Seven minutes before Olivia Rodrigo gets on the phone, Billboard announces that her new single, “Drop Dead,” has debuted at number one on the Hot 100. When I mention this, she becomes almost too shy to speak. “It’s been a very exciting few weeks,” she manages.
No kidding. Rodrigo is taking the call during a quick break from rehearsals at Saturday Night Live, where she’ll appear as both host and musical guest this weekend. “I’m really nervous about it, but I’m trying to maintain my composure,” she says.
Another groundbreaking career milestone will follow in a few weeks, when her logo is splashed across FC Barcelona’s jerseys during one of the biggest club soccer matches in the world, El Clásico, on May 10. “I’m an American girl, but I went to my first European football game a few years ago, and it was just the most electric, wonderful environment,” Rodrigo says. “The fans were so incredible, and I loved all the chants they did. It was actually really inspiring musically.” (She also watched David Beckham’s documentary recently and loved it.)
The collaboration comes as part of Spotify’s years-long sponsorship of FC Barcelona, which has seen the platform lend its space on jerseys worn by the world’s top players—including Lamine Yamal and Raphinha—to major musical artists. Limited-edition jerseys, T-shirts, and more will be available to the public starting May 1.
Below, Olivia opens up to Vogue about the whirlwind of the last few weeks, fashion’s role in her work, and what vibes we can expect on her next album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, coming in June.
Vogue: In the promo images and video for the Barça collaboration, you’re wearing bloomers, which feel like a nod to the “Drop Dead” video. Can you talk about the costuming in the video?
Olivia Rodrigo: I really love the idea of a babydoll [dress]. I just remember being younger and having pictures of Courtney Love and Kat Bjelland from all these riot grrrl punk bands in their babydoll dresses, just owning it. I always thought that that was really cool, and so I like that there’s an element of that. I also like that it kind of feels a little pajama-y. The concept of the video is like magical realism for me. Like, oh, I just woke up and I’m in Versailles, I’m trapezing through the halls in this outfit that I maybe could have just woken up in. That was sort of the nexus of it, and I think the colors went really well with the beautiful gold backdrop and then tied into my album imagery as well.
