Olivia Rodrigo is speaking out about diversity and representation in the music industry.
The 18-year-old singer discussed her Filipina-American heritage in a new cover interview for V Magazine’s September issue.
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On bringing Filipino representation to the forefront, Rodrigo shared, “I sometimes get DMs from little girls being like, ‘I’ve never seen someone who looked like me in your position.’ And it makes me literally want to cry just thinking about it.”
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Adding, “I feel like I grew up never seeing that. Also it was always like, ‘Pop star,’ that’s a white girl.”
The “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” star also spoke about ageing as a female in the industry.
“There’s this pressure for young women in pop music. And It’s like this thing where you’re only successful if you’re under 30,” she continued. “I’ve always resented that because I think I’m just going to get better with age. You know what I mean? I’m just going to become a better songwriter and know what I want to say more [with time].”
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Admitting that age isn’t something she’s too worried about right now, Rodrigo added, “Honestly, I literally just turned 18, so there’s so many normal teenage things that I’m really excited to do. There’s so much in life that I have to learn and so many experiences to be had.”
