There’s no doubt that Olivia Rodrigo is much, much more than just a girl. At 19 years old, she’s won three Grammys, has released 11 Billboard Hot 100 hits, and is currently on her debut headlining tour, where she’s taking time to pay tribute to some of her favorite artists, from Avril Lavigne to Veruca Salt — and now, Gwen Stefani.
Taking The Met Philadelphia stage Friday night (May 6), Rodrigo dusted off one of the most well-known songs created by Stefani and her band No Doubt, “Just a Girl,” to thunderous cheers from her audience. But before launching into the fiery performance, she took a minute to share how much she admires the “Hollaback Girl” singer.
“Anyone that knows me knows that I am the biggest Gwen Stefani fan in the world,” she told her screaming crowd, before noting that she got to meet the No Doubt frontwoman less than a week prior at the 2022 Met Gala. “I got to talk to her for a while, and she’s just the coolest human in the world. I love her music so much and I wanted to play this song for you guys tonight.”
With orange lights flashing around her, Rodrigo then launched into the song’s rage-filled vocals as her band backed her up with pounding drums and searing electric guitar. “‘Cause I’m just a girl, I’d rather not be,” she belted, dancing from one end of the stage to the other. “‘Cause they won’t let me drive late at night/ Oh, I’m just a girl, guess I’m some kind of freak, ’cause they all sit and stare with their eyes/ Oh, I’m just a girl, take a good look at me, just your typical prototype.”
The “Good 4 U” singer has previously included similarly angsty songs into her show’s setlist, including Veruca Salt’s “Seether” and Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated.” Both tributes to 1990s punk-pop anthems were acknowledged by their respective artists, with Veruca Salt tweeting, “This made our day,” and Lavigne joining Rodrigo on the Sour tour’s Toronto stop to perform “Complicated” as a duet.
Watch Olivia Rodrigo perform No Doubt’s “Just a Girl” below:
? | Olivia covering “Just A Girl” by @gwenstefani at #SOURTOURphiladelphia! pic.twitter.com/R1K5arwzSD
— Olivia Rodrigo Daily (@DailyRodrigo) May 7, 2022