Olivia Rodrigo Opens Up About Being a Role Model for Filipina Americans

Rising pop star Olivia Rodrigo recently talked about what it’s like to be a role model for young Filipina Americans.

She spoke candidly to SNL star Bowen Yang of V Magazine about representation, performing, and everything in between.

“I sometimes get DMs from little girls being like, ‘I’ve never seen someone who looked like me in your position,'” Rodrigo said. “And I’m literally going to cry. Like just thinking about it. I feel like I grew up never seeing that. Also it was always like, ‘Pop star,’ that’s a white girl.”

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Rodrigo, whose father is Filipino, is notably one of the most successful Filipino Americans in the industry. She first gained traction as the lead of the Disney+ series, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

This year, she exploded onto the mainstream music scene with her chart-topping hit “driver’s license” off her highly successful debut album Sour. Since then, the 18-year-old has been doing everything from visiting the White House to performing on SNL.

“I think live music is such an important part of life and obviously something that we’ve all been really missing in our lives. I think it’s really fun as an artist to be able to cultivate experience for people,” Rodrigo stated.

She also touched upon how women, specifically, are perceived through the media. “There’s this pressure for young women in pop music. And it’s like this thing where you’re only successful if you’re under 30,” Rodrigo explained. “I’ve always resented that because I think I’m just going to get better with age. You know what I mean? I’m just going to become a better songwriter and know what I want to say more.”

“I think that’s actually a really fun, exciting part of being in the space that I’m really encouraged to sort of have different eras and reinvent yourself.”

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