Something Like Olivia - Acoustic - John Mayer

Lately, I’ve been revisiting John Mayer’s discography, and to my surprise, I stumbled upon an acoustic version of Something Like Olivia that I hadn’t noticed before. Curious, I went down a YouTube rabbit hole and quickly realized why so many guitarists are obsessed with this song. As one of the top comments brilliantly put it: “John made a deal with the devil. We don’t know what John got, but the devil definitely got guitar lessons.”

Setting the guitar wizardry aside for a moment, I couldn’t help but wonder—who exactly is Olivia? As it turns out, John wrote the song as an ode to his celebrity crush, Olivia Wilde, who was married at the time. That’s why she’s described as “taken” in the lyrics—a wistful nod to unrequited admiration.

You can check out the song and video below!