She has written the soundtrack to an entire generation of heartbreak — but on Orange Stage, it sounded more like an exam in American pop. It was big, sweet and a little too streamlined. And maybe that was exactly 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 took over Roskilde Festival 2025 as one of the year’s heaviest headliners. She stood on Orange with a pure all-female band behind her, and that alone was a show of force. Musically and visually, it was confident, well played and incredibly slick. Maybe even a little too slick. Because while the energy was high, and her band played with a technical precision that could make any rehearsal room sigh, there was something about her performance that felt a bit… predictable.
Olivia spoke to the audience with tears in her voice and grand words about how much it all meant — but there was something in the delivery that felt like lines from a script. Maybe because that’s exactly what they were. You could almost hear the manager in the background: “Remember to mention how much you love them — and point to someone holding a sign.” It worked. The crowd was with her. But it never became real.
One particular choice in the setlist underlined the slightly odd dramaturgy: placing the global breakthrough hit “driver’s license” as the fourth song — yes, that is certainly one way to signal confidence. But at the same time, it meant the concert’s emotional peak arrived far too early. It didn’t create the release it might have done as the final song. Instead, it stood there a little lonely and soft in the middle of a set that was still trying to find its shape.
On the other hand, “deja vu” worked brilliantly. The song came late in the set, just before the encores, and had exactly the nerve and edge the rest of the concert could have used a little more of. This was where you felt a genuine live artist in the making — a pop star who doesn’t just sing beautifully, but can translate her melodrama into something with bite and body.
The encores were delivered with confidence. Not unforgettable, but assured. And when it all came to an end, it left you with the feeling of having seen a superstar. A pop-cultural representative of Gen Z who truly owns her own space. And at the same time: an artist who is still figuring out how to fill that space completely.
It was the kind of concert where, afterwards, you say “that was really good” — but without feeling the urge to write it in capital letters. Because it was good. The crowd loved it. Roskilde loved it. But it wasn’t legendary. Not yet. Maybe next time.
Let’s just put it like this…
Olivia Rodrigo is without question one of the strongest pop voices of our time. She’s on her way — and almost there. But at Roskilde, she was missing that last bit of courage to step outside the template and dare to become dangerous.
