Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan have released their first song together: a remix of Rodrigo's "Expectations" featuring Roan, out this week. The video, directed by Bardia Zeinali, casts the two as contestants on a retro game show hosted by Talking Heads frontman David Byrne.
Quick facts
- Song: "Expectations" remix, Olivia Rodrigo featuring Chappell Roan
- Released: October 15–16, 2026, depending on time zone
- Producer: Dan Nigro
- Original album: you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love (June 12, 2026)
- Video director: Bardia Zeinali
- Video stars: Rodrigo, Roan, David Byrne as host, Dan Nigro as a guest
- Formats: streaming, plus limited 7-inch vinyl, CD and cassette from Rodrigo's store
What is the "Expectations" remix?
"Expectations" is the opening track on Rodrigo's third album. The new version adds Roan, and Nigro, who produced it, gives it a lighter, more playful feel than the original, NME wrote.
It is also a first for Roan: Consequence reports this is her first-ever guest feature on someone else's song.
What happens in the video?
The video is set on a fictional TV show called The Big Expectations Show, built from the formats of 1980s and '90s game shows. Rodrigo and Roan compete in rounds as different characters.
David Byrne plays the host, Johnny Johnson, in a Bob Barker-style turn, delivering lines before the music starts and lip-syncing part of the song, according to Consequence. Dan Nigro turns up as a special guest.
Byrne and Rodrigo have history: she brought him out as a surprise guest at Governors Ball in 2025.
How do Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan know each other?
The thread is Dan Nigro. He co-wrote and produced Rodrigo's albums and produced Roan's breakthrough, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
Roan then opened for Rodrigo on the GUTS World Tour in 2024. This summer she performed at Rodrigo's first Daisy Chain Fields festival in Southern California, a women-led event that Consequence says raised $20 million for 10 nonprofits supporting women and girls.
How has the album done?
you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love came out on June 12 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 485,000 equivalent units, the biggest week of Rodrigo's career and the biggest for any solo artist in 2026 at the time.
What's next for Rodrigo and Roan?
Rodrigo's Unraveled Tour, which began in September, has sold more than a million tickets. Demand added an 11-night residency at The O2 in London from April 5 to May 10, 2027.
Roan has a two-day fundraiser in Los Angeles later this month, The Super Graphic Spectacular and The Super Graphic Block Party, with net proceeds going to her Midwest Princess Project, which supports trans youth and LGBTQ+ communities.
Published Sunday, October 18, 2026. Details are from NME, Variety and Consequence.
