Why Olivia Rodrigo might be our last pop superstar
Life and Art from FT Weekend
Forhecz Topher
4.6 • 601 Ratings
🗓️ 30 April 2024
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The FT’s US media correspondent Anna Nicolaou keeps hearing this lament from music executives: that Olivia Rodrigo could be the last pop superstar. They worry that no one has broken through with such ferocity since. On today’s show, Anna tells us what they mean, what the trends reflect, and whether she believes the prediction. Plus, Anna and Lilah reflect on why Rodrigo has gotten so big, and the gap she’s filling in our culture.
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We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap and we’re on X @lifeandartpod. You can email us at [email protected]. We are grateful for reviews, on Apple, Spotify, etc.
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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):
– Anna’s column about Olivia Rodrigo is here: https://on.ft.com/3UgPFkp
– You can follow Anna on X @annaknicolaou
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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is FT Weekend. I'm Lila Raptopoulos. |
| 0:05.9 | A few weeks ago, my colleague Anna Nicolao and I went to the Olivia Rodriguez concert at Madison Square Garden. |
| 0:13.3 | Anna is the Financial Times' U.S. media correspondent, and she's really interested in Olivia |
| 0:18.7 | Rodrigo right now as a pop star. |
| 0:21.8 | Olivia is a superstar. |
| 0:23.9 | She's 21 and the youngest artist to have three number one singles in history. |
| 0:29.1 | But the music landscape is changing really quickly. |
| 0:32.5 | And industry executives actually keep telling Anna that Olivia may be the last star who gets this famous. |
| 0:39.4 | The thing is, the concert didn't feel like the end of something at all. |
| 0:43.4 | It had real pop star energy. |
| 0:45.4 | The fans were young, they were dressed like Olivia Rodriguez, |
| 0:48.9 | they were scream singing all the words of her songs. |
| 0:52.1 | Here's a clip. |
| 0:52.6 | Here's a clip. |
| 1:11.3 | So I wanted to have Anna on to talk about what the music industry is worried about exactly, |
| 1:14.8 | and if she thinks that things actually are changing. |
| 1:17.5 | She's with me in the New York studio today. |
| 1:18.5 | Hi, Anna. |
| 1:19.3 | Welcome to the show. |
| 1:20.5 | Hi, Leila. |
| 1:21.9 | So nice to have you. |
| 1:24.2 | I'm so happy to be here, as ever. |
... |
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