Olivia Rodrigo Confuses Audience With Stage Malfunction at the 2023 VMAs

Olivia Rodrigo celebrated the discharge of her sophomore album, Guts, on the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, September, 12.

Rodrigo, 20, kicked off her efficiency by recreating points of her “Vampire” music video — which was full with a forest background and glitchy results. A number of viewers members together with Chase Stokes and Kelsea Ballerini appeared confused by the intentional stage malfunction.

A quick rendition of “Good for You” performed earlier than Rodrigo returned to the stage to belt out the catchy lyrics to “Get Him Again.” She shared the stage with a number of lookalikes in a wink at her music video for the monitor, which dropped hours earlier than the awards present.

In response to her efficiency, followers took to social media to query the visible results. “Lady, is that this a part of Olivia Rodrigo’s efficiency?! What’s going on?!” one fan tweeted after the efficiency.

In the meantime, a second social media consumer identified Selena Gomez’s response, writing through Twitter, “Selena’s face whereas Olivia’s efficiency says all of it.”

Rodrigo’s largest followers, nevertheless, had been thrilled together with her imaginative and prescient. “Olivia rodrigo is so SICKENING….,” a 3rd commentator tweeted alongside a clip of the singer on stage.

Rodrigo, 20, is nominated for six awards on the ceremony. Her hit single “Vampire” is up for Video of the Yr, Tune of the Yr, Finest Pop Video, Finest Cinematography, Finest Enhancing and Tune of Summer time. She can be set to carry out on the VMAs for the primary time since 2021.

In each class, Rodrigo will compete towards Taylor Swift, who’s the most-nominated artist for the 2023 ceremony with 11 nods.

For months, followers have speculated that Rodrigo and Swift, 33, had a falling out. Rodrigo fueled the speculation in August when requested whether or not she had attended considered one of Swift’s Eras Tour live shows. “I haven’t but,” she advised The New York Occasions, blaming her busy schedule.

Earlier this month, Rodrigo — who vocalized her admiration for Swift early in her music profession and beforehand discovered inspiration within the songwriter’s work — raised eyebrows whereas addressing hypothesis that “Vampire” was primarily based on Swift.

“I used to be very shocked when folks thought that,” she advised The Guardian. “I imply, I by no means wish to say who any of my songs are about. I’ve by no means achieved that earlier than in my profession and doubtless gained’t. I feel it’s higher to not pigeonhole a tune to being about this one factor.”

After Guts dropped on Friday, September 8, followers singled out “The Grudge” as a monitor that could possibly be about Rodrigo’s copyright concern with Swift. (Rodrigo added Swift and her “Merciless Summer time” collaborators, Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent, as cowriters on “Deja Vu” after admitting that Swift’s 2019 tune influenced her hit from her 2021 album, Bitter.)

“The arguments that I’ve gained towards you in my head / Within the bathe, within the automobile and within the mirror earlier than mattress,” Rodrigo sang. “Yeah, I’m so robust after I’m alone, and I make you’re feeling so responsible / And I fantasize a couple of time you’re somewhat f–kin’ sorry.”

Rodrigo maintained that she has no points with Swift in an interview with Rolling Stone, saying on Monday, “I’m very chill. I hold to myself. I’ve my 4 mates and my mother, and that’s actually the one folks I discuss to, ever. There’s nothing to say. There’s so many Twitter conspiracy theories. I solely take a look at alien-conspiracy theories.”

Rodrigo has made headlines up to now for writing songs that followers assumed had been about her well-known connections. Her breakout single, “Drivers License,” blew up as listeners speculated that her break up from Joshua Bassett and his subsequent relationship with Sabrina Carpenter impressed the hit.

“Actually, it was the primary tune out of the gate and all of that s—t occurred. I felt so ill-equipped,” she advised Interview Journal earlier this month. “That was an amazing expertise, however now I positively really feel a duty. I simply attempt not to consider it in the course of the writing course of.”

Rodrigo famous that whereas engaged on Guts, she needed to “write what I needed to write down and take into consideration the social implications after” as a result of dwelling on how the songs could be acquired was “counterproductive to any creativity.” One monitor that got here out of the expertise was impressed by the fallout of the “Drivers License” drama.

“There’s one tune that I wrote about how my life modified due to the entire issues that occurred with the final album and the way loopy that was,” she defined. “It was cathartic in the long run, but it surely was sort of onerous dredging up all of that stuff.”