Olivia Rodrigo lit up Hyde Park’s Great Oak Stage on Saturday evening, thrilling a sold-out crowd with a dynamic mix of new tracks and fan favourite hits.
Kicking off the night with the electrifying ‘bad idea right?’ from her latest album GUTS, the star instantly ignited the energy of the 65,000 strong audience: a sea of fans adorned in her signature purple, dancing and singing in unison.
“I see you’re all wearing purple tonight” the singer commented with a grin before jumping into her next set of fan favourites.
Keeping the momentum going with high-energy performances of ‘ballad of a homeschooled girl’ and GUTS’ lead single ‘Vampire’, the atmosphere was palpable. As the evening progressed with the sun beginning to dip behind the stage, the mood shifted to a darker, more angsty tone with emotional renditions of ‘traitor’ and ‘obsessed’. Fans echoed every raw, heart-wrenching lyric, creating a powerful shared experience that felt both intimate and intensely electrical.
Upbeat songs ‘love is embarrassing’, ‘pretty isn’t pretty’, ‘happier’ and ‘so american’ reminded the audience what initially shot Rodrigo to stardom: her ability to blend a rock and roll-esque attitude with intense emotional depth which not only spoke to the array of purple bow clad young girls but also to their parents and grandparents who also made up the large crowd. Her witty lyrics, cathartic and relatable for every one.
As if the audience were not already having dreams fulfilled of a spectacular show, their minds were truly blown when Rodrigo introduced Grammy award winning Brit Ed Sheeran to the stage. The two performed a heartfelt rendition of Sheeran’s ‘The A team’. The girl beside me inconsolably wept for the entire three minute performance from sheer joy.
Delighting audience members by referring to herself as “an English girl at heart”, the singer continued to rock the stage with a fantastic encore featuring some of her greatest works: ‘good 4 you’ and ‘brutal’.
At just 22, she gave the performance of an artist who had been gracing the stage for decades. Her unmistakable freedom of movement, the wonderful band and Rodrigo’s unapologetic authenticity, made the show what it turned out to be: a show stopper.
Photo credit: Sophia J Carey
Kicking off the night with the electrifying ‘bad idea right?’ from her latest album GUTS, the star instantly ignited the energy of the 65,000 strong audience: a sea of fans adorned in her signature purple, dancing and singing in unison.
“I see you’re all wearing purple tonight” the singer commented with a grin before jumping into her next set of fan favourites.
Keeping the momentum going with high-energy performances of ‘ballad of a homeschooled girl’ and GUTS’ lead single ‘Vampire’, the atmosphere was palpable. As the evening progressed with the sun beginning to dip behind the stage, the mood shifted to a darker, more angsty tone with emotional renditions of ‘traitor’ and ‘obsessed’. Fans echoed every raw, heart-wrenching lyric, creating a powerful shared experience that felt both intimate and intensely electrical.
Upbeat songs ‘love is embarrassing’, ‘pretty isn’t pretty’, ‘happier’ and ‘so american’ reminded the audience what initially shot Rodrigo to stardom: her ability to blend a rock and roll-esque attitude with intense emotional depth which not only spoke to the array of purple bow clad young girls but also to their parents and grandparents who also made up the large crowd. Her witty lyrics, cathartic and relatable for every one.
As if the audience were not already having dreams fulfilled of a spectacular show, their minds were truly blown when Rodrigo introduced Grammy award winning Brit Ed Sheeran to the stage. The two performed a heartfelt rendition of Sheeran’s ‘The A team’. The girl beside me inconsolably wept for the entire three minute performance from sheer joy.
Delighting audience members by referring to herself as “an English girl at heart”, the singer continued to rock the stage with a fantastic encore featuring some of her greatest works: ‘good 4 you’ and ‘brutal’.
At just 22, she gave the performance of an artist who had been gracing the stage for decades. Her unmistakable freedom of movement, the wonderful band and Rodrigo’s unapologetic authenticity, made the show what it turned out to be: a show stopper.
Photo credit: Sophia J Carey
