Breaking Down Joshua Bassett's Newest Singles!

He has a lot to say...

After nearly a year of people speculating about the relationship of Joshua Bassett and girlfriend Olivia Rodrigo, Bassett is ready to tell his side in his EP 'Crisis / Secret / Set Me Free'. The songs come after Olivia Rodrigo's highly anticipated debut album 'SOUR' was released supposedly revealing her truth about her relationship with her HSMTMTS co-star.

In a GQ interview following the EP, Joshua did in fact confirm the rumours and say that he did date Olivia.

"People don't realize how long ago that was,” he says, seemingly referring to Rodrigo. “It's not as recent as it seems. I'm a completely different person now," he adds. Later, he says “I’m not here to expose people. It was eating me alive, and I couldn’t keep it in anymore.”

Joshua via GQ

I also want to disclaim the only person who 100% knows what happened is Joshua as he wrote the songs but here is some interpretation of the lyrics.

Now, that being said let's dive into the lyrics...

SONG 1: CRISIS

My label said to never waste a crisis

Joshua actually revealed in the same GQ interview I mentioned prior that his label really wanted him to release a song during the time 'drivers license' was popular to take advantage of the moment but he refused. He said it felt pointless trying to fight the storm that had already been created by Rodrigo's album and wanted to wait until he had fully processed the situation.

And if you get to tell your truth, then so do I

And it's cool if you want me to play the bad guy

'SOUR' was supposedly Olivia telling her side to their relationship and Joshua now wants to tell his version of the story like she did. In some of her songs Olivia talks about a guy not treating her well and betraying her, Joshua is saying it's fine if she wants that bad guy in her story to be him.

But don't you dare act like I didn't love you

Don't go thinkin' that I didn't hurt too

Obviously the pair went through a breakup, and breakups hurt both parts of the couple and Olivia's songs mainly focused on her hurt so Joshua is pointing out that he was hurt too. He's also saying that no matter how Olivia portrayed their relationship in his songs, he didn't just hurt he also loved her.

Don't you ever wonder if I'm okay after all you put me through?

Half the shit you're sayin' is only half true

After Olivia released 'SOUR' Joshua was on the receiving end of a lot of hate and a lot of the hate did come from Olivia's fans. He's also saying some of the things in her songs aren't true but remember songwriters will exaggerate songs to make them better and Joshua could possibly do the same!

You're messin' with my life as a career move

I can't help but wonder, why you won't make it end?

Guess you would never dare, you would never dare

To waste a crisis

Obviously, after 'driver's license' was released (which was rumoured to be about Joshua) Rodrigo's career skyrocketed and then she went onto to release 'SOUR' which was also rumoured to be about Joshua. Olivia came under fire for not telling fans to stop hating on Joshua and Sabrina. Joshua is saying here that he thinks she didn't want to tell people to stop so she could continue to develop her career off of it.

My mama called 'cause she heard I got death threats

Oh, what the hell am I supposed to do with that?

There's not much to comment on here, but this is definitely a link to the death threats Joshua received after 'drivers license' was released.

Weren't you the one who left in the first place?

Weren't you the one who called things off?

Was it an act to love me or an act to hate me?

Here, Joshua is more than likely also relating to the breakup with Olivia and claiming she was the one who broke up with him despite her saying he betrayed her in her songs. He's also saying which one did she fake, her love whilst she was with him or her supposed hatred she's showing to him now?

100% of Joshua's profits from this song are being donated to mental health organisations.

Listen to the song here:

SONG 2: SECRET

My friends all warned me I should run for the hills

But I defended you still

'Cause I knew rumours could kill, oh (Ooh)

This song is again about someone specific and whoever it is about even gave his friends red flags but he still defended them because he knew from experience how much rumours can affect people.

I really hope you had your fun,

good for you foolin' everyone

Obviously, here it's kind of hard to ignore the 'good 4 u' reference...

You had me tricked for sixteen months

Oh, your smoke and mirrors had me hypnotised

16 months could potentially be the length of the relationship or how long Joshua knew the person he is talking about (potentially Olivia) and the second line kind of relates to the whole song about finally seeing someone's true colours after a breakup and how Joshua was tricked by the person for the duration of the relationship.

When your war with me stops workin'

I bet your songs won't sound the same

The truth you can't deny, it changed everything

Oh, you can't hide behind what's clear as day

Referring to the fact the person he's talking about writes songs pretty much confirms it's Olivia or even potentially Sabrina if they ever dated. However, Olivia songs that were supposedly about Joshua gave her the career level she has today, so Joshua is saying she can't deny that.

People also noticed links to Olivia in the music video...

The video features a blonde girl ('and you're probably with that blonde girl') and also featured a white car in the front yard ('I still see your face in the white cars, front yards', can't drive past the places we used to go to')

Listen to the song here:

SONG 3: SET ME FREE

Now Joshua did mention the meaning of this song in the same interview with GQ I've mentioned before and it's quite personal...

TW: MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE

"I experienced sexual abuse a lot in my childhood.” He looks down and tears up as he continues: “I didn't remember that until last year, which is pretty insane. I buried it so far. And when I was a teen, a much older man routinely abused me, and I wasn't able to see it for what it was at the time." “Set Me Free,” the third song released today, is in part about processing this experience, he says—he calls it “an anthem for me and the sort of people who’ve held pain and power over me my whole life.” He continues: “you’ve taken so much from me, but you don’t get to take all of me.”

If you or anyone you know is experiencing something similar- please speak out, you're not alone and there's always someone who is willing to listen!

Joshua did mention the song only being partly about that and it does seem some parts of the song are also about the same breakup mentioned in the other 2 songs...

I hope you know that I still care about you dearly

But I've gotta lock the door and throw away the key

And I hope you know that I still care about you, darlin'

Fans on social media also pointed out a similarity in the music video to Olivia's 'All I Want' video...

Listen to the song here: