone" (Diamond White featuring Olivia O'Brien)2018 — — — — — — — — — — "Might Die Young" (Bobby Brackins featuring Olivia O'Brien and Tinashe) — — — — — — — — — —To Kill For "Blueberry Eyes" (MAX featuring Olivia O'Brien, Suga and Lil Mosey) 2021 — — — — — — — — — — Colour Vision (Deluxe)"Claim" (Drumaq featuring Olivia O'Brien)2022 — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Promotional singles Title Year Certifications Album"Complicated"2015 BPI: Silver rowspan="4" "Trust Issues"2016"Root Beer Float"<br/ >(featuring Blackbear)"Find What You're Looking For" "Tequilawine" 2017It's Not That Deep"No Love" "UDK"2018Was It Even Real? "Just Friends" 2019
Songwriting credits Song Year Artist(s) Album "Fuckboy" 2021 Dixie D'Amelio
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result2017iHeart Radio Music Awards Best Solo Breakout Herself Radio Disney Music Awards Best Breakup Song "i hate u, i love u"
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