Olivia Rodrigo had a huge hit in 2021, and had appeared on a wide variety of shows to solely play "drivers license," but it wasn't until September 18 that she had her first real concert experience.
The then-18-year-old singer closed out the Daytime Stage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas with a five-song set from her debut album, Sour,
But first she told the crowd of 20,000 how important the gig was to her.
“This is a really special day for me because this is sort of like my first show,” she said.
“I’m just so grateful that you guys are here with me experiencing this. Thank you so much.”
Kicking off with "brutal," Rodrigo sang while the audience was miraculously singing right along without her. Her teenage dream was becoming a reality.
After "jealousy, jealousy," Rodrigo was ready to perform the song she still might be best known for, the one about unrequited love and a slow-moving car.
“Speaking of firsts, this is the first song I put out,” she said to the fans about who had seen DaBaby, The Kid LAROI, Saweetie, All Time Low, and others earlier on the Daytime Stage at AREA15.
The song, of course was the now-iconic “drivers license.”
Not that she had much to compare it to, but when she was done, the pigtailed Californian cried out, ”you guys are just like the best crowd ever. This is amazing.”
Rodrigo ended the appearance with "traitor" and "good 4 u" which sent the kids off with smiles on their faces. And in less than 20 minutes after Mario Lopez had called her "the hottest girl in the game," it was over.
That hot streak didn't end in 2021. By June, 2022, Rodrigo's Sour had become the longest-running debut album in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart this century. It was the first to spend an entire year with the hottest selling albums.
Each of the songs she played that day in Vegas were released as singles except for "jealousy, jealousy." Three of them went to #1.
Meanwhile Sour ended up pretty sweet.
Rodrigo took home three Grammys for the album including Best New Artist. Time named her Entertainer of the Year and Billboard deemed her Woman of the Year.
You may have noticed Rodrigo now has a follow up to Sour called Guts, which some are claiming is even better.
"Vampire" went #1 in the US, UK, New Zealand, and Ireland; and "Bad Idea" reached the Top 10 on those charts.
The High School Musical alum announced the details of the Guts World Tour last week, which includes some great opening acts. Tickets are available on her website.
Embedded content is no longer available.
Looking at the dates, sharp-eyed fans have noticed a giant opening in her tour from April 10 through April 29, and noticed a certain festival in the desert occurs this year starting on Apr 12 and ends on Apr 21.
Are those weeks blocked off because she want to wear flower crowns and wander in the audience alongside her fellow twenty somethings? Or should we expect to see her headline the mama jama? Stay tuned.
