Olivia Rodrigo may have started her career on Disney Channel, a typical pipeline for major pop stars like Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, and Selena Gomez. But Rodrigo's career trajectory has been extraordinary as she forged path for Gen Z vulnerability with her diaristic songwriting.

Born in California, Rodrigo began taking singing, acting, and piano lessons as a child. In 2016, at 13 years-old, Rodrigo landed a leading role in Disney Channel show Bizaardvark. Soon after the show ended in 2019, Rodrigo was cast in the starring role for Disney's High School Musical: The Musical—The Series. Rodrigo penned "All I Want" and performed the original song on the show. By 2020, she wrote another song with co-star Joshua Bassett titled "Just for a Moment."

In 2021, Rodrigo shook the world with her confession-soaked power ballad "Drivers License." The single sky-rocketed to the top of the Billboard Top 100 chart and broke the Spotify record for the most streams of a non-holiday song in a day. At 17 years-old, Rodrigo was the youngest person to top the Billboard chart at the time. On a cultural level, "Drivers License" dominated the year of its release; it created tabloid drama for its conspicuous lyrics about a Disney love triangle, inspired a sweet Saturday Night Live skit, and topped end of year lists across the board. In 2024, Rolling Stone included the song in its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

Rodrigo followed up "Drivers License" with her next single, "Deja Vu" which reached created anticipation for her 2021 debut album, Sour. The LP built off of the strength Rodrigo created with "Drivers License" and proved her staying power. The singer delved into pop-punk territory but piano-driven tracks like with heart-wrenching details about the loss of first love were the album's strength. Sour topped Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums of 2021 list. At the 64th Grammy Awards, the young star clinched her newcomer status with the Best New Artist award and wins in the Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance categories.

In 2023, Rodrigo released her highly-anticipated sophomore album, Guts. The album served as a reflection on her "baptism by fire" experience of overnight global fame but with a cheeky, unserious approach. “Our goal was to make something a little more playful, a record that didn’t take itself so seriously,” she explained in her Rolling Stone cover story. With bold, punk-inspired songs like "All-American Bitch" and theatric rock tracks like "Vampire," the 20 year-old continued to impress critics and fans alike.

At the beginning of 2024, Rodrigo kicked off on her Guts World Tour in which she partnered with the National Network of Abortion Funds for the North American leg of her tour, donating a portion of ticket sales to the fund's local chapters. The move aligns with Rodrigos ethos to remain a bold voice in the music industry: "All of my role models are my role models because they’re unapologetically who they are. I can’t cherry-pick parts of myself to express. And if that’s the worst thing that I’m doing, then I think I’m doing pretty well," she told Rolling Stone. — Maya Georgi