r/popmusic • u/Large_Tangerine_2914 • 18h ago
Discussion will olivia rodrigo's fanbase last?
DISCLAIMER: I love Olivia Rodrigo. Have done since Driver's License. Drop Dead will definitely be my top song and I think YSPSFAGSIL is album of the year no question. On top of that, I admire her balls for being unapologetic about her stances. Do not take this as me slandering her because I think she deserves a better fanbase.
All that said, I think a chunk of her fanbase, at least online (which I know is not a 1-1 reflection of real life), aren't as much fans of her as they are haters of Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift. You open a video of the Unravelled tour and it's not uncommon for one of the top comments to be "Taylor Swift wishes she could do this!" or variations upon it. It's also not uncommon for Livie accounts to be the loudest when it comes to Sabrina Carpenter backlash (after the wine moms ad dudebros have had their fun). And I am not saying you have to be a fan of every artist in the world or even every pop girlie. But if your fave is on tour and your first thought it about another artist, you do have to ask yourself how much of a fan you are.
I think this part of Olivia's fanbase are trying to position her as the anti-Carpenter/Swift. The one who is In It For The Music, the One True Pop Girl who's just not like the rest. And I am not sure how long this can last. As Megan Thee Stallion said, "they're ot pro-you, they're anti-me".
I believe Olivia will go on to have a long and successful career, she's clearly only going from strength to strength. But I do wonder if this part of her fanbase will crumble away with nothing to sustain them, or worse, turn on her.