Rise of Olivia Rodrigo

LONDON%2C+ENGLAND+-+MAY+11%3A+Olivia+Rodrigo+performs+during+The+BRIT+Awards+2021+at+The+O2+Arena+on+May+11%2C+2021+in+London%2C+England.+%28Photo+by+JMEnternational%2FJMEnternational+for+BRIT+Awards%2FGetty+Images%29

JMEnternational for BRIT Awards/Getty Images

LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 11: Olivia Rodrigo performs during The BRIT Awards 2021 at The O2 Arena on May 11, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by JMEnternational/JMEnternational for BRIT Awards/Getty Images)

Eighteen year old musician Olivia Rodrigo is “personally responsible” for endless tears, prolonged heartbreak and an immeasurable amount of teenage angst. Rodrigo flipped America upside down with her debut song “Drivers License”, breaking Spotify’s record with 65,873,080 streams in one week. Her first album Sour followed the release of “Driver’s License” in May 2021. People have not been able to stop raving about this new artist. In fact, Olivia Rodrigo leads the nominations for the American Music Awards.

But what makes Rodrigo different from every other pop star? Her honest, relatable, raw, “heart wrenching lines,’” says Billboard. Being a teenager in 2021, Rodrigo truly understands the effect social media has on an impressionable mind. In her song “jealousy, jealousy”, she exclaims about how “[she] kinda [wants to] throw her phone across the room, ‘cause all [she] see[s] are girls too good to be true.” This line alone captures the insecurities brought on by social media platforms such as Instagram or TikTok. Many pop stars generally do not address unrealistic beauty standards because they in fact are the unrealistic beauty standard. This inevitably sets her apart from other pop stars, and creates a genuine connection between Olivia and her audience. 

Throughout all of “Sour”, Rodrigo displays a great amount of versatility. Lainey Gossip blog explains how “Although the album is a collection of breakup songs one after another, the versatility in styles, lyrics, and lenses has expanded her audience demographic.” Through Rodrigo’s authentic songwriting, she is able to successfully engage the emotions of billions of different people. I believe that this is what makes her  music so truly beautiful. 

With 7 total nominations, including artist of the year and best new artist, Olivia Rodrigo has made a great impact on the music industry. Fans are excited to see exactly how high she will rise.