Olivia Rodrigo says Kendrick Lamar's 'HUMBLE.' inspired 'Expectations': 'It's a mantra'

Olivia Rodrigo has revealed the unlikely engine behind her song "Expectations," and it's a Kendrick Lamar banger: "HUMBLE."

The pop star made the connection just hours before the "Expectations" remix featuring Chappell Roan hit streaming services on Friday (Oct. 16). Rodrigo and Roan sat down with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, where the "Good 4 U" singer walked through where the track came from.

"It was kind of a challenge to myself; I wanted to write a mantra song," Rodrigo explained. "I feel like lots of my songs are like, 'This is how I feel.' Then I wanted to be like, 'I want to sing this song every night.' It's like Kendrick Lamar's 'Sit down, be humble.' It gets in your brain. It's a mantra."

A track born from Chappell's swagger

Rodrigo didn't stop at Lamar. She credited Roan directly as an influence on the song's attitude.

"When I made the song, I was really inspired by Chappell and the attitude and swagger that she had," she said. "It always felt inspired by you and your songwriting style."

The remix arrived Friday with a game show-themed video starring both Grammy winners in vintage outfits, with Talking Heads legend David Byrne hosting a Family Feud spoof the pair have dubbed Sister Squabble.

"Expectations" originally landed on Rodrigo's Billboard 200-topping album You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love in June, reaching No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. Nearly a decade earlier, Lamar's "HUMBLE." served as the lead single off DAMN. in 2017 and gave him his first solo No. 1 on the Hot 100.