Olivia Rodrigo may only be 22-years-old but she’s packed a lot into those already. Rising to fame in Disney Channel’s ‘Bizaardvark’ in 2016, it was 2019’s ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ that gave her a global breakout. Allowing Rodrigo to show off not only her acting skills but also her musical abilities, the show provided a launch platform for her debut single ‘drivers license’. That song catapulted her to worldwide fame, topping the charts across the globe and becoming an anthem for her largely young female fanbase. Rodrigo’s debut album ‘Sour’ followed in May 2021, and like its lead single it shot straight to the top of the charts in multiple countries. Second album ‘GUTS’ followed Rodrigo’s third number one single ‘vampire’ and experienced a similar level of success to its predecessor.
That list of achievements in a relatively short space of time, not to mention the endorsement of music legends such as Alanis Morissette and Sheryl Crow, has led to Rodrigo becoming one of the biggest stars in music. Currently in the final leg of the ‘GUTS’ World Tour, Rodrigo performed as a headliner for BST Hyde Park in London last night to a sold-out show of 65,000 fans – her biggest show on this side of the pond so far. With a roster of artists playing throughout the afternoon and early evening including The Last Dinner Party and Girl in Red, the audience was packed with thousands of young girls accompanied by their friends and parents. I couldn’t help but notice that every group of kids I saw were sporting Olivia Rodrigo merch (either official or homemade), with plenty of purple and sparkles tying into the star’s brand aesthetic.
Just before 9pm, Rodrigo and her band arrived on The Great Oak Stage. Getting things off to a rocky start, Rodrigo opened her 90-minute set with ‘bad idea right?’, which turned into an immediate singalong. I marvelled as I looked around and saw the face of every young girl light up as they sang every word, seeing their idol in the flesh (possibly for the first time). Donned in silver sparkles and looking every inch the superstar, Rodrigo impressed with both her live vocals and her relentless energy. Throughout the night she ran down the catwalk part of the stage to interact with fans, jumped around on stage, kicked her legs in the air and gave her all.
The set list for the evening featured the majority of ‘sour’ and just over half of ‘GUTS’, providing a nice balance of songs from both albums. The fans in the audience knew every word to every single song, and it was clear that the young fans were having the time of their lives (as were most of their mums!). Backed by an all-female band, Rodrigo gave a tour-de-force performance that saw her barely stop for breath. ‘vampire’ appeared early on in the set, giving Rodrigo a chance to really show off her vocals and ‘drivers license’ saw her seated at a piano, leading a giant sing-a-long that cemented just what a huge star she is. ‘obsessed’, originally a hidden track on the red vinyl of ‘GUTS’ and later released as part of ‘GUTS (Spilled)’ brought the tempo back up, with Rodrigo strutting around the stage exuding confidence and capturing the hearts of her fans.
A stunning rendition of ‘happier’ led into a solo performance of ‘enough for you’, which saw Rodrigo tell the audience it’s her favourite song she’s written. She performed the track with an electric guitar and it was one of the highlights of the night. It’s also a perfect example of why Rodrigo has captivated the younger demographic – her songs are deeply personal, lyrically clever and endlessly relatable. She captures the experience of being a young girl growing up, and that resonates strongly with her fans. The perky ‘so american’, another ‘GUTS (Spilled)’ track, was a lively punk-pop ode to the differences between the Americans and the Brits through the eyes of a girl crushing on an Englishman, and the bass-heavy ‘jealousy, jealousy’ elicited a rapturous reaction from the crowd. ‘favorite crime’, a fan-favourite from ‘sour’, sounded superb in the surroundings of Hyde Park and it paved the way for Rodrigo bringing out Ed Sheeran for a show-stopping duet of his hit ‘The A Team’.
After a brief departure from the stage, Rodrigo was back for a four-song encore. ‘brutal’ cranked up the rock, ‘all-american bitch’ hit that little bit harder live than it does on the record’ and ‘good 4 u’ proved to still be Rodrigo’s finest anthem. The final song of the night was ‘get him back’, which saw Rodrigo delivering the first verse through a megaphone from the top of a metal structure, before running all over the stage with as much energy as she opened the show with.
If anyone had any doubts as to whether or not Olivia Rodrigo is the real deal, they were put to bed during her headline BST Hyde Park set last night. She’s a gifted vocalist and songwriter, she doesn’t hypersexualise her performance and she embodies the kind of confidence that is inspiring to her young fans. Rodrigo used the entirety of The Great Oak Stage well, including a see-through floor that provided some great video screen moments, and she took time during her set to get up-close to her fans. With the potential to have a very long and successful career, it feels like Rodrigo is just getting started and she truly is one of the brightest stars of her generation.
Set list: 1. bad idea right? 2. ballad of a homeschooled girl 3. vampire 4. drivers license 5. Traitor 6. obsessed 7. love is embarrassing 8. pretty isn’t pretty 9. happier 10. enough for you 11. so american 12. jealousy, jealousy 13. favorite crime 14. The A Team (with Ed Sheeran) 15. déjà vu 16. brutal 17. all-american bitch 18. good 4 u 19. get him back Performance date: Friday 27th June 2025
