She's written the soundtrack to an entire generation of heartbreak -- but on the Orange Scene it sounded mostly like an exam in American pop. It was big, cute and a little too streamlined. And perhaps that's why it never really became dangerous.
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Disclaimer: Apropos Magazine received access or a review copy. As always, we share our own impressions — unfiltered.
Six stars
Olivia Rodrigo entered Roskilde Festival 2025 as one of the heaviest headliners of the year. She stood on Orange with a pure-bred women's band behind her, and that in itself was a show of force. Musically and visually, it was confident, well-played and incredibly well-oiled. Maybe even a little for well-oiled. Because while the energy was high and her band played with a technical precision that could make any rehearsal room sigh, there was something in her performance that felt a little... predictable.
Olivia spoke to the audience with tears in her voice and big words about how much it all mattered -- but there was something in the delivery that felt like lines from a script. Maybe because they were just that. You could almost hear the manager in the background: “Remember to mention how much you love them -- and point out towards someone with a badge.” It worked. The crowd was in. But it never became real.
One particular choice in the setlist underscored the slightly odd dramaturgy: Placing the global breakthrough hit “driver's license” as the fourth number -- well, of course, that's a way of signaling confidence. But at the same time, the concert's emotional high point came far too soon. It didn't create the redemption it might otherwise have done as last song. Instead, it stood a little lonely and soft in the middle of a set that was still finding its shape.
On the other hand, “deja vu” worked perfectly well. The song came late in the set, just before the extras, and had exactly the nerve and edge that the rest of the concert could well have used a little more of. This is where you sensed a true live artist in development -- a pop star who not only sings nicely but who can translate his melodrama into something with edge and body.
The extra numbers were delivered safely. Not unforgettable, but with excess. And when it all closed and off, it was with the feeling of having seen a superstar. A pop cultural representative of Gen Z, who seriously owns his own space. And at the same time: An artist who is still figuring out how to fills that room completely out.
It was the kind of concert where afterwards you say “that was really good” -- but without getting the urge to write it in capital letters. For it was well. The crowd loved it. Roskilde loved it. But it didn't become legendary. Not yet. Maybe next time.
Let's just put it like this...
Olivia Rodrigo is undoubtedly one of the strongest pop voices of the time. She's on her way -- and almost to the finish line. But at Roskilde there just lacked the last courage to step out of the template and dared become dangerous.
