Since bursting onto the scene with her 2021 debut single, “Drivers License”, Olivia Rodrigo has cemented her status as one of pop music’s most magnetic and impactful stars. Her sophomore album, “GUTS”, only reaffirmed what “SOUR” had already made clear: Rodrigo isn’t just a moment—she’s a movement.
From the moment “Drivers License” shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Rodrigo’s rise was meteoric. She followed it up with three more Top 10 hits—”good 4 u” (No. 1), “deja vu” (No. 3), and “traitor” (No. 9)—making “SOUR” one of the most successful debut albums in recent memory.
Her second album, “GUTS”, arrived in 2023 and took things even further, with fans and critics alike praising its maturity, grit, and raw emotional power. Despite being just 20, Rodrigo’s catalogue already echoes across playlists, radio stations, and arenas worldwide.
That reach was solidified with her “GUTS World Tour”—her second global tour and first major arena run—which kicked off on February 23, 2024, in California and is set to conclude on July 1, 2025, at Co-op Live in Manchester, UK. Fans can still buy Olivia Rodrigo tickets for the UK shows and the performance is expected to be electric.
Ahead of her highly-anticipated shows, we bring you eight of the biggest hits the three-time Grammy Award winner could perform among the setlists in her “GUTS World Tour” trek.
1: “All I Want”
Suppose you’re someone who grew up belting out “Start of Something New” and “Breaking Free” from the Original “High School Musical”. If that’s the case, you might have dismissed “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” as a mere emulation, particularly when it comes to the soundtrack.
Among the standout tracks from the Disney+ series, “All I Want” shines brightest. Written and performed by Olivia Rodrigo for the show, it’s a hauntingly beautiful ballad packed with raw emotion and lyrical depth—an early glimpse of the songwriting brilliance that would soon catapult Rodrigo to global fame.
2: “Drivers License”
Unless you happen to be a teenager or the parent of one, this was the track that first introduced Olivia Rodrigo to your world.
Whether it was the ghostly purity of her vocals or the universally familiar ache of young heartbreak, she managed to strike a deep emotional chord just as millions were longing for something to feel during the height of pandemic-induced isolation—and this marked the launch of her superstardom.
Declared by numerous publications as the standout hit of early 2021, “Drivers License” took global charts by storm. The single climbed to the number-one position across platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. According to Billboard, in just its first three days in the United States, the track amassed more than 21 million streams and surpassed 16,000 digital purchases.
3: “Good 4 U”
Blending an energetic mix of pop, punk, rock, and alternative genres, “Good 4 U” is a high-tempo track marked by sharp basslines, fiery electric guitar riffs, and pounding percussion—lyrically centred on confronting an ex-partner who seemed to rebound all too effortlessly after a romantic split.
Released on May 14, 2021, via Geffen and Interscope Records, the single stood as the third track promoted from Rodrigo’s debut studio project, “SOUR” (2021).
The track became just the third project from a female act to deliver a pair of number-one debuts—joining Mariah Carey’s “Daydream” (1995) and Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next” (2019). In addition, the hit marked the album’s third single to break into the chart’s upper ten spots during its debut.
4: “Deja Vu”
Credited as the second promotional track off her initial full-length studio effort, “SOUR” (2021), “Deja Vu” was co-penned by Olivia Rodrigo and Dan Nigro, who also handled production. Additional songwriting acknowledgements went to Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, and St. Vincent due to the interpolation of Swift’s 2019 release “Cruel Summer”.
When it premiered on the US Billboard Hot 100 on April 17, 2021, “Deja Vu” entered eighth place, turning Rodrigo into the first performer in history to have both of their opening singles debut within the chart’s top 10 range.
5: “Love Is Embarrassing”
Described stylistically as a new wave piece, the lyrics carry a tone of self-mockery, where she mocks a former romantic flame while confessing her regret and shame over the depth of her infatuation.
As part of her Tiny Desk performance in December 2023, Rodrigo opened the session with “Love Is Embarrassing”, a track that also features on her 2024–2025 “GUTS World Tour” setlist.
In the UK, it opened at number 21 on Billboard and ranked 24 on the Official Audio Streaming Chart, going on to earn a silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry.
The Official Charts Company later revealed in February 2024 that “Love Is Embarrassing” had become Rodrigo’s 20th-most-successful track in the region.
6: “Traitor”
Whispers of “Traitor” being inspired by Joshua Bassett—the American entertainer who starred alongside Olivia Rodrigo in “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”—have persisted since the song’s release.
With a subdued delivery, she sings the striking line, “Guess you didn’t cheat, but you’re still a traitor,” reflecting on the deep sense of betrayal that follows seeing a former partner move on romantically while the heartbreak still lingers. Stylistically, the song is a melancholic blend of indie pop, guitar-driven rock, and folk balladry.
Although not immediately pushed as a single in the United States, “Traitor” made a strong entry—debuting and peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time of the album’s drop, alongside “Good 4 U” and “Deja Vu”, making Rodrigo one of the rare acts to have three tracks simultaneously in the top tier of the chart.
7: “Brutal”
Among the eleven tracks featured on Olivia Rodrigo’s “SOUR”, “Brutal” stands out as a fusion of rock-infused genres—ranging from alternative rock and grunge to pop-punk, emo-punk, and pop rock—built around a jagged arrangement of aggressive drums and distorted electric guitar.
The lyrics spotlight her inner turmoil, anxieties, and disillusionment as she faces the transition from her teenage years to early adulthood.
The guitar progression in “Brutal” was compared to Elvis Costello’s 1978 release “Pump It Up”, prompting plagiarism speculation due to their striking resemblance.
As an opener for “SOUR”, the track acts as a tamed-down counterpart to classics like “Cherry Bomb” and “Bad Reputation”. Drawing from the unfiltered spirit of riot-grrrl punk, it seamlessly blends a delicate violin intro with snarling guitar distortion.
A defiant pop anthem with underlying punk character, “Brutal” channels raw adolescent chaos through polished pop production. Despite the studio refinement of its punk influences, the result is both unapologetically brash and vividly reflective of the emotional whirlwind associated with modern teenage girlhood.
8: “Teenage Dream”
Closing out her second full-length project, “GUTS”, Olivia Rodrigo’s final offering, “teenage dream”, shifts from the explosive defiance that characterised much of “SOUR” to a quieter, soul-baring reflection. Rather than channel youthful frustration, this tender piano-led ballad navigates the emotional turbulence of maturing in the limelight—a space where adolescence is both romanticised and dissected.
Rodrigo invites her audience into a moment of personal reckoning, openly wondering whether the acclaim and inspiration that once defined her might be slipping away with time.
“I’m sorry that I couldn’t always be your teenage dream,” she confesses, letting the sentiment rise through climactic, arena-sized choruses that evoke the kind of anthemic intensity reminiscent of Oasis.
As she stepped into her twenties, this emotional crescendo felt like a symbolic farewell to childhood—a candlelit admission of fears, doubt, and the fragility of creative identity.
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