Olivia Rodrigo is having a moment. Tuesday at the first of a sold-out two-night stand at United Center, the singer-songwriter ensured everyone in the audience shared in it.
Touring in support of her “Guts” album, the 21-year-old vocalist brought to light concerns, sentiments and circumstances that largely impact teenage girls and women of all ages. Her inspired and inspiring performance was a combination high-energy concert, scream-therapy session, communal catharsis and stay-up-til-dawn slumber party. It displayed Rodrigo’s maturation from adolescent to young adult — as well as her interest in those who look to her as a role model and peer.
Rodrigo’s ability to relate to the predominantly female crowd transcended the surface connections forged at shows by most superstars. Her repeated calls for fans to yell, sing and enjoy themselves represented a more courageous and sometimes dangerous idea: the permission to be yourself. The sound of thousands of voices shouting every lyric back at her and the look of joy on many faces were indications Rodrigo got another key point across: her apparent normalcy.
For 95 minutes, she made evident her experiences don’t differ much from those of her listeners.
Having transitioned from acting roles on Disney’s “Bizaardvark” and “High School Musical: The Musical: Series” to international pop sensation, Rodrigo ranks alongside other young female artists — Billie Eilish, SZA, Dua Lipa, Phoebe Bridgers, Megan Thee Stallion, Karol G, Taylor Swift included — as proof that in the early 2020s, girls run the world. At least when it comes to record charts, ticket sales and outsized influence.
Two albums into her career, Rodrigo counts multiple No. 1 singles, a pair of No. 1 LPs, three Grammy Awards (and 13 nominations), seven Billboard Music Awards and a Billboard Woman of the Year nod among her feats. She’s also emerged as a conscientious voice. In addition to appearing with President Joe Biden to promote vaccinations, the California native has supported causes that aid homeless kids, hospitalized patients, war victims and individuals with epidermolysis bullosa.
Rodrigo’s activism extends to her own charity, Fund 4 Good, which strives to champion women’s rights. Her outspoken advocacy of reproductive health care and sex education recently landed her management in hot water with states that outlaw abortion.
But those opposed to Rodrigo’s stance won’t mute her messages. Though the megaphone the singer wielded to help broadcast the revenge fantasy “Get Him Back!” — complete with confetti and an unspoken announcement that the deluxe version of “Guts” with bonus tracks lands this Friday — doubled as clever theater, Rodrigo’s empowering statements resonated without supplemental help.
Backed by an all-female band, the singer did a little of everything while running through the majority of her catalog. Play a grand piano and reveal deep thoughts on a sullen ballad? “Drivers License.” Get filmed from below to suggest a violation of privacy before grabbing an electric guitar, banging out chords and jamming on her knees? “Obsessed.” Strip arrangements down to an acoustic guitar framework, casually sit on the stage and transform the arena setting into the kind of close gathering witnessed by besties at a sleepover? “Happier” and “Favorite Crime.”
In the context of modern arena tours, the production adhered to a similar simplicity. Save for a sequence where Rodrigo orbitted half of the venue atop the fold of a crescent moon as stars dangled from the ceiling, the fanciest aspects related to hydraulic platforms, concealed stairs and dry ice fog. The stage, extended with two runways, was framed by a high-definition video screen that transmitted live and pre-recorded content. Basic, albeit proven and effective.
The less to distract from Rodrigo, the better. She limited herself to four outfit changes (preference: crop tops and sparkly shorts or skirts). A dance squadron with mediocre choreographic skills accompanied Rodrigo on a handful of numbers, but the singer outshined everyone with her extroverted personality and animated movements.
Skipping, hopping, crawling, twisting, jogging in place, descending to floor level to slap hands: Rodrigo matched the carbonated fizz of her most upbeat materia. To emphasize certain lines in songs, she used gestures that often disappeared as fast as they arrived. Sticking a finger in her mouth; twirling her hair; rolling her eyes; outstretching her arms; circling her tongue around her lips; mock-saluting: Rodrigo understood how nuance can accent meaning — particularly when words surface at a rapid clip.
At times, they gushed akin to water pouring from a firehose. Rodrigo sang with a balance of hushed delicacy and emotive intensity, dividing time between dramatic ballads and freeing ragers. She eschewed perfection in favor of authenticity, and risked hitting bad notes rather than relying on backing tracks. Borrowing from new-wave, coffeehouse folk and, most prevalently, pop-punk and other hook-heavy styles popular in the ‘90s — an era that notably predates her existence — the singer’s music would’ve benefited from a more capable band but didn’t try to push boundaries. Her subject matter, however, ventured places few mainstream talents explore.
Frustration, desperation, bitterness, disloyalty, envy, self-doubt, angst: Rodrigo addressed issues tied to painful coming-of-age processes with devastating insight, unsparing vulnerability and the occasional well-suited profanity. She conveyed them via female perspectives that underlined the nagging insecurities, compromised decisions and hollowed-out feelings young girls face.
For all the merit of Rodrigo’s detail-rich songs about early heartaches (the accusatory slow-build of “Deja Vu”) and uncaring exes (the synthesized drift of “Traitor,” the acerbic bombast of “Good 4 U”), her embrace of broader topics demonstrated her evolution as a person and artist. Rodrigo acknowledged as much.
Before performing the soul-probing “Teenage Dream,” she said that approximately two years ago she saw “growing up [as] the scariest, worst thing in the world.” Now, she admitted, she feels she knows herself better. Her latest work reflected that heightened awareness and spoke to complex themes that went beyond age categorizations.
The emptiness, anger and dread that arise from being exploited like a cheap product amid the noir “Vampire.” The self-flagellation that happens when you know you’ve been had and the embarrassment that ensues when you examine your behavior, chronicled in the winking “Love Is Embarrassing.” The contradictory justifications associated with rationalizing a hook-up with a former lover, sent up through the bounce of the humorous “Bad Idea Right?” Rodrigo relayed the situations and moods with confidence and empathy, operating as if she read the minds of everyone in those positions.
She went even further on the falsetto-laden “Pretty Isn’t Pretty,” tackling body-image expectations and cultural pressures advanced by social media, pharma advertisements and fashion industry with lingering sadness and loathing. But Rodrigo refused to let herself, or her followers, fall under the thumb of anyone or anything.
Enter Rodrigo as the “All-American Bitch,” a sarcastic tear-down of the double standards, ludicrous assumptions and impossible demands placed on women for centuries. As the singer belted out the probable generational anthem, she paused for everyone to think of an irritant and encouraged them to vent their grievances with a collective scream.
The essence of Rodrigo’s enabling messages registered loud and clear: We are women, hear us roar.
Setlist
“Bad Idea Right?”
“Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl”
“Vampire”
“Traitor”
“Drivers License”
“Teenage Dream”
“Pretty Isn’t Pretty”
“Love Is Embarrassing”
“Making the Bed”
“Logical”
“Enough for You”
“Lacy”
“Jealousy, Jealousy”
“Can’t Catch Me Now”
“Happier”
“Favorite Crime”
“Deja Vu”
“The Grudge”
“Brutal”
“Obsessed”
“All-American Bitch”
Encore
“Good 4 U”
“Get Him Back!”
