Before the heartbreak anthems, the sold-out tours, and the “drivers license” obsession going worldwide, there was a Disney kid with a guitar and a dream. As the countdown for Olivia Rodrigo’s new album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, progresses, here’s everything you actually need to know.
Long before she was breaking records and dominating the charts, Rodrigo was cooking up hits elsewhere. In 2015, she starred in the American Girl Doll Movie Grace Stirs Up Success.
If you were a girl anywhere from the age of five to 13, you know just how iconic it was. Everyone was buying those dolls. In fact, I was so invested that I even wanted to learn French to be a little bit more like my Grace doll. I know, it sounds dramatic, but that’s the level of influence she had at only 12 years old.
It might not have screamed “future pop icon” at the time, but looking back, it was truly just the start of something bigger.
In 2016, she starred in Bizaardvark, which is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated Disney Channel shows, but that’s a conversation for another day. This was followed by her breakout role in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (HSMTMTS) in 2019. IYKYK; this is where everything shifted.
No matter what everyone had going on, people were tuning in every Friday. It wasn’t just another Disney show; it was the show that everyone and their mother was talking about. Let’s be honest, everyone was obsessed with Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett; the chemistry and the rumors had us all fully invested.
Her song “All I Want” from HSMTMTS wasn’t just a cute TV moment either. It went viral and truly became a moment in its own. Suddenly, she was no longer just a Disney actress; she was an artist too.
Then, she released her 2021 single “drivers license.” The song broke records, dominated charts, and made Rodrigo the main character of the year overnight. This wasn’t just a regular debut single, but a cultural reset.
Everyone had an opinion. Everyone had a theory. Everyone had that one person they thought about while listening. Honestly, for me, as the years progress, that boy might change, but the song doesn’t.
After “drivers license” came one of my favorite albums to this day, SOUR. Tracks like “good 4 u” and “traitor” proved she wasn’t just a one-hit wonder.
She could do angry, sad, sarcastic, vulnerable, all of it. She somehow understood and described every emotion that I and so many other people in this world were experiencing.
If SOUR was heartbreak, her 2023 album GUTS was identity crisis, confidence, and chaos, in the best way possible. Songs like “vampire” showed a darker, more self-aware side.
She was no longer just writing about boys. She was writing about fame, pressure, and growing up with a million expectations. This just furthered her reach and relatability, proving even more that she isn’t going anywhere.
So, what’s next? With this new album on the horizon, the question no longer is if Rodrigo will deliver, but how hard she’s about to emotionally hit us this time. Either way, one thing is for sure: you’re going to be listening, and so is everyone else.
Before the next album drops, consider this your official catch-up, because when it does, you’ll want to say you’ve been here since Grace Stirs Up Success.
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