So, it's no wonder she impressed the likes of Disney. In 2016 she was cast as Paige Olvera on Bizaardvark - a role she had for two seasons.
But her breakout role was on a TV series spinoff of the High School Musical franchise in 2019. The title is a mouthful: High School Musical: The Musical - The Series.
A brief synopsis: No, it's not a TV prequel or sequel of the famous movies where emotional high schoolers sing about feelings. It's actually more akin to a fusion of The Office and Glee. Rodrigo plays Nini, the show's 'Gabriella,' a shy but very talented singer who gets the starring role in the show's production of High School Musical.
It's surprisingly entertaining but definitely aimed at a younger audience.
Like Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato, Disney stars don't stay strictly on screen for long. But the difference is Rodrigo's crossover to mainstream pop star loyalty learns from the hard lessons of the past, and she seems very much in control of her image and identity. In interviews, she speaks of the desire for honesty from music industry figures and hits back at sexist critiques about singing about breakups.
What's more, in an interview with The Guardian she revealed she has control of her master recordings, meaning the record company can't pull a Scott Borchetta and offload the rights to her recorded music to the highest bidder, which is allegedly what happened to Taylor Swift.
She signed on the dotted line with Interscope Records and Geffen Records last year, setting in stone her pathway for her first single release. But the internet, especially TikTok, wasn't prepared for what was to come next.
Driver's License and her TikTok mastery
In January the singer dropped her first-ever single, and it was a massive hit from pretty much the moment it hit TikTok.
It is a gut-punch of a power ballad. She sings about the milestone of getting her driver's license, but it's really a track about coping with a milestone after heartbreak. There was also a weird love triangle, rumoured to have inspired the song, that was barely a blip on the viral song's race to the top of the charts. It involved her Disney co-star and rumoured ex Joshua Bassett.
In a video interview with the New York Times, the singer revealed she had TikTok in mind when she was writing the song.
For the uninitiated reader, TikTok is a micro-video platform where creators can edit together a clip backed with a short snippet of a song. The most successful ones spark dance crazes and memes - just like Benee's song Supalonely and Jawsh685's Lax (Siren Beat).
Rodrigo has managed to spark a meme-worthy moment for every release, and she's just getting started.
Her debut album is making everyone cry
Rodrigo released Sour last Friday, and since then many millennials have retreated to their cold bathroom floors to sob and grabbed their hairbrush microphone to process past heartbreaks.
The success of Sour is because simply put, it's a very good pop album and Rodrigo doesn't hesitate to take risks. She flits between an emo-indie rock and sad slow songs with masterful ease.
"If someone else tells me to enjoy my youth / I'm gonna cry," one of the lyrics from the foot-stomping opener Brutal is an example of the moments of brilliance sprinkled throughout the record.
Make sure you have tissues at the ready if you go anywhere near her songs 1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back or Traitor, but rage dance the feelings away with Good 4 U and Brutal.
Wait, haven't I heard that song somewhere?
Part of why Rodrigo's music is resonating so much with older generations is that it strikes a nostalgia chord. And the singer is open about who she's inspired by.
On TikTok, users have made comparisons to Paramore's song Misery Business and even the Australian band Rogue Traders. She counts New Zealand's own Lorde as one of her inspirations and told The Guardian the Auckland singer's artful writing about life in the North Shore suburbs inspired Rodrigo to turn her teenage experiences into art.
"I always wanted to write a record like that, but never felt like I had that normal life experience," she said, speaking about Lorde's debut album Pure Heroine.
Taylor Swift is also a fan and happens to be credited on the album because Rodrigo sampled one of her tracks.
Rodrigo's sound is nothing new, but her confidence in her convictions and ability to tackle multiple genres with smart songwriting is what sets her apart.
Olivia Rodrigo has struck a chord with millions of fans not because she's original or different, but because at just 18 years old she's carved herself a pop music path that is authentic and engaging.
While millennials everywhere blast Sour in their cars and try to fit in with Gen Z, Rodrigo is charting a path towards being the world's biggest pop star. And she isn't afraid to do whatever the heck she wants.
• Sour is out now on Universal
