Olivia Rodrigo – Artist Secrets
With nearly 40 million followers on Instagram, there’s no doubt that 21-year-old Rodrigo is a global star.
Here’s what you need to know about the singer-songwriter:
1- The beginning:
The Filipino-American artist started acting at a young age, and first appeared on the pop culture radar when she landed a role in the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark (2016-2019), a hit series about best friends Paige (Rodrigo) and Frankie (American actress Madison Ho) who break into the world of vlogging with a quirky comedy channel.
She went on to star as Nene Salazar Roberts in Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019-2022).
Fun fact: Rodrigo wrote and performed the series’ promotional song, All I Want.
She left the show after its third season to focus on making music.
2. Turning to music
Rodrigo signed with American record label Geffen Records in 2020.
A year later, in January 2021, she released her debut single, “Drivers License”.
It debuted at number one on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 chart of the most popular songs released in the United States, and became a massive success, garnering 545 million views on YouTube to date.
Rodrigo’s next single, “Deja Vu,” was released three months later, in April, and debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 — making her the first artist to have her first two releases reach the Hot 100’s top 10.
Then came “Good 4 U” in May 2021. It became her second single to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart.
Her debut album, Sour, was one of the best-selling albums of 2021. The creative process behind it was explained in the 2022 documentary Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U.
3. More Shining Moments
There are too many awards to mention, but here are the big ones: Rodrigo has released eight multi-platinum singles (which have sold over two million copies in the U.S.), has won three Grammy Awards, an American Music Award, seven Billboard Music Awards, and four MTV Video Music Awards.
In 2021, she was recognized as Time Magazine’s Female Artist of the Year.
4. The Art of Giving
Rodrigo is not only a great singer, she is also known for supporting good causes.
On her world tour, the singer launched Fund 4 Good, a global initiative to help build a just and equitable future for all women, girls, and people seeking reproductive health freedom.
A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales for the Guts tour goes to the fund.
In 2021, she donated all proceeds from her Spicy Pisces T-shirt line to She’s the First, a charity that sponsors scholarships and education for girls in developing countries.
A portion of platinum ticket sales for her first concert tour, the Sour Tour, in 2022 was donated to Women for Women International, which supports survivors of war.
