Olivia Rodrigo Opens Up About the Support She Received in The Music Industry
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Olivia Rodrigo recently opened up about how Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez welcomed her during the early stages of her career. During the beginning of her career, Swift championed Rodrigo on social media.
Rodrigo is believed to be a huge fan of Taylor Swift herself. She considers herself to be a “fan-girl.”
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In her recent interview with Variety Rodrigo recently revealed that Swift supported her and even sent her a supportive letter. Rodrigo expressed, “It’s so nice to be welcomed into the music industry and so great to be supportive of other women.” She went on to say, “She (Swift) wrote me a letter a while ago, and she wrote something about how you make your own luck in the world, and how you treat other people always comes back to you.”
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While Taylor wrote Olivia a handwritten letter that consisted of an inspiring message, Gomez on the other hand during their meet gave the singer some important advice.
Talking about her interactions with Selena Gomez, Rodrigo recalled that the Wolves singer gave her some important advice about starting out at a young age in the industry and how important it is to prioritize one’s mental health. She said, “I met Selena, and she was so kind. She talked to me a lot about prioritizing mental health, which I think is really important in this industry. All of us were in the limelight very young. … That can be taxing on your psyche and can bring about all these weird issues.”
Image Courtesy: Variety
According to Variety, with Rodrigo’s freewheeling use of the f-word in her lyric, it’s easy to forget that she still stars on a Disney show. “People ask me all the time, ‘Oh, did you just swear so that people would know that you’re not a Disney kid anymore?’” she says. “It truly isn’t a calculated decision in my head. It’s not like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna be an edgy kid now.’ I just tend to have a dirty mouth, and I think that obviously reflects itself in my songwriting.”
Still, Rodrigo’s path has strayed from that of other Disney alums who branched out into music- Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, and Demi Lovato, to name a few- in that she didn’t sign with Disney Music Group’s relatively straitlaced Hollywood Records. Rodrigo’s break with tradition is an important differentiator when it comes to the trajectory of Disney stars, who have often found themselves pigeonholed into a certain genre or kid-friendly category. Rodrigo says she has learned a great deal from those who came before her.
Reviewing Rodrigo’s debut album Sour, The Independent’s critic Helen Brown wrote, “At times, it feels as though the polite, considered Rodrigo could push ideas, emotions, and melodies a little further than she does. Twenty years ago, dumped teenage girls could bawl along with Alanis Morissette as she howled: ‘Every time I scratch my nails down someone else’s back I hope you feel it.’ Sour is more restrained. In its spacey, reverb-soaked mood, it carries something of the social paralysis caused by the pandemic. Perhaps that’s because kids these days are trying harder to be reasonable. You can certainly hear Rodrigo – a therapist’s child – doing her best to see situations from all angles.”
-Aditi
