Olivia Rodrigo admits anxiety and a lack of normality made the GUTS tour a struggle
Rodrigo copes with stage anxiety by selecting one person in the crowd and directing her performance solely at them
Olivia Rodrigo has spoken candidly about the toll that extended periods away from home took on her during her GUTS world tour, admitting that the experience triggered significant anxiety and left her without any sense of normality on the road.
"My nervous system was crashing out"
In an interview with Cosmopolitan, the 23-year-old singer reflected honestly on her mental state during the 2024 tour, which she embarked upon in support of her sophomore album of the same name.
"I'm serving anxious forever," she said, making clear that anxiety is an ongoing part of her life rather than something she has left behind.
"I was really nervous the first 10 shows of the GUTS tour. It was hard to be away from home and not have any sense of normalcy," the Traitor singer told the magazine.
"I was freaking out; my nervous system was crashing out," she recalled. "I still get anxious. It's just different than when I was younger."
A personal method for managing nerves on stage
Rodrigo also disclosed the technique she has developed to help keep her anxiety in check whilst performing in front of large crowds.
"I always pick out a person and just sing to them; everyone else is just on the side," she shared — a method that allows her to focus her energy and quieten the enormity of performing to thousands of people at once.
A landmark moment in the Philippines
Elsewhere in the interview, the Filipino-American singer reflected on one of the most profound experiences of the 16-month tour: performing in the Philippines for the very first time in her life.
"This sounds so cheesy, but the power of music," she said of what the tour taught her. "I had never been to the Philippines in my life, and being able to go there and play in an arena of 55,000 people is so crazy."
She added: "I loved watching the young girls in the crowd sing songs like Traitor."
What lies ahead
The Good 4 U hitmaker is preparing to return to the road in September for The Unravelled Tour, which will support her forthcoming third studio album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a girl so in Love, scheduled for release on 12 June.
