OLIVIA Rodrigo keeps making waves in the music scene as she landed on the seventh spot of Billboard’s list of Greatest Pop Stars of 2023.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, December 13, Billboard said the Filipino-American singer “continued to define both pop and rock stardom for her generation with another No. 1 hit and one of the year’s most acclaimed albums.”
The 20-year-old singer dropped her sophomore album “GUTS” on September 8, two years after she released her debut album “Sour.”
Based on her Billboard statistics, Rodrigo earned 2.2 billion official streams this year. Her “GUTS” album was also named the Billboard staff’s favorite of 2023.
Rodrigo recently earned six Grammy nominations for her latest album, including record of the year, best pop solo performance and song of the year for “Vampire,” album of the year and best pop vocal album for “GUTS,” and best rock song for “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl.”
“Vampire” and “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl” are part of Rodrigo’s 12-track sophomore album.
“[W]hat an incredible honor to be recognized by the recording academy in this way. Grateful is an understatement!!!!!” said Rodrigo, reacting to her Grammy nominations.
The 66th Grammy Awards will take place in February 2024.
Prior to the launch of the “GUTS” album, Rodrigo released “Bad Idea Right?” in August and “Vampire” in June.
Speaking with the Interview in September, the Fil-Am singer described the “GUTS” album as “a lot more mature” than “Sour.”
Rodrigo revealed that the “GUTS” world tour will kick off on February 23, 2024 in Palm Springs, California.
There is no announcement yet about a Manila leg of the tour, but her Filipino fans, known as Livies, hope for her to perform in the Philippines after she expressed interest in visiting the country.
Other Greatest Pop Stars of 2023
Joining Rodrigo in Billboard’s list are Bad Bunny, Doja Cat and Drake as No. 8, No. 9 and No. 10 Greatest Pop Stars of 2023, respectively.
Billboard said Bad Bunny “continues to shape the fabric of contemporary pop culture,” following the release of his fifth solo album “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana” in October 2023. This is Bad Bunny’s third chart-topper album when it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Doja Cat, meanwhile, “proved to be one of the year’s most dominant pop stars in the process” with her hit song “Paint the Town Red,” which became the first hip-hop song to top the Hot 100 list in 2023, according to Billboard.
Drake remains popular in today’s generation with his continued “commercial dominance and cultural omnipresence” in 2023, said Billboard.
He released his eighth studio album “For All The Dogs” in October, consisting of 23 tracks. A month after, the veteran rapper dropped another surprise for his fans with the release of his latest album’s “Scary Hours Edition,” which includes six additional tracks.
Billboard also named Miley Cyrus as “Comeback Artist of the Year” with the release of her eighth studio album “Endless Summer Vacation,” three years after the release of “Plastic Hearts.”
It then chose Peso Pluma as “Rookie of the Year.” The Mexican singer dropped his latest album “Génesis” in June.
