These Olivia Rodrigo performances were Good 4 Us. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the greatest and most memorable performances from the “Drivers License” singer, Olivia Rodrigo.
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00:00 "I love her mom, but it's the season of sticks, and I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed."
00:07 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the greatest
00:12 and most memorable performances from the driver's license singer, Olivia Rodrigo.
00:17 "Good for you, you do it, I knew it now. Babe, God, I wish that I could do that."
00:23 Number 10. Brutal. 11th iHeartRadio Music Festival.
00:29 "I'm so insecure, that I die before I drink."
00:33 She had released her album and made several television appearances,
00:37 but the 2021 iHeartRadio Festival was touted as Olivia Rodrigo's very first
00:42 full set in front of a crowd of fans after the release of Sour.
00:46 "One more time, I'm gonna cry, and I don't stick up for myself. I'm anxious and nothing can help."
00:53 She opened the show with the album's first track,
00:56 "Brutal." Storming the stage with boundless energy and pure excitement, she owns the moment.
01:02 It feels like watching an artist arrive. As the audience sings along,
01:06 you can actually see her react with joy.
01:08 "All I did was try my best, it's a constant question, I'm gonna end this day or say."
01:15 It's not her best performance technically, but it's both a reminder of how talented
01:19 she was from the start of her career, and how much she would improve.
01:23 "It's gone!" "It's gone!"
01:27 Number 9. Vampire - Get Him Back
01:30 40th MTV Video Music Awards
01:32 "Hate to give the satisfaction, asking how you're doing now.
01:36 How's the cast of Built of Paper you pretend to care about?"
01:40 Midway through her killer performance of Vampire, a series of mishaps saw Olivia
01:45 Rodrigo ushered off stage and the entire auditorium thrown into darkness.
01:50 But the wild pyrotechnics, falling stage lights, and malfunctioning set pieces were just part of
01:56 the standard showmanship of the VMAs. The fake-out leads into the first notes of "Get Him Back,"
02:02 which make the audience erupt in cheers.
02:04 "I want to get him back, back, back, back."
02:10 The singer is then joined on stage by a bunch of look-alike dancers,
02:14 and rockets through the sing-along revenge anthem.
02:16 "I want to get him back, 'cause I can't really fix him and I fix him myself."
02:23 It's not her most intimate vocal performance,
02:25 but it encapsulates what makes her such a vibrant stage presence.
02:28 "I want to get him back, back, back."
02:36 Number 8. Traitor - Sour Prom
02:39 "Brown guilty eyes and little white lies, yeah, I played dumb but I..."
02:45 Unable to tour due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Rodrigo and her team came up with
02:51 a brilliant and appropriate solution. The livestream concert film "Sour Prom" featured
02:57 songs from her first album played against the setting of a senior prom.
03:01 "Now you bring her around, just to shut me down, show her off like she's an angel."
03:08 Its standout number is easily "Traitor," which shows the singer drifting through
03:13 pairs of dancers, acting out the song's deep hurt through a stylized dance number.
03:18 With its stirring lyrics and poignant themes,
03:21 "Traitor" is an ambitious song that showcases Olivia's singing and acting range.
03:25 "It took you two weeks to go off and date her."
03:30 Add some choreography into the mix, and we have a triple threat on our hands.
03:34 "Oh, yeah, you're still a traitor."
03:41 Number 7. Déjà Vu - Olivia Rodrigo - Tiny Desk Home Concert
03:45 Performing live from an actual DMV, Olivia's Tiny Desk concert for NPR was a chance for fans to see
03:59 her perform in a stripped-down, acoustic environment. She closed out the set with
04:04 "Déjà Vu," a dreamy art-pop track with a lot of high notes. "So when you gonna tell her?"
04:12 Introducing the song as a reflection on how relationships are all recycled,
04:16 Olivia says she hopes we dig it. How could we not? Dressed in an oversized purple sweater
04:22 and chunky boots, there's a natural authenticity to her performance.
04:25 "And I bet that she knows Billie Joe 'cause you played her uptown, girl."
04:32 She relays the song's hyper-specific lyrics to us like a born storyteller.
04:36 "Yeah, when I tell her you can't Déjà Vu."
04:41 Number 6. Get Him Back - Today
04:43 Her second album had only just come out that day, but some fans already seemed to know the
04:55 lyrics to "Get Him Back" by heart. Even Olivia appeared almost gleefully taken aback at points
05:00 as she sang for an outdoor audience at the Today show in September 2023.
05:05 "So I write him all these letters, then I throw them in the trash,
05:08 'cause I miss the way he kisses and the way he made me laugh."
05:11 She and her band relished in the song's playful digs and double meanings.
05:15 Through it all, she had the crowd in the palm of her hand.
05:18 "I wanna get him back. I wanna make him really jealous and make him feel bad."
05:24 One young fan was so transfixed by the performance, she couldn't even be bothered by Hoda Kotb
05:29 literally holding a microphone in her face.
05:31 Number 5. You're So Vain - 37th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
05:43 When Carly Simon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,
05:52 someone had the idea to have Olivia Rodrigo sing her most famous song.
05:56 It takes a lot of courage and a whole lot of talent to make a revenge song from the 1970s
06:01 sound current. "I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee."
06:09 "You're So Vain" is a beloved and rarified classic. Despite the fact that it sits pretty
06:14 low in Olivia's range at points, her take is fresh and fun without having to stray far
06:19 from the original track at all. "You're so vain."
06:24 This isn't glorified karaoke. This is a singer who respects the classics,
06:28 but can't help but bring herself to every track she sings. If anything,
06:33 it's a testament to how versatile and timeless a performer Olivia is becoming.
06:37 Number 4. Driver's License - 64th Annual Grammy Awards
06:50 "I got my driver's license last week, just like we always talked about."
06:57 To bring Olivia's breakout hit to the stage, the Grammys transformed into a fog-filled
07:02 suburban street for this haunting performance. There's even a whole car on stage.
07:07 "Cause how could I ever love someone else?"
07:11 Olivia's memorable rendition of the number at a literal DMV puts us in the right time and place,
07:18 but the staging at the awards show really captures the whole feeling of the song.
07:22 Singing her heart out for a room full of established pros,
07:26 there's no doubt she's a star in the making here.
07:28 Whether she's giving a bare-bones acoustic performance or a heavily-produced Grammy
07:39 showcase, the talent, emotion, and youthful exuberance are all there.
07:44 "Yeah, you said forever, now I drive alone past your street."
07:50 Number 3. Good 4 U - Saturday Night Live
07:54 Olivia Rodrigo's May 2021 appearance on Saturday Night Live was quite early in her tenure as a
08:06 solo pop artist. Careers have been born and died on the iconic SNL stage. She performed her first
08:12 hit, "Driver's License," on the show, but Good 4 U was the real showstopper.
08:17 "I'm good for you, I guess you're getting everything you want. You bought a new car
08:22 and your career's really taking off."
08:24 Heavily inspired by 2000s pop punk, the song gave her the chance to delight in the angrier side of
08:30 her star persona. During the performance, it's clear she's new to this, but that's what makes
08:35 it so endearing. "Well screw that, screw you, you will never have to hurt the way you know that I do."
08:41 She has so much fun playing the girly rock star, and the band behind her is in on the energy. Who
08:47 didn't smile when she ran over to hug her bassist and collaborator Dan Nigro when it was all over?
08:53 "So I suspect that I really don't get it. I'm just good for you."
08:59 Number 2. All-American Bitch - Live From Rehearsal
09:08 Olivia's crystal clear and adaptable voice gives her a versatility capable of defying genre and
09:14 style. That's never been more useful than in this folksy pop punk hybrid song from her second album.
09:21 This rehearsal footage highlights Rodrigo's ability to swing from soft, friendly cooing,
09:32 to singing with a punchy, powerful gusto. Describing the duality of outward softness
09:38 and inner rage that often defines the experience of being a woman in the spotlight,
09:42 Olivia fittingly includes a screaming interlude.
09:45 If anyone wondered if she would perform the track Screams Live,
09:55 this performance should answer that question.
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10:15 Number 1. Favorite Crime - Vivo Lift
10:20 This live rendition of Favorite Crime was promoted as the debut performance of the song,
10:31 and it presents nearly every component of her stardom. Pristine vocals, tight harmonies,
10:37 emotional visual storytelling with hints of nostalgia - it's all there.
10:41 Like something out of a classic teen movie or a core high school memory,
10:50 Olivia and her backup singers perform the track about a love gone wrong,
10:54 on a rooftop. The camera drifts over the scene, giving it a dreamy quality.
10:59 "All the things I did"
11:03 It feels like a tribute to every person who remembers how painful,
11:07 beautiful, and important everything feels when you're young.
11:09 "Your favorite crime"
11:15 What's your favorite live Olivia Rodrigo performance? Let us know in the comments.
11:28 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from MsMojo,
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