My Guilty Pleasure: Olivia Rodrigo, America’s sweetheart

Miss Olivia Rodrigo rose in popularity in 2019 when she starred as Nini in “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” on Disney+, a spin-off show based on the iconic “High School Musical” franchise. 

That show was popular, however Olivia really got her claim to fame in early 2021 when she released “drivers license,” the single that broke the internet and took over the world. 

Now, I was an Olivia Rodrigo supporter on “HSMTMTS.” I enjoyed the show, liked her acting and liked her voice. However, I didn’t think that I was a real Olivia Rodrigo fan until “drivers license.”

We all remember January 2021. You couldn’t escape this song. It was all over your TikTok “for you page,” all over social media, all over the radio stations. Miss Olivia took over the entire world with just one song.

Now, fast forward to the day that my life changed: May 21, 2021. The day that “SOUR,” Olivia’s debut full-length album, was released. 

When I tell you this album shattered, destroyed and engulfed me in emotions, that isn’t even an exaggeration. I listened to “SOUR” and “SOUR” only for the entirety of May, June, July and August.

I know that this is a “guilty” pleasure column, and I’m supposed to be embarrassed about my love for Olivia Rodrigo, but honestly I have no shame. Miss girl single-handedly got me through the entirety of summer 2021.

The thing about Olivia that I think made me (and the rest of Gen Z) so hooked, was that she was someone that we all could relate to. The majority of the songs that we’ve been listening to for our lives have been written and sung by older people, so the ability to relate is not there as much.

However, Olivia manages to perfectly capture every single feeling of teenage heartbreak into one album. I had never in my life related to any songs as much as I related to the ones on her album, and that called for a lot of scream-singing in the car.

I could talk forever about my ranking of the songs on the album, but it would be unnecessary because the truth is that “enough for you” is the most gut-wrenching and relatable song of all time (for me, at least).

When I first heard that song, my soul quite literally left my body. I’d never heard someone describe perfectly the way I felt about a certain situation before. Suddenly, I was completely obsessed with her album. This song is the one that brought me down Olivia’s rabbit hole.

With all of that being said, when my Spotify Wrapped 2021 came out and all five of my top songs were from “SOUR,” I was not shocked. Slightly embarrassed? Sure, but hey, we’ve all been through it before.

Now, as I write this article, Olivia Rodrigo just announced that she will be going on tour in 2022. The race to buy her tickets will be insane, however I’m fully ready for it. I will be sitting next to my computer all day on Dec. 9 waiting to buy tickets.