The Magic Of Olivia Rodrigo’s Multigenerational Appeal
With Taylor Swift’s ticket fiasco behind us, here comes the Olivia Rodrigo ticket sales. Ticketmaster is already preparing fans for disappointment as sales begin. If you are on a text chain with others trying to hack the system for a pre-sale code -- you’re not alone. As the AP’s Music Writer Maria Sherman noted, “We’re seeing that conversation evolve where it’s accepted that people of all ages, particularly older women, are relating to and feeling for Olivia Rodrigo, and now there’s a connection with men, too”. If you are over 35 and equally excited to see her live, you are also apparently not alone. Let’s take a minute to learn from the multigenerational fandom Olivia Rodrigo has garnered, as creative inspiration for material and campaigns with the potential to transcend the limitations of assumed demographic boundaries:
1. A sound that three generations can find their way into:
Olivia Rodrigo’s new (and former) album, Guts, signals as much of a way-in for fans of Billie Eilish, as it does for fans of bands like L7, Elastica, and Hole. The video treatment for “bad idea right?” was inspired by both Can’t Hardly Wait and Empire Records. Oh and also, The Breeders will be among the opening acts for her upcoming tour.
2. Wrapped in the rebellion missing from pop culture:
When she joined Lily Allen on stage at Glastonbury, Olivia Rodrigo dedicated the song “F*ck You” to the Supreme Court Justices responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade. That sense of rebellion in music is unlike anything in the modern landscape, or for that matter the culture of Millennials or Gen Z compared with 90s Gen X youth culture. It's a throwback to the role music played for Gen X in their youth – when artists across genres were connected by a sense of rebellion. “That’s what music is for, expressing your rage and dissatisfaction,” she recently told The Guardian.
3. Propelled into pop culture by Y2K nostalgia:
Rodrigo’s sound is also more iterative to the sounds of Y2K Pop Punk -- My Chemical Romance, Paramore, and Dashboard Confessional -- than any recent Alternative, Rock, or Pop releases. Rodrigo reinterprets Rock and Pop Punk with a contemporary flair, making her sound nostalgic yet refreshing. It’s hard to listen to tracks like “love is embarrassing” without being instantly transported to the soundtrack of an early aughts Rom-Com.
4. Tailored to broad audiences increasingly reflecting on their own mental health:
Guts, like any signature Olivia Rodrigo project, features ballads that detail emotional turmoil, anger, sadness, pain, and longing. This emotional vulnerability breaks the pop star mold, allowing the material to both connect with audiences on a deeper level and be more broadly appealing. The range of vulnerability in the music might be a natural progression for someone coming of age on TikTok, a platform that places a heightened value on authenticity and openness, but allows the artist’s lyrical content to resonate with audiences of all ages who are increasingly paying attention to their own mental health.