Olivia Rodrigo oozes star quality at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena

Utilita Arena, Birmingham, 10th May 2024

Scatters of purple feathers and glitter trail behind. Dots of red and purple fill the lead-up to Birmingham Utilita. A shine not dissimilar to Harry Styles’ Love on Tour, as mothers and their daughters followed by teenage girls and their giggling friends fill up the entire arena as Remi Wolf sets the energy for Olivia Rodrigo’s set. Debuting her new song ‘Toro’, Remi Wolf braces well as a supporting act, dancing and electrifying the audience. Her performances of cover ‘Valerie’ and TikTok sensation ‘Photo ID’, send a buzz as she prepares the audience to dance and sing along.

The countdown to Rodrigo taking the stage begins as the projection of the candles spelling out ‘GUTS’ begin to fall. Each time a letter falls, excited screams break out from the audience. The rumble of instruments builds as the crowd cheers, awaiting Rodrigo’s entrance. Rising from the stage the twenty-one-year-old pop sensation appears wearing a silver-sequinned bralette and mini skirt bedazzled so when the Utilita’s bright lights catch her, she glistens akin to the twinkling stars that await in the centre of the arena. Flashes of white light followed by strums of electric guitar as she enters echo as she delves into hit ‘bad idea right?’. As the beat inches towards the bridge, she reaches towards the audience who obediently scream the lyrics back to her, knowing the song word for word.

Regardless of the song, Rodrigo remains connected to her audience

Following on, ‘ballad of a homeschooled girl’ continues this energy, and the levels do not dip for the following hour and a half of the singer’s set. As I look around everyone who can is standing, screaming, eyes glistening when ‘vampire’ calls out. In front, a little girl stands on her chair completely lost in Rodrigo’s singing. Scanning, eyes are stapled to Rodrigo as her voice carries around the entire arena as the lights flood to red.

Leading into ‘traitor’, the first song of the night from her debut album Sour, she takes to the front of the stage. The slower, more laid-back song creates a sense of intimacy in the arena, as the crowd knowingly sing along to every word. The quiet closeness of ‘traitor’ contrasts with the set-lists’ upbeat openers, conjuring an equilibrium that allows for moments of calm between all of the dancing. Regardless of the song, Rodrigo remains connected to her audience. As the final notes of ‘traitor’ play, she exits the stage, leaving the band to perform an extended outro of the song, exhibiting that Rodrigo is not the only talented musician on the stage.

Rodrigo takes to the piano for Sour’s lead single, and the song which cemented her place as a star within the music industry, ‘driver’s license’. What comes next can only be described as tearful: ‘teenage dream’ encapsulates the feeling of being a young girl with big dreams. You cannot help but feel this deep understanding that surrounds you in the arena. The dancers, the band, and the audience all feel touched as collages of young Rodrigo are projected onto the stage.

Rodrigo returns to the front of the stage with her dancers, after a quick outfit change in a black sequined two-piece, to perform ‘pretty isn’t pretty’, a song which is best described as an anthem for teenage girls.

It appears as if Rodrigo cannot quite believe the size of the audience that she is performing to

The upbeat and electric atmosphere returns as Rodrigo swiftly transitions into ‘love is embarrassing’, completed by the twenty-one-year singer-songwriter joining in with her ensemble of talented dancers. The sombre ‘making the bed’, perfectly rounds up the first half of the set as Rodrigo makes her way into the midst of the arena on a crescent moon for her next song. Stars light up and dip around the crowd and the moon as she breaks into another softer song from GUTS, ‘logical’. As the track comes to a close, she addresses the audience, taking the time to greet fans, waving back to them, and thanking everyone for coming to see her performance. It appears as if Rodrigo cannot quite believe the size of the audience that she is performing to. She leads into ‘enough for you’, her favourite song from Sour as she makes her way around the second half of the arena. Reaching down into the crowd, arms of the pit rise to meet hers in this angelic show. Rodrigo returns to the front of the stage for ‘lacy’, dancers spinning around her, ebbing and flowing to her voice.

Rodrigo begins a conversation with the audience, speaking on how it feels to be England, professing her love for Percy Pigs and chocolate Digestives, although proclaiming that no matter what she “can’t help feeling ‘so american’”. Slicing the silence, she transitions into the brand-new song from the deluxe edition of her sophomore album GUTS (spilled). She changes the lyrics from “I think I’m in love” to “I am in love”, in what must be an homage to English actor, and Rodrigo’s boyfriend, Louis Partridge, receiving immense cheers from the crowd. This is both an energetic and personal show. After ‘jealousy, jealousy’, Rodrigo sits crossed-legged at the front of the stage for her acoustic performances of ‘happier’ and ‘favourite crime’, accompanied by her guitarist. Listeners cling onto to her every word as her voice consumes the stadium. The two stripped-back songs are perfect to perform as we can truly appreciate what incredible vocals she has grown to have. It is crisp and it is light and most of all it is raw.

Purple swallows everyone as she reaches in with ‘deja vu’, centre stage, leaning out for the audience to sing, “do you get déjà vu?”, you can feel every person straining their voice. She has tailored a perfect setlist for her audience, represented in her ability to encapsulate the crowd, especially in her quieter songs of Sour. With the final play of ‘the grudge’ the instrumentation bubbles as we await Rodrigo’s return. The pop star takes to the stage again, this time in bright red sequins for her passioned ‘brutal’.  The night is at its peak as the energy levels are unmatched.

Rodrigo’s show in Birmingham left everyone with smiles spread across their face and stars stuffed into their pockets

Without a second to look, she strikes through ‘obsessed’, another song from GUTS (spilled), however, this track is much more rock-infused. These songs are fuelled with fury, especially ‘all american bitch’. At a peak she makes everyone think of something that truly makes you angry and gets them to scream. Only someone who can perform as well as Rodrigo can have a 15,000-capacity arena in the palm of her hand. She has not lost any energy. Cheers follow as she bows and leaves to prepare for the encore.

We stamp our feet as we patiently await her return, making the entire shake, quite literally, with anticipation. In her final outfit for the night, the iconic red bra and black glitter shorts, paired with a white tee over the top with ‘cheeky’ written, the beginning notes of ‘good 4 u’ ring out. Knowing this is one of her final songs, the spirit is palpable. She swiftly leads into the final, and arguably the best, song of the night, ‘get him back!’. Holding a red megaphone, Rodrigo keeps the calm needed for the opening of the song before exploding into the catchy chorus. A burst of colourful stars showers over the audience. As she says her final ‘thank you’ and takes her final bow, alongside the band, Rodrigo is met with thunderous applause and cheers. This is certainly a night that the sold-out crowd won’t be forgetting in a hurry. Rodrigo’s show in Birmingham left everyone with smiles spread across their face and stars stuffed into their pockets.

Rodrigo’s Guts Tour is an incredible reflection of how far she has come since her debut album Sour and most of all, Disney. She brought Birmingham Utilita alive for the night, giving a taste of the passion she so clearly holds. The sky is limit, or perhaps more fittingly, the moon and stars are the limit, for Rodrigo.

★★★★