Disney Channel has long been producing two things: the questionable but outstanding nostalgic TV series, and the pop stars who grew up in those very shows. It seems as though every generation of Disney stars brings the world a new teenage pop star, the most global right now being Olivia Rodrigo.
Rodrigo gained fame on Disney’s Bizaardvark (2016-2019) and the highly anticipated High School Musical: The Musical: The series (2019-2022). She dominated the newer era of Disney shows, but ultimately left to pursue her music career… Sound at all familiar?
Her debut single “Drivers License” shattered records and put her at the forefront of pop music. The track primarily found its fame on TikTok, as is a common trend in recent popular music. Because the platform tends to have a target audience range of preteen-teen-young adults, Rodrigo’s presence on the platform perfectly aligned with the messages in her music.
Soon after her debut single, Rodrigo released her debut album entitled SOUR. Fans quickly fell for her changeup between the gnarly angst of teenage girl years, and her soft approach to her more emotional tracks.
But after watching her VMAs performance collapse behind her, the question becomes even more prominent: Is Olivia just another Disney defiant pop star, or is there more depth to her production?
Her latest album GUTS feels like a carbon copy of what so many teenage artists have done before. There’s a sad track, one for her friends, and one where she rages against the world as does every teenage girl.
Some of her latest songs almost sound like they could have belonged solely to fellow artist Conan Gray. The pair of famous best friends appear to be sharing more than just laughs, check out “Lacy” to hear exactly what I mean.
The world will forever admire the proclaimed girly pop star of the year, but let’s not claim anyone for groundbreaking when they can artfully recreate what the public loves. The girl can sing and write, but her production can absolutely be grouped with other beloved ex-Disney stars.