Olivia Rodrigo on Barça, Robert Smith, and the Countdown to ‘You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love’

Seven minutes before Olivia Rodrigo called, Billboard announced that her new single “Drop Dead” had debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100. When I mentioned this, she was almost too shy to speak. “It’s been a very exciting few weeks,” she said.

No kidding. Rodrigo took the call during a break from rehearsals for “Saturday Night Live,” where she will appear as host and musical guest this weekend. “I’m really nervous but I’m trying to stay calm,” she said.

Lamine Yamar wears a limited edition FC Barcelona jersey.

Photo: Courtesy of Spotify

In a few weeks, another breakthrough career milestone is coming, when on May 10, her logo will appear on the jersey of FC Barcelona in one of the biggest club football competitions in the world, El Clasico. “I’m an American girl, but I watched European soccer for the first time a few years ago and it was the most exciting and wonderful environment,” Rodrigo said. “The fans are incredible and I love all the songs they sing. It’s actually very inspiring musically.” (She also recently watched the David Beckham documentary and loved it.)

The partnership is part of Spotify’s multi-year sponsorship of FC Barcelona, ​​with the platform lending its space to major music artists, including jerseys worn by the world’s top players such as Lamine Yamal and Raphinha. Limited edition jerseys, T-shirts and more will be available to the public starting on May 1st.

Next, Olivia said Fashion On the whirlwind past few weeks, the role of fashion in her work, and the vibe we can expect on her next album, You seem to feel sorry for a girl who is so in lovecomes June.

Vogue: In promotional images and videos for your collaboration with Barcelona, ​​you wear bloomers, which feels like a nod to the “Drop Dead” video. Can you talk about the costumes in the video?

Olivia Rodrigo: I really like the babydoll idea [dress]. I just remember being younger and having those pictures of Courtney Love and Kat Bjelland from the riot grrrl punk band wearing babydolls and just having it. I always thought that was really cool, so I liked elements of that. I also like that it has a bit of a pajama feel. The concept of video feels like magical realism to me. Like, oh, I just woke up, I’m in Versailles, I’m flying around the halls in this outfit, I probably just woke up and wore it. That’s the connection there, I think the colors go really well with the beautiful gold background and then also tie in with my album imagery.