Spilling our Guts on Olivia Rodrigo’s World Tour

Ms. Rodrigo does it again.

by CHLOE RUDNICK ★ MARCH 6, 2024

From Disney Channel fame to the Grammy Stage, Olivia Rodrigo went from captivating small theaters to selling out arenas she’s always dreamed of playing at. Once she released her first album, SOUR, the angsty pop-star immediately rose to fame. After three Grammy wins, she set out on the toughest journey any artist faces after a successful first album: making a second. And obviously, she succeeded. Now six Grammy nominations later, she's taking her newest album GUTS on the road. From costumes, to merch, to the setlist (including all the old songs you’re obviously dying to know if she sang,) here’s everything you need to know about the GUTS World Tour.     

The setlist

On Friday February 23, in Palm Springs, California, fans filled the Acrisure Arena anxiously awaiting for Olivia to take the stage. Opening with “bad idea right?” the second single off GUTS, the show started with a bang giving 90’s rock concert vibes. With a transition into her hit “ballad of a homeschooled girl,” the punk-rock pop-star had the arena shaking. Immediately after was a moment fans had been waiting for since the song was released. It’s no secret that “vampire,” the first single off the album, had near “drivers license” level success, and she proved so whilst singing it live. But if you were going to hear her do so, you were definitely out of luck as the audience was so loud she could barely hear herself. This led into a new segment of the show, where she stepped inside the harrowing world of any teenager doing the thing she does best: writing and performing gut-wrenching ballads that always end up as Billboard hits, but more importantly, resonate with almost everyone in the audience. She then sang “traitor,” an old song many were hoping would stay on the setlist, joined by backup dancers on the stage. Yes… backup dancers during maybe the saddest song she’s ever written, and before you ask… yes, it kind of worked. Then of course, she belted out “drivers license” on the piano, a moment still surreal to many. Still at the piano, she then sang “teenage dream,” which she described in a speech beforehand to be notably more special as her twenty-first birthday was a couple days prior, and the song expresses her fears about losing the best parts of herself as she matures. Just after cracking a joke about how she celebrated by legally purchasing a pack of cigarettes, and a case of beer, neither of which she consumed, everyone was reduced to tears as during the song, there was a montage and voiceover of home-videos of her as a baby. She then killed several more songs off the new album and belted out a couple more ballads flying through the air atop a purple moon (no biggie.) As you’ve probably seen as it’s currently trending on TikTok, accompanied by her dancers once again, she sang “love is embarrassing” with some crazy Disney Channel style choreography, all in aude to the message of embarrassment, but of course, in an effortlessly cool way. Sitting on the end of the stage, she sang several more songs, like “enough for you,” off SOUR, alongside her guitarist. Shocking fans, she performed an unreleased song called “obsessed,” a song about being obsessed with your ex’s new girl, naturally. Then finally sang another hit “all american bitch,” swapping out the lyric “I’m a perfect all-American bitch, with perfect all-American tits,” instead of the original lyric “hips,” of course. Thanking the audience, she then disappeared from the stage. A couple minutes later, returning for an encore, to sing “good 4 u,” and “get him back!” which she playfully performed in a shirt reading “i’m just a girl,” through a megaphone cheerleader style. Venturing through the audience accepting flowers and hugging fans, before we knew it, star shaped confetti fell from above and the show was over. So long story short, there’s your much needed debrief on the setlist.

The set

This was definitely one of the shows where any seat is a good one. That was directed for those of you who are debating whether those nose-bleeds are worth it- buying the tickets is definitely the more “logical,” option, because being able to see is one thing you won’t have to worry about. The butterfly shaped stage was where the majority of the concert took place, but she spent about 15 minutes suspended in the air visiting the highs, lows, fronts, and backs of the arena, and a few songs running through the audience on the floor saying a casual hey to all those in reach.

The wardrobe

But… Here's the hard truth… Olivia Rodrigo was built to be a fashion icon. With the help of her stylist Heather Picchiottino, the tour wardrobe looked straight out of an edgy pop princess Pinterest board. There was one common theme throughout: chic, yet skin bearing. Two things that don’t normally go together, but she made work. There were four costume changes. The first, a custom Swarovski crystal mesh bralette and skirt from Michael Schmidt Studios. The second, a little darker to match the vibe change, a black sequin bra and high waisted short shorts. Then, a sexy, custom made, ruby red jumpsuit, paired with ripped black stockings covered in shiny silver stars, then a neon purple electric guitar, you know, the accent piece. Finally, simplicity is key, ending the show in a $20 white tank top, and sparkly booty shorts. Though the singer expresses the idea that “pretty isn’t pretty” anymore, we can definitely agree to disagree in terms of this. 

The debrief

Maybe it’s because her new boyfriend Louis Partridge was in the audience next to her best friend Iris Apatow, or maybe she was just excited to get back on the road. Whatever the intention was, Olivia Rodrigo once again, proved herself to be everything and more. The most astonishing thing is that no matter how angsty or feisty the songs/performance of them are, she somehow still manages to do so with grace. GUTS is Rodrigo’s love letter to girlhood, and I can assure you girls both young and old are leaving the concert inspired (maybe also with a new girl-crush.) I “hope ur okay” after that concert, because we will definitely need five to seven business days to process.