On Her Guts World Tour, Olivia Rodrigo is no longer the girl you thought you knew

Olivia Rodrigo has always been an arena selling artist. The opening night of the Guts World tour was proof of that.

Friday night in Palm Springs, California at Acrisure Arena, Rodrigo cemented her place in pop culture as a generation-defining artist. As a rock star. And as an energetic idol just starting her career.

Greeted by a roaring audience of lavender-clad kids, Gen Z'eers, gays and good moms, Rodrigo took the stage in a glittering silver two-pointer for “Bad Idea Right” after an intro that brought Offal art to life album cover.

She began her set with some yearbook references to her past: the young Disney starlet who fit the mold of a teenager with huge potential as she belted out her hits “Ballad of a Homeschool Girl” and “Vampire,” before bidding farewell to old Liv with a piano rendition of the hit that made it what it is: “Drivers License.”

The first several songs were a tribute to Olivia's past. After Rodrigo released her album Get angry, which earned her the 2022 Grammy for Best New Artist, opted for a less flashy high school-themed design for her tour, playing intimate venues like New York's Radio City Music Hall and Los Angeles' Greek Theatre. She said Rolling rock that she did so in order not to miss a single step in her rise to success.

On Friday, she celebrated the era before her and sang “Teenage Dream” as videos of her as a child flashed on the screen. Please don't call her a child anymore.

Astrological motifs decorated the next segment of the show as she channeled Cyndi Lauper and her pop greats with a choreographed and kick-ass rendition of 'Love Is Embarrassing', before bringing all the older sisters in the audience to tears with 'Making the Bed. ” He finished Part Two by sitting on a crescent moon and flying above the packed venue for a rendition of “Logical” before addressing the crowd while suspended in the middle of the arena.

“I'm so happy to be in Palm Springs. I've never been here before. I lived in Temecula which is not too far away,” he told the crowd, before asking: “Has anyone been to my Sour tour? It's a very first. I am glad to see you again. You look more beautiful than I remember.” (So ​​did she.)

The moment he soars above the crowd on a crescent moon of “Logical” and “Enough For You” served as a transition for the rest of the show – it was like a literal eclipse. Things got rockier, sexier. Hornier, really. Opening the biggest tour of her life on the eve of the Virgo full moon was more than fitting. That was obvious.

For “Jealousy, Jealousy,” she greeted fans in the crowd and later refused to censor herself as she rallied the crowd to sing “Deja Vu” with her “at the top of your fucking lungs.” After a two-guitar solo transition, Rodrigo returned to the stage in a bright red outfit and led the crowd into euphoric screams during “Brutal.” She performed the bonus track 'Obsessed' as if it were a single, spinning on the ground as the camera panned her down the stage.

During “All-American Bitch”, she changed the line “Perfect all-American hips” to her original, fancier line: “Perfect all-american tits” as she crossed her arms over her breasts. She closed the show completely unconcerned. You couldn't take your eyes off her.

Rodrigo left the stage and the crowd soon started chanting “Get Him Back” to bring her back for her last two songs. She returned with “Good 4 U” wearing a tube with the words “I'm just a girl” in Bratz font, paying homage to Gwen Stefani — and channeling the No Doubt star's influence on culture. After a saucy rendition of “Get Him Back” to end the night, Rodrigo took to the crowd to meet her fans and took her flowers: hugging her Livies as star-shaped confetti rained down on the crowd.

The Offal The World tour marks a new beginning for Rodrigo. And she reminds us that she's not one to fuck her. It was fitting that it was her 21st birthday this week.