Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan have stepped into a playful world of vintage television for the retro-styled music video accompanying the “Expectations” remix, with David Byrne and producer Dan Nigro joining the production on screen.
Directed by Bardia Zeinali, the video moves through sets inspired by “Family Feud” and “Hollywood Squares.” The collaboration also marks Roan’s first-ever feature, giving the release an additional milestone beyond its elaborate game-show presentation.
A Big Game of “Expectations”
Byrne takes on the role of Johnny Johnson, host of a fictional program called “Big Expectations.” Presiding over three versions of Rodrigo dressed in different outfits, his character asks them “a little bit how you got here.”
The action then travels between different television sets before arriving at “Sister Squabble,” where Roan and Rodrigo meet for a “Family Feud”-style showdown. That sequence introduces a new verse from Roan, who sings: “I took her to a concert front row thought it’d be fun / Her hand moving up my skirt, no piercing on her tongue / She said she’d call me later, that was three weeks ago / Classic L.A. behavior, she could’ve just said no.”
Nigro makes his own appearance near the end of the video, holding an oversized brick-style phone associated with the 1990s. His cameo connects the on-screen concept to the music itself: Nigro produced “Expectations” and its parent album, “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love,” and has also produced albums by Roan and Rodrigo.
Why Roan Chose Her First Feature
During a Thursday afternoon conversation with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Roan and Rodrigo discussed the decision to work together on the remix. Roan said the song’s lyrical approach helped make it feel like the right choice for her first feature.
“This is obviously my first feature,” Roan said. “I’ve never done this before, so it feels perfect to me. I don’t know. I feel like it represents a generation of songwriters that are just really thinking about their lyrics.”
Roan also praised the way Rodrigo placed a complicated subject inside a pop framework. “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,” she said.
The remix extends an association between the two performers that goes back several years. Roan supported Rodrigo on both the “Sour” and “Guts” tours. More recently, Roan performed at Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields Festival in late August, joining an all-female lineup that included Doechii, Rachel Chinouriri, Garbage and the Breeders, among others.
David Byrne Builds a Character
Rodrigo said she was initially hesitant to approach Byrne about participating in the video. Although she described herself as a “bit sheepish” about asking, Byrne embraced the invitation and developed Johnny Johnson into a full character.
“I always feel shy asking people for favors, but he was so down,” Rodrigo told Lowe. “He showed up the entire day. He had a character that he had built out and he made this Johnny Johnson character.”
According to Rodrigo, Byrne also generated substantial material beyond what appears in the finished clip. “There’s so many outtakes we have of him just improvising and riffing and he was so into it,” she said, adding: “Gosh, David, maybe he should be an actor too one of these days. He’s very multi-talented.”
ShowBiz Take
The “Expectations” remix is significant on two levels: it gives Roan her first feature, while also turning the release into a broader meeting of artists and collaborators already linked through Nigro and the performers’ shared history.
Rather than presenting the pairing through a straightforward performance video, Zeinali’s concept places Rodrigo, Roan, Byrne and Nigro inside one cohesive retro-TV universe. The game-show face-off gives Roan’s new verse its own setting, Byrne’s Johnny Johnson provides a host for the proceedings, and Nigro’s giant phone closes the circle with one final period-specific visual gag.
For Rodrigo and Roan, the video brings an established connection into a new format: no longer simply sharing tour or festival stages, they are now appearing together on a recorded remix, with Roan marking a career first in the process.