GUTS World Tour: Olivia Rodrigo Stuns at Toyota Center in Houston

On Feb. 27, Olivia Rodrigo held a stunning show at Toyota Center for her GUTS world tour.

This event was truly not one to miss as Rodrigo grows in fame and popularity. At just twenty-one years old, Rodrigo packed the venue to its brim, with fans rushing into the concert donned in white, purple and red (the colors of her current era). There was a huge sense of excitement in the air as fans took their seats and anxiously awaited her performance.

First, Chappell Roan started the show with her song “Femininominon” which is a fun opener to her set. She wore a sparkly one piece bodysuit with hearts all over it. As she ran back and forth on the stage, commanded the audience perfectly and got fans excited for the act to come.

Afterwards, she transitioned into her song “Naked in Manhattan” and “After Midnight” which are slower songs from her album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” both discussing queer relationships and Roan’s experiences with her sexuality. Before she started with her next song, she greeted the audience saying “hello Houston,” and gave some advice about dating. Saying,

You know when you’re just on a bad date, well this song is about that-.

Chappell Roan

She added,

-this happened at a Chuy’s, and I walked in and this man was wearing and ugly outfit and-

Chappell Roan

-before she transitioned into her next song “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl,” which begins with “you know what they say, never spend a Friday on a first date”.

Afterwards, she introduced her next song “HOT TO GO,” in which she explained a dance that usually accompanies the song. It was amazing to see fans who did not know Roan before the show dance along and enjoy her fun and upbeat songs.

Before she ended her set, she dedicated her next song, “Pink Pony Club” to her audience before she ran off stage.

Roan was truly an amazing opener, and it is so amazing to see her open for a larger venue. As someone who has seen her play at smaller shows in the past, I fully believe that Roan is going to be the next queer superstar.

Afterwards, Toyota Center began filling up as more and more fans came inside after getting merch and the specialty cups offered at the venue. 

Anticipation filled the crowd as knocks and music began to play over the speaker. Fans anticipated what song she would start with. Rodrigo came on stage with a larger than life presence, as she sang “bad idea right?”. She wore a sparkly silver two piece audience, and danced around the stage singing her song. Fans screamed and sang as loud as they could to her iconic song. Rodrigo also did a mini mute challenge during the song, which caught fans off guard, but once they realized the excitement was even more present. Rodrigo built even more anticipation before her next song “ballad of a homeschool girl,” as they played various instrumentals to the song, teasing the audience. Her dancers came on stage with her, accompanying her dance which has become viral on TikTok. The dance matched the energy of the song really well, and Rodrigo brought an amazing sense of raunchiness to the stage. It’s clear that she is moving into adulthood with her presence on this tour.

After greeting the audience she said, “this is so unreal, I am so happy to be here” she transitioned into her songs “vampire” and “traitor.” She had a short interlude afterwards, teasing the song “drivers license,” and performed a heartfelt set to both “drivers license” and “teenage dream.” Afterwards, she brought the energy back up with “pretty isn’t pretty” and “love is embarrassing,” in which she was accompanied by her amazing back up dancers who performed skillful choreography, and a talented band.

Fans were shocked when Rodrigo climbed on a prop moon, and rode into the audience waving, as she sang her more emotional songs such as “logical” and “enough for you”. As she got closer to the back of the venue, fans screamed louder. She said,

Dang, you guys are loud back here!

Olivia Rodrigo

She asked the audience if they had come to the Sour Tour. She spent some time interacting with the back of the audience before she went back to stage.

After she came back on stage, she changed into a black two piece set with a studded dress on top. She sang a slower set featuring songs from SOUR. Although this part of the concert was more emotional, she was still able to get fans excited, as she performed various choreography, used different visual effects, and moved to different parts of the stage. Fans were engaged the entire time, as they screamed along to her songs. At some point, she asked the audience if they were here with a partner and did a miniature kiss cam. She also went into the crowd, hugging fans while performing. Overall, it was very memorable.

As she reached closer to the final few songs, Rodrigo surprised fans with her song “obsessed”, which is not on the official tracklist but is only available on vinyl. Regardless, fans cheered along to the song. Rodrigo, again, brought a sense of raunchiness as she performed insane floor work to a camera between a glass pane and the stage. Lastly, she performed “all american bitch,” which was a show-stopper. Instead of screaming she asked fans “to imagine something that really pisses you off and scream”. Fans screamed so loudly, I am sure you could hear it outside of the arena. Afterwards, she left the stage, and left fans waiting for an encore.

After fans chanted “encore” and “get him back,” Rodrigo entered on stage wearing a tank top and silver shorts and transitioned into her famous songs “good 4 u” and “get him back!”, in which she performed amazingly, engaging fans as she walked around on stage, and performed amazing choreography. After she ended her performance she walked into the audience and hugged as many fans as she could, ending the night on a spectacular note.

This concert is one to remember for so many reasons. The energy of the crowd was immaculate, Rodrigo’s performance was perfect and her dedication to her fans was so clear. Rodrigo’s concerts are not one to miss. Make sure to get tickets for her GUTS world tour soon.