A pop star we actually deserve, Olivia Rodrigo announces Vancouver show for “GUTS”

by Mike Usinger on September 13th, 2023 at 9:40 AM

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Before we get to how lucky we are, let’s start with the news. One of the fastest-rising music stars on the planet, Olivia Rodrigo, is headed to Vancouver as part of her first-ever arena tour. The California-born singer and songwriter will bring her winning mix of hyper-perceptive pop, candy-dipped punk, and throwback indie rock to Rogers Arena on August 9, 2024.

Fans can register starting now until 7pm on September 17 for both the onsale tickets as well as American Express early access. After registration closes, fans will be randomly selected to receive a code that grants them entry to the online sales on September 20 and 21.

Rodrigo is touring for her second album, GUTS, which has been hailed as a modern masterpiece everywhere from Rolling Stone to The New York Times.

Now for what really counts.

Stop and think for a second about the ’80s-onwards prefabbed pop stars your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents were tricked into loving by the major-label machine. Here’s a short list: Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, New Kids on the Block, that chick from the Napanee Home Hardware store, and Christina Aguilera (who at least gets a pass for pissing of almost everyone with borderline-obscene videos like “Dirty”).

And who do kids today get? That would be thinking-person’s pop stars like Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, Halsey, and Rodrigo. Writing your own songs is hard, and connecting with a mass audience while refusing to pander to the lowest common denominator is even harder.

Rodrigo wastes zero time laying her world views out on GUTS, declaring, “I pay attention to things that most people ignore” and, “I know my age, and I act like it” on her kick-off track “All-American Bitch”.

From there? We could go on about the awesomeness of her GUTS song titles alone: “Pretty Isn’t Pretty”, “The Grudge”, “Obsessed”, and “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl”. Instead, think about poor old Britney not only singing a line like, “When am I gonna stop being a pretty young thing to guys/When am I gonna stop being great for my age and just start being good?”, but actually sounding like she means it.

And if that’s not admirable enough, consider this: the opening acts that Rodrigo has tapped for her tour include queer dark-pop upstart Chappell Roan, bedroom-soul wonder Remi Wolf, glitch-pop experimentalist PinkPantheress (who’s on the Vancouver stop), and the Breeders.

That’s right: the goddamn Breeders. At just 20 years old, Rodrigo already knows her history well enough to appreciate the brilliance of Kim Deal and company. Unbelievable as this might seem, we’re finally at a point in history when we get the multi-platinum pop stars we—in the best of ways—actually deserve.