Music
Review
Olivia Rodrigo brings out Ed Sheeran at BST Hyde Park
The pop star’s headline set is a perfectly balanced blend of energy and emotion
London is Olivia Rodrigo’s favourite city. When she first proclaims this, none of us really believe her, of course – surely she says this everywhere she goes. She expands on this, however. She’s spent a lot of time in this city, and in this particular park. She’s spent a lot of time falling in love with an English boy. When she sings ‘so american’, a serotonin boost of a love song about her penchant for the English and one particular Englishman’s penchant for her, her ardour seems genuine. Maybe there really is something special about this gig for her. Or, more likely, there’s just something special about Olivia Rodrigo.
Earlier in the afternoon, support act girl in red divulges that she has been asked not to crowd surf because of the amount of young girls smiling up at the stage. Rodrigo has fans of all ages, but there are a great many high-pitched voices singing along to her hits. When she asks the crowd to scream in ‘all-american bitch’, the sound could rupture a dog’s eardrums (two little girls nearby scream with all the air in their lungs but politely refrain from singing the B word). For a lot of them, this is their first gig, and Rodrigo manages to deliver a set that appeals to her youngest fans, their eagerly filming parents, and everyone in between. Overwhelmingly, the crowd are here to hear her sing about things that all of us have experienced, no matter how small – jealousy, frustration, disappointment, insecurity. Rodrigo has a wonderful knack for making these feelings fun, rocking out to the toxic effects of social media with ‘jealousy, jealousy’ and cheerfully talk-singing her way through rejection and obsession with ‘get him back!’ It’s her ballads that got her where she is, though, and these provide some of the evening’s standout moments – Sour track ‘favourite crime’ is a haunting moment amidst the evening’s festivities, and breakout hit ‘driver’s license’ captures those who have yet to experience their first heartbreak, those looking back at it from a distance, and especially those still deep in the throes.
The evening’s big surprise arrives in the form of a ginger man holding a guitar. Rodrigo is a fan of inviting special guests to share her stage, and she and Ed Sheeran perform a beautifully harmonised rendition of the English singer’s 2011 hit ‘The A Team’ as the sun sets on Hyde Park (“You guys, we get to watch the sunset together, it’s very romantic,” comments Rodrigo). It’s another memorable downbeat moment in a perfectly balanced set. When Rodrigo comes out for a high-energy encore, ending with dual breakup anthems ‘good for u’ and ‘get him back!’, we’re partying again. Daughters are on their father’s shoulders. Friends are holding hands. No one is left out – from 10-year-old childhood to 50-year-old man, the highs and lows of girlhood touch us all.
