Is Olivia Rodrigo the next Ariana Grande? The Filipino-American pop star started as a Disney actor and claims to be Taylor Swift’s biggest ever fan
Every year sees a slew of new talent enter the US music scene – but only a select few become an instant hit with the masses.
This year is undoubtedly Olivia Rodrigo’s year, having risen to fame with her debut song Drivers License, which hit triple platinum in the US and even beat Ed Sheeran’s record for the highest single-day streams in British history.
As she continues to make waves with her new singles Déjà Vu and Good 4 U, we dive into a few facts you should know about the 18-year-old overnight star.
She’s a huge Swiftie
Taylor Swift returned the love by commenting, “I say that’s my baby and I’m really proud” on one of Rodrigo’s Instagram posts, showing her single Drivers License beside two of Taylor’s songs from “Evermore”. Taylor also gifted her with a special ring and a handwritten note to congratulate her on her success.
She’s Filipino-American
In a video for Disney Channel’s YouTube account in honour of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Rodrigo shared that she is part-Filipino on her dad’s side of the family.
“He came on a boat from the Philippines when he was just a teenager,” she explains in the video, adding that her family has kept many Filipino traditions alive, such as cooking Filipino food like lumpia (spring rolls).
She plays Nini Salazar-Roberts in High School Musical: The Series
Apart from her singing career, Rodrigo is also an actress, playing the lead role of Nini Salazar-Roberts in Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (yep, that’s really the full name).
She even balanced promotions for Drivers License with the show’s shooting schedules, sharing with Entertainment Weekly: “It was really awesome to be able to go to the set and have things be totally normal. It helps me keep my head on straight.”
The song Drivers License is reportedly about her co-star Joshua Bassett
Many fans speculate that her song Drivers License is about her High School Musical series co-star Joshua Bassett, whom she reportedly dated in 2020.
The lyrics, “And you’re probably with that blonde girl / Who always made me doubt,” coincidentally also could describe Joshua Bassett’s new love interest, Sabrina Carpenter, who is a blonde.
Rodrigo has neither denied nor confirmed the rumours, telling Billboard that, “I totally understand people’s curiosity with the specifics of who the song’s about and what it’s about, but to me, that’s really the least important part of the song. It’s resonating with people because of how emotional it is, and I think everything else is not important.”
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- Olivia Rodrigo also plays Nini in Disney’s High School Musical: The Series – is Drivers License really about her relationship with co-star Joshua Bassett?
- The Filipino-American singer-actor calls herself ‘the biggest Swiftie in the whole world’ and it seems that Tay-Tay feels the same, calling Rodrigo her ‘baby’