You haven't belted Olivia Rodrigo's "Drivers License" until you've done it with hundreds of teen girls. I'm 32 years old and happily married, but I'll never look at red lights and stop signs the same way.
The pop ballad captures female heartbreak as only a high schooler going through her first real one can. But without it, Rodrigo, now 20, may never have ended up on TODAY's Citi Concert stage in Rockefeller Plaza on Sept. 8, celebrating the release of her second album, "Guts."
As the song's bridge builds during soundcheck, a subtle smile lifts the pop star's lips. She seems to be deciding in real time to leave out the F-word in the all-too-belt-able lyric: "I still ... love you, babe."
Luckily, the crowd has it handled — and the broadcast hasn't started yet.
Her subsequent chuckle is giving "Your Charismatic Best Friend Who Didn't Mean To Convince The Entire School To Curse In Unison In Front Of The Principal." After all, she does love a four-letter word "in every way," as she quipped during her filming of "8 before 8," especially as an album title.
Girls and women of all ages are the most prominent swath of the audience. Finally, we're in a time where pointing that out won't hurt Rodrigo's cachet.
A mom with pink glitter strands in her hair encourages her daughter to make the most of playing hooky and wave as her idol skips down the stage to "Good 4 U." TODAY food contributor Siri Daly brought her girls, as did NBC News investigative correspondent Vicky Nguyen. I met two sisters who drove over night from Virginia Beach and were convinced Rodrigo would be announcing her tour today (no luck). Her band is all women. A girl barely tall enough to see over the barricade knows all the words to all four songs ("Vampire," "Get Him Back!", "Good 4 U" and "Drivers License").
There are pigtails, plaid miniskirts and lots of purple. There are tears when the Grammy winner hugs a preteen who never imagined she'd get that close. And Rodrigo is here for it all.
Her energy is down-to-earth mixed with humility and a touch of role model as she compliments the youngest audience members' posters and autographs a sign. When I snap a Polaroid as she gets her makeup touched up and the flash accidentally goes off, I feel myself start to wither with embarrassment, but a quick grin of approval from the woman 12 years my junior picks me back up.
Rodrigo is as effortlessly cool in real life as you'd expect, but not in a way that requires putting others down — that's what "cool" meant when I was a teen. She hones in on fans too shy to get her attention on their own. She holds eye contact and reserves no judgement if you don't know all the words, though most of the audience does. She seems entranced by every interaction on the Plaza, from hugging TODAY co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb after her first song to jamming out, eyes closed, with her guitarist.
I watch as she leaves the stage and starts to walk back toward her dressing room, and a pang of sadness hits me, knowing I'll likely never see her that close again. As a fellow half-Filipina, I've felt invested in her success; there were none on TV or the radio when I was growing up. But I realize my degree of emotion is only a fraction of what the girls around me feel, their tear-soaked eyes craning for one last glimpse.
Girlhood is hard. Thankfully, for those going through it today, it's a little easier with Rodrigo's music.