Yeah we know what you’re thinking, “it’s brutal out here," because as it seems Olivia Rodrigo won’t be able to go on tour until spring of 2022 due to prior television commitments.
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As the star is set to remain the co-lead of the Disney+ hit High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, industry sources told Billboard, there will be no touring for the teen princess anytime in the immediate future.
"By the time she's able to tour, I don't know what the relevance is going to be," says Brock Jones, a longtime promoter in Nashville and Philadelphia, said comparing Rodrigo current situation to the period in Elvis Presley's career when his manager, Col. Tom Parker, pushed him to star in films rather than participating in tours. "What is marketable today could be an afterthought in a week," he added.
While we doubt Olivia’s relevance will be obsolete by the time her television obligations are complete, perhaps her No.1 hit album SOUR, could by then have run its course. Yet something tells us that even despite that, once on sale, tickets won’t be available for long. Plus, who said she can't churn out a new album, like Ariana Grande did with Sweetener and Thank U, Next -- could lead to a double album tour.
Since making her official popstar debut with “drivers license” earlier this year, Olivia has been achieving nonstop success. Through additional singles like “deja vu,” and “good 4 u,” eventually leading to that insane week in June when all 11 of her album tracks hit the Billboard Hot 100.
While Olivia does have a couple major live performance under her belt, with the Brit Awards and Saturday Night Live, both of which occurred in May, she is currently unable to take the next step in her music career by singing her songs in a live intimate setting with her fans. However, it was revealed that promoters are holding spring 2022 dates in 3,000-to-5,000-seat venues to give Rodrigo experience before she graduates to bigger venues, for when Rodrigo does get the green-light.
"You've got to build and take the right steps before you shoot for the moon," says Louis Messina, owner of Messina Touring Group, promoter for Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and other superstars said in regards to starting in smaller venues.
Rodrigo is an unusual type of pop star, as she shot to stardom as a recording artist after having already been know for her TV role. Not to mention it all went down towards the end of lockdown. So while some believe Olivia’s success to be a fad and her inability to go on tour as an additional hinderance, others see Rodrigo's success for what it is, with absolutely zero questions as to whether or not Olivia is here to stay.
"Given the numbers, I imagine the appetite will be huge," says Tom Windish, an agent for Wasserman Music. Randy Phillips, the former AEG Live CEO who manages boy band Why Don't We, adds that tickets for an early-2022 Rodrigo tour could go on sale this fall, and SOUR will still be hot at that point. "I think she's fine, honestly," he says. "The marketing stuff happens not when a show plays, it's when a show goes on sale. If it's true she has this commitment to Disney, I don't think that's a bad thing.”
Messina, whose promotion company is an AEG Live partner, sees Taylor Swift-like potential in Rodrigo. "I guarantee you, if I get a phone call tomorrow, I'd be on a plane. I'm sure she will be doing shows. She's got plenty of time," he says. "Do I think she's a star? Yeah.”
So long answer short, while an Olivia Rodrigo tour isn’t too far away, it’s also not coming at us any time soon. So until then get your SOUR fix by listening to Audacy’s Pop New Arrivals exclusive station, for all the fresh new hits and latest from the world of Pop, from Olivia to Kali Uchis, Masked Wolf and more.
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