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At the end of 2020, the world was blindly hoping for a better year to come, and Olivia Rodrigo was simply the girl from Disney Plus’ High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Then, on January 8th, 2021, fresh into the new year, Olivia Rodrigo released her first single, “driver’s license,” launching her into fame and making her the young pop star of the moment. The song debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, became a TikTok hit, and was even referenced in an SNL skit. Since then, she’s released two more singles, one of which also debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. She later released her highly anticipated first studio album, Sour, on May 21st. A week after its release, it debuted at #1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart and marked the biggest debut of the year.
Olivia’s success is astonishing for most of us. Many artists have been in the industry for years and still haven’t achieved the success she has at just eighteen years old, plus her achievements fresh out of the Disney scene are almost unheard of. Not even 24 hours after the release of Sour, Olivia surpassed Taylor Swift as the number one selling artist across digital platforms. So how did she do it? It seems that Olivia Rodrigo’s vulnerability and unapologetic songwriting in an often artificial and synthetic world was a breath of fresh air and, evidently, exactly what the world needed.
Who Is Olivia Rodrigo?
Olivia Rodrigo grew up taking acting and singing lessons and performed in theater productions at her elementary and middle schools. She first gained recognition in 2016 as one of the main characters on the Disney Channel show, Bizaardvark, alongside actress Madison Hu and social media star Jake Paul. In 2019, she was cast as the female lead in the Disney Plus series, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. For the series, she solo-wrote the song “All I Want” and co-wrote the song “Just for a Moment” with her co-star, Joshua Bassett.
“If I am ushering in a new generation of pop stars that aren’t afraid to speak their mind, that’s so cool. I’m just doing my thing, though”
(( Olivia Rodrigo, Nylon. )).
“driver’s license” was her big break. Since its release, Olivia’s performed on SNL, at the 2021 Brit Awards, and even hung out backstage with one of her biggest influences, Taylor Swift. She’s also graced the cover of several magazines such as Billboard and Nylon. Despite her small start on a short-lived Disney show, she’s undoubtedly headed towards becoming a household name.
The Reason For Olivia’s Success
Olivia is what some might refer to as an overnight success. Although we know most overnight successes have actually spent years privately building their career, Olivia did rise to fame seemingly out of nowhere. So how was she able to gain recognition so quickly? From good timing and Disney feuds to hard work and natural-born talent, there was a lot working in Olivia’s favor.
Olivia Arrived Right On Time
In January 2021, the world was barely recovering from the tumultuous year we had just experienced. Covid cases had begun to rise again, and though we were hopeful we would soon recover, we were still fearful and uncertain about what the year would bring. There was a heaviness weighing on society, and Olivia’s heart-rending anthem was just what we needed. Something that could illustrate the pain and sadness we were all going through. It’s often said that timing is everything. Had “driver’s license” arrived any later in the year, it may not have struck a chord with its audience, but fortunately for the young star, her arrival to the music scene was right on time.
It’s also crucial to mention the song’s popularity on TikTok helped with its success. The music industry has evolved tremendously since the days of record stores and cassette tapes. These days, having your music go viral on TikTok is a sure way for an artist to make it big. “driver’s license” has been featured in over one million videos on the social media platform, allowing it to reach audiences around the globe. Several other TikTok trends have also gone viral using her singles “deja vu” and “good 4 u.” TikTok has also brought older pop-rock songs from bands like Paramore back into the light, and artists like Machine Gun Kelly and Miley Cyrus have recently taken their music in this direction. A lot of Olivia’s new album takes inspiration from the pop-rock sound of the late 90s and 2000s, making her music relevant to the moment.
The Disney Drama
Part of Olivia’s rise to fame was a viral feud she sparked with one of the lyrics in “driver’s license.” Olivia was rumored to have dated her High School Musical: The Musical: The Series co-star Joshua Bassett. The lyric “You’re probably with that blonde girl, who always made me doubt. She’s so much older than me, she’s everything I’m insecure about,” seemed to be about his new girlfriend, and fellow Disney alumni, Sabrina Carpenter. Though this was never confirmed, Sabrina released her own song, “Skin,” a few weeks later, which seemed to reference Olivia’s lyric. In the first verse, Sabrina sings, “maybe we could pretend there’s no gravity in the words we write, maybe you didn’t mean it, maybe blonde was the only rhyme.” Being that society is still going through the exhausting pandemic, and seeking out drama as their only form of entertainment, pop-culture outlets and social media accounts ran with the story. The conversation around the three stars only furthered Olivia’s success.
This is nothing new; Disney has profited from pitting young women up against each other for decades. It started with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera in the late 90s and early 2000s, then trickled down to Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan, and most notoriously, Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez with their feud over Nick Jonas. However, this time seemed different. Other than the lyrics, all three stars chose not to stoke the fire and remained neutral or supportive of each other’s work.
“People always ask me, ‘Oh, did you say f–k in ‘drivers license’ to show that you aren’t just a Disney star?’ It’s cool that people might think that, but I’m just making music that I love and that I feel passionate about.”
(( Olivia Rodrigo, Nylon. )).
Olivia also seems to be going in a different direction than other Disney alumni. Most Disney stars who branch into the music industry sign with the Disney-owned label, Hollywood records. Olivia, on the other hand, has signed with Interscope. This has allowed her more creative freedom than the former stars. She’s escaped the squeaky clean Disney image with lyrics like “it’s like we never even happened baby what the f–k is up with that?” And thanks to Taylor Swift and her fight for artists to own their own work, Olivia negotiated having complete control of her master recordings.
Olivia Is A True Songwriter
Petty feuds and controversies can certainly get someone’s name out there; we’ve seen this countless times in Hollywood. However, it’s incredibly unfair to credit all of Olivia’s success to a fabricated headline. This completely undercuts her hard work and talent. The reason for Olivia’s whirlwind of accomplishments has far more to do with her authentic and vulnerable songwriting than it does with a trivial rumor.
“I’m a teenage girl, I write about stuff that I feel really intensely – and I feel heartbreak and longing really intensely – and I think that’s authentic and natural.”
(( Olivia Rodrigo, The Guardian. )).
Many artists sadly lack vulnerability in their music. Though the industry makes a lot of money on these songs, audiences long for narrative songwriting that invites them into the stories and makes them feel understood. In 2012, Taylor Swift released “All Too Well” from her fourth studio album, Red. The personal details in the song, like dancing in the refrigerator light, looking through childhood photo albums, and her infamous scarf that was never returned, make the song a fan favorite even nine years after its release. Olivia reveals similar personal details in her own music. In “deja vu,” she mentions watching Glee, eating strawberry ice cream, and teaching the subject of her song Billy Joel on the piano.
For the past decade, artists like Drake, Nicki Minaj, and more recently, Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa have dominated the music industry. In 2017, Cardi B shot to the top of the Billboard charts with her debut single, “Bodak Yellow,” a hip-hop track chronicling her new lifestyle of the rich and famous. In Ariana’s 2019 hit, “7-Rings,” she sings, “whoever said money can’t solve your problems, must not have had enough money to solve them.” Though Dua’s music is typically more relationship-centric, it still falls into the genre of pop that’s focused more on beats and production than lyrics. This isn’t to shame any musical artist; there is room for everyone to tell their stories and create art that they’re proud of. However, Olivia delivers the kind of metaphorical lyricism we haven’t seen since artists like Taylor Swift, Lorde, and early Avril Lavigne.
“I was your willing accomplice honey, and I watched as you fled the scene. Doe-eyed as you buried me, one heart broke, four hands bloody.”
(( Olivia Rodrigo. “favorite crime.” Sour, Geffen, 2021. )).
Frankly, I think society’s growing tired of the same sound and lyrical messages we’ve heard in recent years. With the pandemic leading to the fall of life as we knew it, the world seems to be seeing through the glossy lens that once filtered our reality. Even the once-popular Keeping Up With The Kardashians is airing its final season after 14 years on the air. So when a teenage girl graced the scene with a personal ballad about heartbreak, the world was prepared to listen. While most young girls worldwide can’t imagine a life of Ferrari’s and Louboutin heels, they know exactly what it’s like to long for someone who doesn’t reciprocate their emotions and feel jealous of the girls they see on Instagram.
These are the topics Olivia touches upon in her music, and as we’ve seen in the past with The Beatles, Justin Bieber, and Taylor Swift, a fanbase of young girls is assuredly the most potent fanbase an artist can have. In this light, Olivia’s success shouldn’t be so surprising after all. Olivia Rodrigo is a fearless storyteller, and her fans admire her for it. She’s a teenage girl, and she isn’t afraid to tell the world. Even her album cover, an image of Olivia sticking out her tongue, with her face covered in an array of girly stickers, screams of youth. The album itself sounds like an array of diary entries, each song narrating a different aspect of teenage girlhood.
“And I’m so sick of seventeen, where’s my f–cking teenage dream?”
(( Olivia Rodrigo. “brutal.” Sour, Geffen, 2021. )).
Young people seem to have lost the simplicity and naivety of just being young. Fourteen-year-olds look twenty, and twenty-year-olds look thirty. Olivia isn’t interested in hiding her age; she’s unapologetically herself. Whether she’s singing heartbreak ballads or screaming her lyrics with the rage of a mid-90s Alanis Morrisette, she’s everything you’d expect the typical angsty teenager to be. It’s her honesty and ability to remain true to herself that are resonating so much with audiences and making them crave more.
What’s Next For Olivia Rodrigo?
As of now, Olivia Rodrigo is on top of the world, but it’s too soon to tell what her career will bring next. Based on her current success, songwriting abilities, and the versatility of her music, there’s a lot she can do with her career. According to an interview she did with The Guardian, Olivia has committed to two more years on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Though, she admits that music is her top priority.
“I always wanted to grow up because I feel you get better with age and figure out who you are. I feel like I get happier as I get older.”
(( Olivia Rodrigo, The Guardian. )).
It will be interesting to see how she balances the two, especially as the star of a Disney show. However, many have done it and have come out on top; there’s a good chance she’ll be okay. If she follows in the footsteps of her idol, Taylor Swift, she will be a record-breaking global icon before she hits thirty. But wherever her career takes her, it will always remain that Olivia Rodrigo is the biggest artist of 2021, and she’s completely blown the world away with her talent.