Is Olivia Rodrigo Saving Rock, Pop, and Teen Angst?
Few 18-year-olds anywhere are having a better summer than Olivia Rodrigo, who’s so far spent the season bringing rock guitars back to the top of the charts with the killer single “Good 4 U,” and hanging out with Joe Biden and Anthony Fauci at the White House while encouraging young people to get vaccinated.
Rodrigo is the year’s biggest breakthrough star (even if the numbers favor Morgan Wallen), and in the new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now, Brittany Spanos and Rob Sheffield join host Brian Hiatt to trace her rapid rise, her musical lineage, and much more. Sheffield credits the “Taylor Swift effect” – Rodrigo is part of what he predicts will become a whole generation of artists inspired by Swift’s songwriting, in her case quite directly, as the songwriting credits on her debut, Sour, suggest.
We also play audio from Spanos’ recent interview with Rodrigo and producer Dan Nigro, who go in-depth on the making of “Deja Vu.”
To hear the entire episode, press play above, or download and subscribe on iTunes or Spotify.
Download and subscribe to our weekly podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on iTunes or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts), and check out three years’ worth of episodes in the archive, including in-depth, career-spanning interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Halsey, Neil Young, Alicia Keys, Phoebe Bridgers, the National, Ice Cube, Dua Lipa, Questlove, Killer Mike, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Scott Weiland, Liam Gallagher, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, John Legend, Donald Fagen, Phil Collins, Justin Townes Earle, Stephen Malkmus, Sebastian Bach, Tom Petty, Eddie Van Halen, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, the Zombies, Gary Clark Jr., and many more — plus dozens of episodes featuring genre-spanning discussions, debates, and explainers with Rolling Stone’s critics and reporters. Tune in every Friday at 1 p.m. ET to hear Rolling Stone Music Now broadcast on SiriusXM’s Volume, channel 106.
