Olivia Rodrigo’s rise to stardom hasn’t been easy.
The 18-year-old, who released her first album SOUR back in May, recently opened up about the struggles that come with reaching fame and fortune at such a young age.
After her debut single “Drivers license” took over the music charts at the beginning of the year, the young songwriter became one of the biggest upcoming artists in music.
“Never in a million years could I have expected the response that it got. It completely changed my life forever,” she told Vogue Singapore — but it hasn’t been all smooth sailing.
“It was surprising to see who was genuinely supportive of me and who wasn’t,” she said in the interview. “Sometimes when you have a lot of success really quickly, it can scare people and make people feel different. That was an interesting thing to learn. I’m figuring it all out.”
The High School Musical: The Musicalstar also opened up about how becoming famous so quickly has had an impact on her mental health.
“I’m taking it one step at a time,” she said. “It can be really tough on your mental health, though.”
She continued: “I’m grateful for the people who like me for me, and keep me separated from all the noise and tabloids or what people are saying about me on social media. That’s always been a top priority.”
“It’s funny how recognition changes everything and also changes nothing in your life. The problems I was having a year ago are still the problems I’m having now, and things that brought me joy a year ago are still the things that bring me joy now,” she added. "It’s just another aspect of life that you need to learn how to deal with, but it doesn’t change who you are as a person."
The “Good For You” singer also shared what it’s like to be a young star growing up during the age of roaring social media, and despite being one of the biggest names of her generation, she even admitted she struggles with comparing herself to others.
“You look at social media and see the perfect parts of people’s lives and it’s so hard not to compare your life to theirs,” the Disney star said. “It’s even weird for me to see my Instagram page; that's what people think of me but that doesn’t feel like me. I wish they knew the real me.”
